This past Saturday Jenn and I made the trip to Saint Louis, Missouri to see the home team Cardinals host the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This was my first new ballpark trip since 2006 and let me tell you it was worth the wait. We were treated to an Angels 10-7 victory while taking in a beautiful ballpark.
Busch Stadium was opened in 2006 and still carries that brand-new look to it. The entire outside of the ballpark is red-brick. It looks great. It fits the city and the team. We sat up behind home plate and took in a spectacular view of downtown St. Louis and the famous Gateway Arch. The view rivals the view found at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The big difference here is that I recommend you catch a Pirate game at night in Pittsburgh to really take in the beauty of the city, but you definitely need to see a Cardinal day-game to enjoy the scenery in Busch Stadium.
The park is also made special by the die-hard, yet courteous fans in St. Louis. We had open conversations with the Cardinal fans in the ballpark despite Jenn and me wearing our Angels gear. The Cardinal’s staff was friendly as well. I was also blown away by how intelligent the Cardinal’s fans were. They noticed everything from a sacrifice fly to ground out that resulted in a run. They cheered for their team for performing all nuances of the game.
Busch Stadium has a party atmosphere too. The concourses are open in the upper levels which make you feel like you are at one big barbeque that just happened to have a baseball game break out. However, this comes at a cost because there is very little shade as a result. The heat was fierce on Saturday and my wife was only able to find a small area for shade. The seating in ballpark also offers very little shade early on game-days, but later in the day a large portion of the stadium did gain some shade.
Overall, Busch Stadium is one of my new favorites. It’s a beautiful ballpark with a festive atmosphere. There is not a bad seat in the house. Updated rankings are below.
1. PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA – Beautiful park with a great view of the three rivers. Go at night…it’s one of my favorite views.
2. Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO – See above
3. Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD – Another great looking park. This park is the starter for all the new constructions of the 1990’s and in my opinion still has the old-time baseball feel the architects were aiming for. The warehouse in background is still a cool sight.
4. Fenway Park, Boston, MA – The newer parks look better in so many ways, but nothing beats the party going on at Fenway on game day. There is so much going at Fenway the moment you get to the park. It does look old, but they keep it painted and the Monster is still an awesome sight.
5. Angels Stadium, Anaheim, CA – This is an old ballpark, but when I visited in 2004, it had been overhauled into a baseball only-facility (the Rams used to play there), and it was gorgeous. It’s especially great at night to watch with the fountains where outfield bleachers used to be. I admit with the Angels being my favorite team, I’m probably biased.
6. Comerica Park, Detroit, MI – This ballpark doesn’t get mentioned enough with other ballparks, but it is absolutely gorgeous. I love the history they put into it with the statues beyond the outfield wall. I really enjoyed visiting this park.
7. Citizen’s Bank Park, Philadelphia – This park is a nice-looking park, but what I thought was cool was the all the stuff they have for kids to do there. In the walkway section of the park there were all kinds of games and stuff to occupy the kids before, during, and after the game. Very cool.
8. Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati, OH – Very nice ballpark that captures the history of the city well with its steam boat representation and the Ohio River in the background. There isn’t a bad seat in the ballpark.
9. Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH – There was a time when I’d rank this ballpark higher, but the last time I went to see a game there, it looked as if it were not being taken care of. It’s still a decent place to catch a game, but I remember how great it looked when I first went in 1997. Last time I went, it looked like the Indians were saving money on maintenance as well as being cheap with their players.
10. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA – I have to admit that I didn’t care much for this ballpark. It was drab and there wasn’t much there to do but watch the game, which is great for me, but bad for a parents wanting to find things to do with their kids (and their limited attention spans). However, when the sun starts going down, the beauty of the ballpark changes. It’s such a pretty sight to look at the background beyond the outfield fence and it makes up for much of its shortcomings.
*Changes – Busch Stadium slides into second place. I swapped slots between Citizen’s Bank Park and Great American Ballpark. I just realize the ballpark experience in Citizen’s Bank Park is better. It’s just a better looking ballpark too.
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