Cheney Stadium

Tacoma Rainiers, Pacific Coast League

7/10

       2013: The façade is totally redone. From the outside, it doesn't even look like the same place.

                                      

2007: The relatively more modest exterior of Cheney.

                                    

2007: The outfield wall is wooden, with large ads, the scoreboard is a simple electronic line score with a message board. They moved this thing out to right field.

 2013: The outfield wall is completely transformed.  There is an LED messageboard over the power alley, plus a full colour video screen.

                                       

2013: This is the biggest change by far.The two story plus building featuring the "Suites and Clubs" as per the exterior signage.

  2007: While not the greatest shot, this gives a bit of an impression as to the way the grandstand used to be laid out.

I have been looking forward to writing this one. I have been to Cheney Stadium twice, once in 2007  and a second time in 2013, after the park had undergone extensive renovations.

I went to Cheney Stadium for a midweek game against the Portland Beavers in 2007, after seeing the Mariners play the Red Sox the previous two nights. I went again in 2013, making it my first stop after a visit to my hometown of Victoria and saw the Rainiers play the Salt Lake Bees.

In 2007, I wasn't doing ballparking trips or anything quite like it, so I wasn't "reviewing" it per se. The stadium appeared to be a largely average minor league ballpark and reminded me a bit of Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver, as that's about all I had to compare it to. The atmosphere was low key, as the Mariners were at home to the Yankees that night as well. The main quirk was Rhubarb the Reindeer(get it?) the mascot, who apparently had a background in ballet, and challenged an "umpire" to a dance off. Cheney Stadium in 2007 simply came across as a decent place to watch some pretty high level baseball for not much money and that was fine with me.

In 2013, I returned, eager to see what the renovations had turned Cheney into. It is a much different place. Firstly, the park's grandstand is larger, with a building of suites at the back that was two stories tall. Secondly, and this is a big plus for me, the concessions were of Major League quality, with me enjoying a bread bowl of Ivar's clam chowder.(Ivar's is outstanding fast seafood, track one down if you're in Seattle).

On the whole, while the park likely did need renovations and the lease will keep the Rainiers in the park until 2041, I found the post-renovations atmosphere to be a little more obnoxious. The team is clearly gravitating towards the trend of having AAA teams in wealthier suburbs, as opposed to mid-sized cities and with all the amenities that weren't there before are definitely targeting suburban families with disposable income, as opposed to putting on a good baseball product and hoping for a good crowd. Fans have apparently let out a collective yawn, as the team's attendance is virtually unchanged from before, 2nd last in the PCL, ahead of only the temporary Tucson franchise. Still, the renovations headed off any talk of a move, as opposed to letting things drag out. I gave the park a 7 in 2007 saying it was average and would also give it a 7 in 2013, with the plus of great concessions cancelling out the negative of a somewhat obnoxious atmosphere.

Update 2016: I disagreed with my own review until the end. 7/10 is still applicable. There have been only a few minor changes here. Firstly, the Rainiers finally abandoned the Mariner colour scheme and have reverted to red and white, which is more consistent with the old Seattle Rainier uniform. Secondly, the team has made modest (like a few hundred) gains in attendance. Probably won't be back here anytime soon, unless I have no other option.

Update 2026: I haven't been back here yet. But next trip south it could easily factor in. The Rainiers, as a condition of the massive renovation are locked in here until 2041. The natural affiliate is Seattle, so it looks like the status quo here for a long time to come. 

Linescores 
2007-06-27
                                        123   456   789    R H E
Portland Beavers(SD)         007   000   000    7 12 1
Tacoma Rainiers(SEA)       000   200   001    3  7  1
Temp: 72F  Time: 2:37  Att: 4,144



2013-08-28
                                        123     456    789  10  11 12  13  R H E
Salt Lake Bees(LAA)         002     030    100   0   0   0    2    8 12 1
Tacoma Rainiers(SEA)       004    101    000    0   0   0    0    6 13 2
Temp: 77F  Time: 5:07  Att: 6,218

Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, International League

8/10

The design of the exterior of the park, as well as the name "Baseball Grounds" gives this particular ballpark a retro feel.

A sparse crowd enjoys the break between rain-shortened games.

               EverBank Field and the Commodore Point Expressway dominate the right field skyline.

