Goodyear Ballpark

Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians (Spring Training)

8/10

I never did get the best shot of the exterior here....

Another beautiful clear day in Goodyear.

The sun begins to set on the only night game I've ever seen here.

Goodyear Ballpark holds a special place in my heart, as it was the first Spring Training, or Cactus league game I ever took in. It was the closest one to the old family condo in Arizona and rarely busy, so 8 games later, I still like it.

This park was built to lure two teams, the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds out from Florida and is located in the City of Goodyear(as in the tires) about 30 minutes without traffic west of downtown Phoenix. It's built on the edge of the desert, near an aircraft boneyard. I thought it looked like an AAA park when I first went, but having a few more under my belt, I'd say AA is a closer fit. It's a pretty simple layout, with all the seats between the foul poles, a BBQ area in right field and a berm out in left. Atmosphere is pretty quiet, with this park being the farthest away from either team's home city, still, the fans do come out and while a little quirky, fans of both teams are pretty easy to cohabitate with in my experience.

I originally gave this park a 9 on my old website, but reviewing it now, it is really "just" an 8. The plus? The food. Cheesesteaks, Pulled Pork, Good Burgers, pizza, Mexican, yam fries, they have everything here. The beer is a good selection, they even have Hefeweizen(German-style wheat beer), that drinks really smoothly. They also have about 7 condiments at each concession, so no one walks off disappointed at "just" ketchup.

The other added bonus here is the lack of crowds. While a lot of cactus league parks are expensive and packed to the gills, with long lines for anything, here, the best tickets are 30 dollars and both teams are in the bottom 5 of Spring attendance MLB-wide. If you are west of downtown and don't care about much else than seeing a game, head here, you won't be disappointed.

Update 2021: Somehow, I haven't been back here since the last update 5 years ago. I did manage to dig up my line scores. I've been here 8 times! I still fondly remember this as a cheap option, to enjoy Cactus league action, with good food and it's still a nice park. If I make it back for spring training here anytime soon, this one will be on my list.

Linescore

2010-03-24

                           123  456  789   R  H E

San Francisco     100  000  110   3  7 3

Cincinnati            101  100  07x  10 10 1

Temp: 82F  Time: 2:41   Att: 4,062

2012-03-23

                               123  456  789   RHE

Los Angeles(AL)      010 100  200  491

Cleveland                001  000  000  170

Temp: 77F   Time: 2:41   Att: 8,630

2012-03-29

                           123  456  789   RHE

Colorado            200  300  010  6 11 0

Cleveland           002  000  001  3 6 0

Temp: 72F  Time: 2:47   Att: 2,877

2013-03-23

                           123  456  789   RHE

Texas                 000  121   011   6 14 0

Cincinnati          100  010  000    2 6 0

Temp: 75F   Time: 2:47  Att: 6,192

2013-03-30

                           123  456  789   R H E

Cleveland            000 100  000   1 8  1

Cincinnati            000 213 03x   9  14 0

Temp: 80F  Time: 2:35  Att: 7,027

2014-03-23

                           123  456  789   R H E

Milwaukee          161 000 100  9 13 0

Cincinnati            000  001  000  1 5 1 

Temp: 81F  Time: 2:36   Att: 5,559

2015-03-23

                           123  456  789   RHE

Oakland               000  100  200  370

Cincinnati            000  000  031 461

Temp: 82F  Time: 2:39  Att: 5,447

2015-04-02

                           123  456  789   R H E

Cleveland             000 110 200  4 10 1

Cincinnati            100  000 110  3 11 0

Temp: 81F  Time: 2:19  Att: 3,069

Great American Ball Park

 Cincinnati Reds (National League)

9/10

I actually quite enjoyed the outside of this place.

The Easter Bunny showed up pre-game. You can see the smokestacks in right center.

Looking back on a mostly empty seating bowl. People apparently had places to be.

I headed here from a hockey game in Nashville the night before. As of time of writing in 2021, this is my most recent, brand new MLB park. It was Easter Sunday on the 1st of April, meaning lots of things were closed, including in Kentucky on the way up and downtown once I was here. The only thing I could find that was open in the downtown was a Walgreen's. I was quite surprised to find that attendance on the first Sunday of the year looked to be pretty limited, as it was just a bit over 10 thousand, which in an MLB park, felt like nothing. The temperature was barely into the 50s, which for this area, could be considered cool, but for the first day of April, was pretty nice by my more northern standards.

