Best baseball stadiums for sports travel

By Jim Cohn

Baseball enthusiasts wanting to travel to see some of the great ballparks in the U.S. are wise to wait until summer. Sure, tickets are harder to come by than they are in April, but if you’ve ever been to Progressive Field in Cleveland (where it snowed last April), Wrigley Field, PNC Park in Pittsburgh or a long list of stadiums that stretch from Chicago to Boston in the spring, you run the risk of having to dress for a football game instead of a baseball game. And let’s face it — baseball is meant to be enjoyed in shorts and flip flops, complemented by a cold beverage. Not in a parka sipping hot chocolate.

Sports travel continues to gain in popularity, and traveling to see one, if not a number of classic baseball stadiums is certainly a terrific focal point of a vacation. So where to go? There’s not enough space to hit all of the great ballparks, but here some of my favorites, in no particular order:

Wrigley Field, Chicago. This is an absolute must for any baseball fan. In my opinion, there is no better place to see a baseball game, and if you go to Wrigley, try to take in a day game. Night games are fun but there’s something about the daytime atmosphere that adds to the Wrigley experience. It has a neighborhood atmosphere that is truly unique in sports today and impossible to replicate. From the manually operated scoreboard and jam-packed rooftops across the street to the myriad of bars and restaurants within blocks of the ballpark, some literally right across the street, you can arrive early and stay late and have a great time without ever leaving the Wrigleyville neighborhood.But Wrigley Field itself is the crown jewel, built in 1914 and the second oldest stadium in baseball. A new Harry Caray’s bar just opened across the street, Murphy’s is a popular hangout directly across from the bleachers and you’ve got to love the fans who spend hours on bordering Sheffield and Waveland Avenues with gloves in hand waiting for home run balls — both during batting practice and the game itself. Tip: If you’re looking for a party, sit in the bleachers. If you really want to watch the game, go for box seats. Parking is possibly the worst in sports, so take public transportation — the El stops right at Wrigley (about a 20-minute ride from most downtown Chicago hotels). And definitely bring your camera for this one. Even players will tell you when the sun is shining, there’s no better venue in baseball.

Fenway Park, Boston. Like Wrigley, a no-brainer, and tickets to see the World Champion Red Sox are just as hard to come by. Your best bet is to try to go during the week and see a less-popular team. Don’t try to go to a Yankees series unless you have the money to pay a steep ticket price. When the Sox are hot, as they’ve been in recent years, this is a very tough ticket. And once you get to Fenway you’ll see why. Built in 1912, it is the oldest stadium in baseball, edging out the Cubs’ Wrigley by two years. Like Wrigley, it has a manually operated scoreboard and urban neighborhood atmosphere that allows fans to be at a bar/restaurant right next door and walk steps to or from the ballpark. The concourse along Yawkey Way has been converted into a huge beer garden where you can literally hang out outside the brick walls to the park but still inside the fence. Like the ivy-covered walls at Wrigley, Fenway’s Green Monster is one of a kind, and the recently added seats atop baseball’s highest outfield wall are spectacular, although pricey. Do yourself a favor and spend some time walking around the ballpark to see the different views from different parts of the stadium.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore. The folks who designed Camden Yards were the first ones smart enough to realize how much baseball fans like tradition. Camden was the first "throw back" retro design when it opened in 1992. Since it was built, many have followed with similar design schemes, featuring brick exteriors and designs more reminiscent of the ’20s, ’30s and ’40s as opposed to the ’80s or ’90s. The Camden Yards complex also includes the Baltimore & Ohio Warehouse, which is the longest building on the East Coast. And some little-known trivia for baseball buffs — the stadium sits just a couple of blocks from the birthplace of Babe Ruth. This is a great ballpark, and there is not a bad seat in the house. Go to Wrigley or Fenway, and there’s a chance you can get stuck with an obstructed-view seat stuck behind a steel support beam in the grandstands or terrace reserved. The sight lines at Camden are perfect no matter where you are. There’s not the neighborhood atmosphere you have at Wrigley or Fenway, but Baltimore has done a great job of building up the area around the ballpark to make it fan friendly — and it is a must see if you can travel near the D.C./Baltimore area.