I stopped in Jacksonville on a weekday afternoon, to catch a getaway game featuring the Jacksonville Suns , the AA affiliate of the Miami Marlins and the Tennessee Smokies. The park is part of a plan to revitalize Jacksonville with brand new everything. It has a brick façade and backstop and even the name “Baseball Grounds” is a tribute to old time baseball. The park is a good example of a smaller retro style. The park holds 11,000 and features both infield and outfield seating. My ticket was 25 dollars and in the front row(I’m not a fan of the front and moved to the back). The park has a small video scoreboard in left field, which displays the usual animations and player photos during the game.

The baseball grounds are located near the shores of the St. Johns River, across a parking lot from Everbank Field, home of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and up the street from Jacksonville’s Arena in a Sports district. There’s not much else in the immediate area otherwise, downtown is a short drive away and has a little more in the way of activities. Parking was across the street in the arena parkade for 5 dollars. The game I went to was lightly attended, so in and out was easy.

The game was sparsely attended, due to impending heavy rain throughout Florida, the hometown Suns and Tennessee Smokies made up the previous nights game before playing a 7 inning game at the scheduled start time. I was unaware of the situation coming in. Only about 500 people were in the stands for game 2, despite an announced(they didn’t announce it at the park, because of how off it was) of around 2,700 people for game 2. A good number of kids day camps were there and did most of the cheering, as besides them, there were roughly 100 in the stands.

The concessions were mostly closed with the front office staff manning the one that was open. Lines got long and selection was somewhat limited to burgers, sausages, dogs and snacks. Price for a regular/medium pop and a sausage was 8.50.  There were some specialty stands open, but a lot weren’t.

Jacksonville is a city of over 1 million Metro at the crossroads of I-95 and the eastern end of I-10. The city is also home to the NFL’s Jaguars and sees a great deal of other events. It looked in the quick glance I got to be a nice place and I would definitely go back, given the chance. The mascot is a dog named Southpaw, who, because of low attendance, gave himself the day off.

Assuming the low attendance and lack of atmosphere, plus the poor selection at the concessions are all unique to the game I went to(which is being nice), the park itself is very good, with a bit of a retro feel. Parking is close and cheap and the level of competition for AA is a cut above the low minors for sure. I wouldn't mind going back for a better attended game, as I'll likely get a better impression.

Update 2016: Rescoring this one initially, I thought it would drop to a 7, but in actual fact, the park itself is well designed and worthy of an extra point. I'll still hopefully get back here soon, possibly even this summer.

Update 2026: There have been a few notable changes here since my last visit, or the last update. Firstly, the team has sold naming rights, which means this is now VyStar Park. Secondly, the team rebranded as the "Jumbo Shrimp". Third and probably most importantly, during the minor league reorganization of 2021, Jacksonville promoted into the Triple A International League. The market and park have both been adequate for a time, but the timing ended up being just right for Jacksonville to make their jump. This one's due for another visit. Right at the intersection of Interstates 10 and 95, it's on the way to many other cities, so it could happen.

Linescore

2012-06-25

                                             123  456  7   RHE

Tennessee Smokies(CHC)   000  300 0    3 5 0

Jacksonville Suns(MIA)        000  127  x   10 9 0

Temp: 87F  Time: 2:00  Att: 2,247

Note: Game 2 of a "minor league" doubleheader

Blue Wahoos 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 tired to look it up when I got back and still got it wrong). 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.

Update 2026: So the name is "Blue Wahoos Park", instead of "Pensacola Bayfront Stadium". I'm beyond shocked that there's been no corporate sponsor, but with the facility being community owned, they may not need one. The Blue Wahoos still appear to be a good draw. The ended their Reds affiliation, and after a few years with Minnesota, have ended up with Miami, meaning the Marlins' top two affiliates are also both in Florida. I wouldn't mind coming here again, but being on almost the complete opposite corner of the continent now, it may be awhile.

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

Aces Ballpark

Aces Ballpark

Reno Aces, Pacific Coast League

7/10

            The crowd files in for a game in July 2019. I got way better pictures the second time.

Pretty much perfect weather for a game.

                                The casinos loom in the background over a close to full stadium.

So, I am randomly drawing parks until I catch up. Reno was my 2nd last park on my 2009 loop from my hometown of Victoria, to LA and back. I decided to take the long way back(it wasn't that much longer actually) and take in the then brand-new park in somewhat-small-for-AAA Reno. That year, a group of investors bought the attendance-starved Tucson Sidwinders and moved them to Reno, to play in their brand new park, right in downtown. The stadium is part of the "Freight House District" development, which will have the park and numerous restaurants and such right downtown in an effort to revitalize what in 2009, was a city that appeared to be somewhat unhealthy. This meant that the park was only a five block walk from the Sands Regency, where I scored a room on Hotwire for something like 27 dollars.