I really liked this park. The lack of crowd meant it was pretty easy to go explore and after a pretty bad night for pictures a few nights prior in Atlanta, I more than made up for it here. The exterior is actually glass panels and painted steel. It's pretty staid, but compared to the bricks you see on nearly every other park, it's quite unique. The park is right between downtown Cincinnati and the Ohio River, with the headquarters of the insurance company that the park gets its name from looms large over the first base side. There's an outfield concourse with two smokestacks reminiscent of the steamboats that used to be on the river. 

The food here was not too bad, I ended up going to Skyline Chili for a chili dog. I was eyeballing Big Boy pretty hard, but a co-worker at the time who grew up here for a time said that the chili dog was required, so I did. I'm not a chili guy at all, but I did like it. Lines were not a thing due to a tiny crowd. Atmosphere was flat, but so flat that individual voices in the crowd could be heard throughout the game, which meant that some individual subplots were interesting to follow. It was more of a Triple A experience than anything.

On the whole, this is a somewhat underappreciated park, due to a pretty marginal Reds team. The facility itself, like so many others is a massive improvement over what it replaced. The food was somewhat memorable and the atmosphere for a small-market, cannon fodder organization like the Reds was pretty neat as well. I'd give a point for facility and half each for food and atmosphere, which make this a surprising 9. 

Linescore

2018-04-01

                      123   456   789   RHE

Washington    200  001   201   680

Cincinnati      000   001  022   570

Temp: 50F  Time: 2:47  Att: 10,355

Pensacola Bayfront Stadium

Pensacola Blue Wahoos, Southern League

7/10

        The exterior of the park is still pretty bare, omitting even a sign with the name of the building(I had to look it up when I got back). I'd suspect its being left blank for a corporate sponsor.
         This staff member is covering her mouth, already over-apologetic for standing in my picture.

 

          I was here SUPER early, which gave me a chance to really walk around.

                                    

The Jackson Generals take batting practice.

I was excited to include the new stadium in Pensacola on my loop through three southern states in 2012. The team had just relocated from the Carolinas, and was enjoying its inaugural season in this brand new ballpark built right on the shore of Pensacola Bay. I had travelled from just outside of Atlanta after catching the Braves and swung through Alabama, making a pit stop in Mobile to see the USS Alabama in all its restored glory, prior to arriving in P-cola.

The evening's contest featured the hometown Pensacola Blue Wahoos, the Cincinnati Reds AA club, matched against the Jackson Generals, the equivalent for the Seattle Mariners. The park itself is located right in downtown Pensacola, one of the bigger cities on the Florida panhandle, as part of a new waterfront complex. One of the first drawbacks is that there isn't very much parking in the immediate area of the stadium and it's pretty much all snapped up by disabled parking, VIP parking, or season ticket holders. There are numerous pay lots in the area, as well as a ton of FREE on street parking, which I opted for.

The façade of the park is so basic that I didn't get a photo of it. As mentioned above, I doubt this place will be so generically named for too long. Entrance is on the first base side and up a few flights of stairs. Once you're up, you are confronted by a sparkling new ballpark, with just under 5,000 seats. It is well laid out and the outfield views are of the bay to right and an inlet to left. It isn't just Barry Bonds that can hit one into the water here. The team shop/ offices are in the main building behind home plate.

I'm a bit of a hypocrite with the issue of Minor League teams in particular taking on goofy names to sell shirts. "Blue Wahoos" is a goofy name. I also now own a Pensacola Blue Wahoos running shirt(featuring a Blue Wahoo wrapped around a baseball bat to form a "P") AND kept the bag it came in. I'm deeply conflicted.

One of the aspects of the Bayfront Stadium that I really liked were the concessions. The food itself was above average, but the layout is actually pretty innovative. Firstly, they were referred to as "Port" and "Starboard" which pays homage to the nautical theme of the park. Secondly, they were removed from the concourse, meaning that the lines for the concessions aren't going to spill over. There were extra tills not being used, which for big home dates, could get the lines moving. Also, ordering and paying are two separate people, kind of like a drive-thru. It was a little clunky, as most people didn't know quite where to go(me too), but with time, the locals should get the hang of it.

