Great Falls Voyagers, Pioneer League
10/10
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| The fans file in the main entrance on the 3rd base side to watch the local nine take on Grand Junction. |
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| Bonus shot. Love this scoreboard art, very Jetsons. |
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| Looking back at home plate from right around Taco John's. |
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| The crowd takes in the afternoon's festivities on a 37 Celsius(an eyelash under 100 Fahrenheit) day. |
I first came here in August 2014, as the first actual baseball game of my summer loop, having seen a Canadian Football game the day before. In 2015, it was the last day of the summer loop, but an unseasonably cold and wet September day led to the unthinkable, a rainout.
Firstly, the park itself is an old ballyard approaching the end of it's life that was renovated, with the addition of a new section down the 3rd base side(see my entrance pic) combined with a refurbished main stand. This is a pretty novel(and probably cheaper) approach, which seems pretty reasonable versus a totally new build in Billings, or just not doing anything, like in Helena. The park has managed to keep it's sprit as an older park, but have some decent club seating, for people who like that sort of thing, it means the best views in the ballpark are not the most expensive seats, so everyone wins.
And the food. I didn't eat a whole lot here, but it was good. There is actually a fast food place, a "Taco John's" in the ballpark. Taco John's is big in Montana and the Dakotas, amongst other places, in fact, driving around Great Falls and Helena especially, you will soon realize that Montanans evidently LOVE their tacos/burritos/I can't believe it's not Mexican. I had a great burrito here. There's also some other options I didn't notice my first time, but it was still pretty good.
The atmosphere here was fantastic as well. People were into the game for sure. There were on field events/promotions, but they were actually interesting. Case in point, it was the mascot's birthday and they had a few surprises, including a visit by a Chinchilla who ran a few steps and was making plans for his next move, when the mascot snuck over and picked it up, averting disaster.
In summary, old park renovates subtly for a new lease on life with good food and atmosphere. Great Falls is a little off the beaten path for most, but it is most certainly worth it.
Firstly, the park itself is an old ballyard approaching the end of it's life that was renovated, with the addition of a new section down the 3rd base side(see my entrance pic) combined with a refurbished main stand. This is a pretty novel(and probably cheaper) approach, which seems pretty reasonable versus a totally new build in Billings, or just not doing anything, like in Helena. The park has managed to keep it's sprit as an older park, but have some decent club seating, for people who like that sort of thing, it means the best views in the ballpark are not the most expensive seats, so everyone wins.
And the food. I didn't eat a whole lot here, but it was good. There is actually a fast food place, a "Taco John's" in the ballpark. Taco John's is big in Montana and the Dakotas, amongst other places, in fact, driving around Great Falls and Helena especially, you will soon realize that Montanans evidently LOVE their tacos/burritos/I can't believe it's not Mexican. I had a great burrito here. There's also some other options I didn't notice my first time, but it was still pretty good.
The atmosphere here was fantastic as well. People were into the game for sure. There were on field events/promotions, but they were actually interesting. Case in point, it was the mascot's birthday and they had a few surprises, including a visit by a Chinchilla who ran a few steps and was making plans for his next move, when the mascot snuck over and picked it up, averting disaster.
In summary, old park renovates subtly for a new lease on life with good food and atmosphere. Great Falls is a little off the beaten path for most, but it is most certainly worth it.
Update 2021: I managed to get a 2nd game in here and enjoyed it too. No reason to change the rating. This is a good little ballpark, with low prices and not many bad seats. The Taco John's had been replaced with a more generic concession, but that was about the only noticeable change. The entire Pioneer League ended up transitioning into an Independent loop for 2021, which means that after seeing more than a few Dodger, Giant and White Sox prospects pass through, this season's Voyagers will be trying to play their way into an organization, rather than up. In the middle of updating the article, MiLB pulled down the box scores for the old games, the new league has a pointstreak page, but it isn't on there.
Linescores
2014-08-10
123 456 789 R H E
Grand Junction Rockies(COL) 021 211 002 9 17 4
Great Falls Voyagers(CWS) 200 002 000 4 7 4
Temp: 81F Time: 3:12 Att: 1,134
2015-09-05
123 456 789 RHE
Missoula Osprey(ARI) PPD
Great Falls Voyagers(CWS) Rain
2018-06-21
123 456 789 RHE
Billings Mustangs(CIN) 11
Great Falls Voyagers(CWS) 4
Temp: Time: Att:
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