The game itself saw the hometown Reno Aces battle their closest PCL opponent, the Sacramento River Cats. A slugging first baseman named Tommy Everidge(who I would see again the next spring in Phoenix) crushed two homeruns, much to the delight of the River Cat "team mom"(that's what her jersey said), who made the trip from Sac-Town. An Aces run would see these poles of strobe lights in right field go off, which got somewhat old.

The park itself was just a little too generic to be enjoyed. It's clean, well laid out and sightlines are great. But it's really just another bland minor-league park, which seems to be more of the rule than the exception with the parks opened in the last 10 years or so. The atmosphere involved the strobe-lights, a baseball that inflates over the batter's eye to "sing" Take Me Out To The Ballgame and believe a ton of sound effects. The food was about average, though I don't remember much about it. Overall, just a very non-descript place to watch a game.

Update 2016: Even under the new ratings, which are a little more forgiving, I still give this place a 6/10, deducting one point for atmosphere. Don't think I'll be back this season either. The Aces are drawing just under 5,400 people a game, with is good for 11th of 16 in the PCL. This is till around a thousand more than they drew in Tucson.

Update 2026: I went back to this one! This was as far south as I made it on my 4 stop post Canada day loop in 2019. In my nearly 10 years between visits, lots had changed. First of all, the park was totally finished. the renderings of the fancy side entrance had come to pass. The park now had a naming sponsor and was now Greater Nevada Field, a local credit union. I also had dozens more parks under my belt, so a lot more perspective. This is an entirely adequate, average, Triple-A park. The atmosphere was actually a lot more standard this time, with the crowd pretty into a back and forth game that ended with a walk off homerun for Reno. I can't tell you a thing about the food. I'm going to upgrade this one to a 7. I'd go back if it worked out schedule wise. Being between two other PCL cities on I-80, it just might.

 

Linescore
 2009-09-01
                                                       123  456  789  RHE
Sacramento River Cats(OAK)             010  101  210  6 8 3
Reno Aces (ARI)                               052  100  00x  8 11 1
Temp:N/A Time 3:13  Att: 5,504

2019-07-05

                                                     123 456 789  R  H  E

Sacramento River Cats(SF)         011 101 302   9  17  1

Reno Aces(ARI)                           201 011 312   10 13  0 

Temp: 84F Time: 3:09 Att: 6,612

Principal Park

 Iowa Cubs, International League

7/10

The crowd files in through a side gate. The gate behind home plate wasn't being used.

The park is still relatively empty with the Des Moines skyline visible over the third base side.

The field is prepared with the Iowa state capitol visible to the right of the batter's eye.

Bonus Shot: Had to get at least one photo of baseball being played. You can see the capitol lit up in the background.

I trundled into Des Moines, Iowa's largest city and state capital coming off a game the night before in Kansas City. The very hot, humid weather followed me. The Cubs had a Saturday night home game against the St. Paul Saints, who since I'd seen them around 6 years prior, had moved into the affiliated ranks, becoming the Minnesota Twins AAA affiliate.

This park opened in the early 1990s and is yet another Populous design. The Cubs have had the affiliation since before it was built. It's located in the heart of Des Moines, at the intersection of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers. There is a front and back tier of seats, with an aisle between them, plus the concourse under the seats. It looks something like a bigger version of the several 5,000 seat Populous parks I'd been to before. There are some outfield seats, in metal bleachers in right, or a club in left, plus numerous suites. It was a somewhat smaller crowd for a Saturday night, a little over half full. The atmosphere was very standard for Triple A.

I ended up driving after the game, so did not take a ton of notes. Concession was not remarkable either way. This was likely a very top of the line park when it opened, but now it's pretty average. Still, I'm glad I got this one in. 7/10.

Linescore

2025-06-07

                                   123   456  789  RHE

St. Paul Saints(MIN)  100   031   010  660

Iowa Cubs(CHC)        000  101   010  362 

Time: 2:52  Temp: 89F  Att: 6,508 

Werner Park

Omaha Storm Chasers, International League

8/10

Entrance is from the third base side, so this is about the fanciest one there is.

The field is prepped for a midweek game against Scranton.

Looking in from right center field.

