What is Your Favorite Ball Park?

A spring ritual is get to one of the ball parks in the city of Chicago. Not just for the crack of the bat, the beer man, or the nachos, but the ballpark itself. Personally, I think there are much better stadiums than both Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park (its now called U.S. Cellular Field, but I refuse to call it that.) throughout MLB. Camden Yard is an awesome, the bricks and the Baltimore wharf area gives a great feeling to the place. I’ve heard Fenway is phenomenal, as well as Minute Maid Park in Houston. The goal of this article is to give you the pluses and the minuses of both Professional Baseball Parks in Chicago. I would encourage comments, obviously, you guys have been to different stadiums and I would love to hear about them.

Wrigley Field:

Wrigley Field was built in 1914, but was not actually named Wrigley Field until 1920, as I found out from some research. Wrigley Field is located on Chicago’s north side and is surrounded by a great community which makes up part of the parks ambiance. The bars, the atmosphere, and the rooftops that surround the park make for a great place to catch a game and an experience that many have come to cherish.The distinctive ivy (what Wrigley Field is most noted for) was planted in 1937 and covers the walls of the outfield give the park an absolute touch of beauty. Wrigley has the feel of an old ball park which for many offers a feeling of the good ole day, but that is because it is just that an old ball park. Which leads us to the cons. Wrigley Field lacks what I feel are essential facilities or services, such as enough entrances and exits, a concourse area that can support the massive crowds, and up to date restrooms (how many of you have a problem using the trough system?), concession areas and stands are problematic because they clog up the concourse, and don’t offer the selection of foods available at other parks, the seats are small and uncomfortable, and well the building itself is starting to crumble. All in all, Wrigley has history and that goes a long way with the fans. The stadium is at near sell out capacity for most games, but it’s lack of comfort, convenience, and amenities make the park itself just OK.

US Cellular Field — Comiskey Park:

The new Comiskey Park was completed in 1991. It boasts many modern conveniences such as escalators, elevators, large concourses, a fireworks area, and a kids play area, and good parking close to the stadium, and corporate sponsors which help keep tickets costs down. Comiskey obviously has the modern era bathroom’s as well (a major plus). The problem with Comiskey is the general vicinity of the ballpark. The Southside of Chicago is known more for its shootouts (and I’m not talking about scoring here). If it weren’t for parking in or around the stadium lot, it’s a good chance your car is gonna be gone. Another problem I see is the upper deck seats are too high, but I understand the more we get in here the better we do mentality. In my opinion, Comiskey has the better amenities, but lacks the feel that Wrigley does. Personally I’ve had a great time at both, as a young child and as an adult.

Modern era parks are the norm nowadays they include domes and retractable roofs, amenities and comforts, and will generally just outshine many old parks in everway, but what they leave behind is they feeling of old. Leave a comment about your favorite parks and why you like ‘em….. footbal, hockey, and basketball are welcomed too.

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Information for this article was read from:
www.ballparks.com/baseball/national/wrigle.htm
http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/comis2.htm