Coors Field, Denver. Talk about a Rocky Mountain High. It was worth the wait for the two years when the then expansion Rockies had to play in the Broncos Mile High Stadium. Coors Field is a postcard stadium, built along the lines of Camden and other parks, but with a perfect twist to fit the landscape of Denver and the neighboring Rocky Mountains, which are clearly visible in the backdrop beyond the outfield walls. Yes, it’s got an urban downtown setting along Blake Street, but if you’ve ever spent time in Denver and experienced some of the outdoor cafes and nearby downtown taverns, this isa terrific baseball setting in a great city. Coors Field is a combination of a modern stadium loaded with amenities, with the atmosphere of an old-time park. It even has a heating system under the field that melts snow the minute it hits the ground. Concession stands in the concourse are laid out so that a fan can walk 360 degrees around the stadium and never lose sight of the field. Rumor has it the ball flies farther in the higher altitude, so pick up some seats in the Rock Pile, the best bargain in baseball for as little as $4 per ticket, and maybe you’ll get a souvenir if someone really gets a hold of one –- like 500 feet.

Progressive Field, Cleveland. If you can’t keep up with the
naming rights in Major League Baseball you’re not alone. Still hard to
not think of it as Jacobs Field, but Progressive Field (which opened as
Jacobs Field in 1994) followed the lead of Camden Yards in its design
scheme and offers as picturesque a setting asyou’ll find in Cleveland.
One of the best things about the ballpark is the amenities. It has a
picnic area beyond center field and a patio area, both of which add a
beer garden ambience to the stadium. In addition, there’s the Wahoo
World, where fans can test their arms at a live speed pitch machine,
swing for the fences at a virtual Home Run Derby, or simply hit one of
the many on-site batting cages. How popular is Jacobs Field? It didn’t
hurt that the Indians had some great teams in the late ’90s, but from
1995 until April 4, 2001, the Indians set a major league record with
455 sellouts.

Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York. You definitely want to take
in this historic venue before the new Yankee Stadium is built for 2009.
The original stadium opened in 1923, but has had a number of upgrades
and renovations over the past 85 years. Still, it is a classic ballpark
that arguably holds more history than any other stadium in baseball.
Especially when you consider thosewho played here — from Ruth to
Gehrig, DiMaggio to Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and so many
others, and this was long before the dominant Yankee teams of late. A
visit to Yankee Stadium is almost a history lesson or museum stop for
the baseball enthusiast. The left-center field monuments and plaques
immortalize many of the great Yankees who helped this stadium what it
is today. Truthfully, this is one of those ballparks where it’s more
about being inside the stadium than what’s going on around it — like
some of the others mentioned here. But inside is an experience unlike
any other. And this is the last year to take it all in.

AT&T Park, San Francisco. What’s not to love about this
one? Long balls over the right field wall splash into McCovey Cove,
where ball-seeking fans hang out in kayaks and other small maneuverable
watercraft to fight over souvenirs. The park is similar in design to
Progressive, Camden and Coors, with its brick exterior and retro feel,
but the uniqueness of AT&T Park (which opened as Pac Bell Park) is
in its bayfront setting and waterfront promenade. The promenade
stretches from right field to center field where fans of all ages can
watch the game through a fence at no charge. Ferries dock right next to
the ballpark beyond the right field wall, and like some of the other
great stadiums, there’s a lot of fan-friendly activity both in and
around the stadium. Another caveat, AT&T Park is served by more
public transportation than any other stadium in the U.S., and is within
convenient walking distance of downtown and many city neighborhoods.

By the way, those I have heard great things about and would highly
recommend, although I’ve never personally visited, include PNC in
Pittsburgh, Detroit’s Comerica Park, Petco Park in San Diego and
Seattle’s Safeco Field. It probably goes without saying, but I am not a
fan of baseball in a dome. It just doesn’t seem right, even with a
retractable roof. Enjoy your travels to see America’s favorite
pastime, wherever it is you go.

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Before Orbitz, Jim had a previous life as a broadcast sports
journalist, covering the Super Bowl, the Final Four, the Masters, the
Daytona 500 and other events that would make any sports junkie jealous.
Now, he uses his expertise and travel experience to help others find
the best and most cost-effective ways to travel to top sporting events and more.

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