I rolled into the Omaha area after having seen a game in Sioux Falls the night before. This is the latest home of Kansas City's top farm club, after they moved out of Omaha itself after the iconic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium closed in 2010. The then Omaha Royals were never totally satisfied in a ballpark built for the College World Series, so when a replacement for Rosenblatt was constructed, the Royals set out on their own, eventually building in suburban Sarpy County.

I ended up staying about 15 minutes away and driving in. The ballpark is eventually going to be at the centre of a fair bit of development, but it largely isn't done yet. Parking was not too far away, and only cost 5 dollars, which is a bit of a rarity these days. The ballpark is substantially nicer than I would have expected and compares well to a Major League spring training venue, particularly Camelback Ranch . It features a wrap around concourse with large berms. I enjoyed the park itself and would give it a plus.

The atmosphere was not quite as good however. I caught this place on a Thursday night and it was relatively empty. Without a decent number of Yankee fans cheering for their farmhands, the crowd would have been a lot smaller.  At the time, I noted a lot of sound effects, which I'm not usually a fan of. I would take off a half point.

Food was pretty standard for this level, with BBQ and Pizza as the standout options. I had a pretty decent pizza, payments were with card only. On the whole, a pretty impressive facility gives this an 8/10 overall.

Linescore

2022-08-25

                                                                       123    456  789  R H E

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders(NYY)        220    001  003  8 12 2

Omaha Storm Chasers(KC)                           000    312  100  7 10 0
Time: 3:00 Temp: 87F  Att: 4,315

Raley Field

Sacramento River Cats, Pacific Coast League

7/10

It does have a decent facade though....

Opening night in 2019 versus Tacoma.

A better camera meant a much clearer shot across the field in 2019.

Firstly, indulge me,this is another ballpark that seemingly everyone likes, BUT me. It will be added to the growing list of candidates for "California Retreads" a journey of redemption starring low rated parks in Fresno, Visalia and Rancho Cucamonga. That could even come to fruition this summer. At any rate...

We rolled into town on a Saturday night after I had spent the day as designated driver for my ladyfriend, who took in some wine tasting in the Napa Valley and apparently, so did everyone else. Fireworks night saw the ballpark at 1,500 over capacity as just under 16,000 took in the Rivercats, then an Oakland affiliate, take on Oklahoma City, who were then with Houston.

This ballpark is considered relatively successful, in the early 2000s, the Vancouver Canadians, the last of three Canadian teams in the PCL, moved south, to bring the league back to a market it has even more history in, Sacramento. Attendance is usually the best in the entire league as Sacramento is such a sports town, having gone to great length to save the NBA Kings a few years ago.

Still, I really didn't like this park for a few reasons. Firstly, the large crowd made parking a bit of a chore, plus lines for everything, including food, were awful. Lines for everything stretched to at least 20 people, which made getting something to eat difficult. The "gentleman" sitting next to me insisted on throwing peanuts with someone in his group, when I asked them to be careful, this was apparently  an invitation to be a knob for the rest of the game. Still, that could have happened anywhere. The team was wearing R2-D2 themed Star Wars jerseys, plus it was fireworks night. This led to the atmosphere having little to nothing to do with the game, which was frustrating.

The only thing that wasn't a minus about this one was the park itself, which seemed quite serviceable and had a relatively decent layout, the concourse was quite wide and it has a nice entrance and decent seats/sightlines.

Still, an issue with food service and a pretty awful atmosphere hurt the score badly. I think I caught it on a bad night and as of right now, I'm headed back next month to take in a pre-season tuneup between the Rivercats and Giants. I can't imagine the score staying so low.

Update 2023: The preseason game against the Giants sold out in no time, but I did make it back here later. Five years after my first visist, in 2019, we were on our spring roadtrip and it just so happened that we'd be in town for opening night. We went over there and after being given other people's tickets in addition to our own, then giving the other tickets back, we headed inside to watch the River Cats, now affiliated with San Francisco, take on the Tacoma Rainiers. This was the first game, of the first year of metal detectors in the high minors, so ingress was a bit slow, but with a crowd literally half the size of my first trip here(which was actually over capacity), there was room to spread out. 

Firstly, the park really presented as the jewel it is. It's a large, modern facility with a decent backdrop of the "Ziggurat" and the Tower Bridge. It was easily a cut above other parks at this level in the past, but now, with a few more newer ones visited, it's right about the standard. The food was not too bad, but somewhat expensive if memory serves. The atmosphere was not bad for the very first day, it was a little annoying, but nothing close to my previous trip here. On the whole, I'd probably give a half point for facility, which would still bump this place up to a 7. I'm glad I got back here to see it again in the end.