Overall, I enjoyed my game here. The Wahoo starter took a perfect game(or maybe a no hitter) into the final three frames before losing it. The ambience was alright, but like with other debut parks I've been too, there aren't many local traditions yet. Ownership seems pretty approachable, soliciting fan concerns pretty hard(I got a survey in my e-mail the next week) and actually trying to act on them(Don't climb over the seats for instance. I'm a seat climber. I'll try and stop.) But, as of right now, there isn't anything that makes this place particularly special, although that's not to say that won't ever change. 7/10.

Update 2016: This place still doesn't have a corporate sponsor, which going into season 5, is borderline miraculous. On the team website, it's referred to as "Blue Wahoos Stadium", I've also seen "Community Martitime Park", but I'll just stick with this name for now I suppose. As for the ratings, I was going to keep the 7, but I did say the food was above average, so it can have an 8.

Linescore
2012-06-27
                                                 123   456   789  RHE
Jackson Generals(SEA)               000  000   000  040
Pensacola Blue Wahoos(CIN)       200  000  21x  580
Temp:83F   Time: 2:24  Att: 4,625

Dehler Park

Billings Mustangs, Pioneer League

7/10

                                          The entrance to the park is very straightforward. In fact, the only sign saying
"Dehler Park" that I saw was on top of the scoreboard.

                          The park has a nice backdrop of the rolling hills leading out of Billings.

                             The park is centrally located only about 10 blocks north of downtown.

I headed to Dehler Park, my 5th in the Pioneer League, in September 2013, just in time for the first game of the final homestand of the season for the Billings Mustangs, against the Missoula Osprey. I drove all day from Grand Junction to make it(nearly running out of gas 30 minutes away due to my own incompetence), and drove to Edmonton the next day. The park itself is new as of 2008, replacing venerable Cobb Field. Of note, Dehler park holds almost 1,000 people less than Cobb, checking in at an eyelash over 3,000. The name comes from a local businessman, who bought the rights.

On the plus side, the field is not quite downtown, but not in a parking lot 12 miles outside of town either. It was a 30 minute walk from my hotel, which I would have done, if I'd arrived early enough. There's a fair bit of on street parking and with the crowd being around 1,500 or so, traffic wasn't really an issue, even right before game time. The ambience was around average, of note an elderly lady wandered the park with a small megaphone, leading cheers twice during the game. It wasn't a baseball heavy experience, but on the other hand, it wasn't a three ring circus like some places. A man in my section attempted to explain the rules to two women from Sweden, to no avail. The concourse is very wide, which allows for a good flow of the crowd when the game ends, room for lines for food or drinks and even allows lots of room for wheelchairs.

The only real drawback I found were the large, thick posts used to hold up the screen. Most places are able to keep the obstructions to a minimum, but I found myself having a hard time seeing just what was going on. A move a few seats over around mid-game helped this out.

The concessions were above average, even though my Cheesesteak turned into a slice of Cheesecake. I guess that'll happen with a bigger selection. When it showed up, it was a hot dog bun, with a slice of white processed cheese and some ok steak. They did, however, have local beers on tap at a halfway decent price, which is a huge plus for me. I'm a bit of a beer snob and will usually only grab a local brew. They actually had a ton of staff on and while only so many seemed to be actively doing anything, the line moved steadily.

Billings itself is the "Metropolis" of Montana, checking in at around 115,000 people, it reminds me a fair bit of Regina, which makes a little sense. I would have liked to have gotten in in the mid-afternoon, to poke around a bit before the game.

Overall, I found Dehler to be somewhat generic, but at the same time, a little frugal. It looks like the City of Billings did their homework and built the ballpark they needed, as well as one they wanted too. There simply never was(at least to my knowledge)  a debate about building a new park vs. losing the team, as besides Billings being one of the better markets in Pioneer League territory, they've always had a good stadium to play in. It's is a little bland, but it's entirely appropriate field for Rookie level baseball, which is what Montana does best. Maybe in time, it can take on a bit more character, but for now, it's a strong 7/10.

Update 2016:  I have not been back for a 2nd game here. The Mustangs are still a Reds affiliate, one of the longest active affiliations in the minors, going back to the 1970s. Under the new ratings system, this place gets average scores for facility and atmosphere, with a token half point for the variety of food items available. I may end up back here this summer.

Linescore
2009-09-05
                                           123     456      789   R H E
Missoula Osprey(ARI)            000    600      000    6 6 0
Billings Mustangs(CIN)           120    000      100    4 10 0  
Temp: 84F  Time: 2:41 Att: 2,143