For 2020, this place took on a different sponsor and is now known as "Sutter Health Park".

Linescores

2014-08-16                                      123   456   789   R H E

Oklahoma City RedHawks(HOU)    110  000   005  7 11 0

Sacramento River Cats(OAK)          200  000   000   2 3 1 

Time: 2:57 Temp: 89F Att: 15,618

2019-04-04                             123   456   789  10  11   R H E

Tacoma Rainiers(SEA)           000   200   010   0    1     4 10 1

Sacramento River Cats(SF)    000  001   002   0    2     5 13 0

Time: 4:00 Temp: 62F  Att: 8,820

Bricktown Ballpark

Oklahoma City Dodgers, Pacific Coast League

8/10

Statues of Oklahomans Johnny Bench and Mickey Mantle(not shown)  are located outside of the ballpark.

A modest mid-week crowd takes in Oklahoma City vs. Sacramento.

All in all, a pleasant evening for baseball.

I rolled into OKC for the first time in June 2015, having driven down from Kansas City that day, making a brief pit stop in Wichita, to see Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, home of the National Baseball Congress. I've known about this place for awhile, since it hosted the AAA championship game for a few years and consistently gets mentioned in various lists of "best ballpark".

As the name implies, the park is located in the Bricktown area of Oklahoma City, only a few blocks away from the home of the NBA's Thunder. The park features a decent redbrick façade (who isn't doing brick these days?) and some statues of Oklahoman baseball legends including Johnny Bench and Mickey Mantle. I caught a game featuring the newly minted San Francisco affiliate Sacramento and the equally new Oklahoma City Dodgers, who were in their first year with that affiliation and were playing it up quite a bit. Everything from ballpark signage to the uniforms to a recording of Vin Scully welcoming everyone to "Dodgertown". It was prominent, but avoided being over the top. However, the night did suffer from the curse of the midweek home game as a "good for a Wednesday" kind of crowd showed. Most of the time I seem to hit the PCL parks when no one is home. Oh well.

The plus from my perspective was the concessions, which featured a variety of options including my choice, the Chicken Fried Steak sandwich, which I did have to wait for, but being as I arrived well before game time, this wasn't so bad. I don't remember any other choices, but do remember having to think for a bit before getting in line, which usually means only good things.

Overall, a nice park that was a little empty and a little quiet when I attended, but above average food options.

Update 2022: Looking back at the box score, both Corey Seager and Austin Barnes were in the OKC lineup that day. I still haven't made it back down here. It was an option for a potential Texas trip, but I ended up choosing a Midwestern swing instead. When I do finally go that way, this will be a strong favourite for a stop going down or up. 

Linescore

2015-06-03

                                                    123  456   789   R H E

Sacramento River Cats(SF)        100   120  003  7 11 0
Oklahoma City Dodgers(LAD)     000   000   003  3 9 0

Time: 2:21 Temp: 86F Att: 4,082

Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium

San Antonio Missions, Texas League

8/10

The front door is actually the pass gate. The peons can enter on either base side.

The finishing touches on the field, post batting practice.

The crowd enjoys things from the upper aisle.

I rolled into San Antonio late one June evening,on the last night of my June 2015 trip after driving down most of Texas from Oklahoma City. I accepted a 3 hour drive after the game to catch one more park prior to flying home and I'm glad I did. Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium(or "The Wolff") for short, has been San Antonio's home for baseball since 1994. I would have pegged it as a late 80's park based on it's design, but was a little off. It's a little bit of a quirky design, but I liked it. There's your box seat sections, then loges behind an aisle, but there's an upper aisle behind that, which I really liked. There are also your run of the mill luxury boxes and some metal seats further back and further out. The park is on the edge of town, with an off ramp from a freeway almost directly into the lot. It was a cloudy night, but a few large planes could be heard taking off from the nearby Air Force base.

Concessions here were about average, there were lots of specialty kind of options, but they were made to order, which would have meant a wait of 10-15 minutes, which is a little much. I ended up with an average hot dog and drink.

The big thing that saves this from from being just another ballpark is the atmosphere. People want to come out and watch. The game featured the hometown San Antonio Missions, longtime AA affiliate of the San Diego Padres, against the Arkansas Travellers, who are tied up with the Angels at the moment. A Travs batter grounded out to Shortstop and decided against even moving towards first base, at which point, some random voice seated in the loge behind me yelled "There's little kids here! Run it out!" There were some promos and stuff, but on the whole, it's an enjoyable place to take in a game. I'll head back for sure and with a Texas trip towards the top of my list, it could be soon.

Update 2021: This place had a few interesting years since the last post. In 2019, the Colorado Springs franchise in the PCL moved here and the AA team moved to Amarillo. But, San Antonio's time in Triple A was limited to just the 2019 season, as 2020 saw the MiLB season cancelled outright and 2021 saw minor league contraction. The end result was San Diego selecting this park for it's AA team. I didn't write this at the time, but it did feel like there could have been Triple A here when I saw it. I'm sure the locals enjoyed their one year.

Linescore

                                                 123   456   789   R H E

Arkansas Travelers (LAA)        010  022   000   5  10 1

San Antonio Missons(SD)         012 300   30x   9  10  1

Temp: 88F Time: 2:58 Att: 4,749

Isotopes Park

Albuquerque Isotopes (Pacific Coast League)

10/10

The crowds file in for a Saturday Night Fireworks game v. Colorado Springs.

A very nice night was the scene for this PCL matchup. Check out the small hill way out there in Center Field.

The seating bowl has only just begun to fill up, as most people are still coming in, or waiting for food.

I first rolled into Albuquerque in 2015, after a long drive from the Salt Lake City area, having seen a game in Ogden the night before. This place opened in 2003, after the old Albuquerque Sports Stadium was knocked down after the PCL's Albuquerque Dukes moved north to Portland. This park sprung up and the Calgary Cannons moved here to become the Albuquerque Isotopes, as a homage to The Simpsons, when the hometown Springfield Isotopes threaten a move to Albuquerque.

The park is located on an intersection with features the University of New Mexico's Football stadium on one corner and their basketball arena "The Pit" (which features the name of local pizza chain)across the street. You can park in the University's lot for 5 dollars, which is what most people seemed to do. It's built in a southwestern sort of style, with lots of different colours on the exterior. There is a large lower bowl, with a fair number of club seats and a large berm. There is an elevated portion in the very deep center field, with goes to 428 feet. I thought this was a unique design, with the larger than average field owing its existence to the hot, dry climate for baseball here. There is a large upper deck that wouldn't be out of place as the middle level at a major league game, as far as design goes.

The concessions are pretty impressive, with lots of southwestern dishes that I couldn't get anywhere near. Green chiles and beans were in everything I think. I settled on the hot dog cart, as it was slightly less crazy. My neighbours had a donut about the size of a small pizza, which was modelled after the stereotypical Simpsons donut. There seemed to be a good mix of southwestern and baseball favourites and the lines were very long, which given the game not selling out, I took as a sign of quality.

The atmosphere here was incredible as well. A close game saw the Isotopes lose the lead in the later innings, only to come back and get a few hits out of the bottom 3 of their order, with the winner being driven into the left field gap to bring in 2 runs. The crowd went home happy, or those that left when I did, as it was fireworks night. The park has numerous tie ins with The Simpsons, including the aforementioned donut, as well as large decals of characters from the show on doors around the stadium and some life sized statues of them for people to have their picture taken with.

Overall, the facility, concessions and atmosphere here are amazing and I rate it all very highly. The only thing I'm not sure about is when I'll be back, as it's not on the way to anything I plan on doing for awhile, hopefully, it isn't too long.

Update 2021: I still really enjoyed my game here, hard to beleive it was over 5 years ago. Albuquerque was a shoo-in to survive the reduction in minor league teams, as this place is still amazing. They're still affiliated with Colorado. The prospect who hit the game winner? Trevor Story, who went 2 for 5 and would make the Rockies out of Spring Training the following year. The only reason I haven't been here since is that it's not on the way to much else, but with a trip to Texas being my main baseball priority in '21 or '22, Isotopes Park might make it onto the list. 

I will adjust the league on the post and the label, once the minor leagues receive their new names.

Linescore

2015-08-29          

                                          123    456   789  R H E

Colorado Springs(MIL)      010   010    030  5 8 1

Albuquerque(COL)            100   111    002  6 11 2

Temp: 84F  Time: 2:43  Att: 14,299  

Chukchansi Park

Fresno Grizzlies, Pacific Coast League

7/10

The front entrance to the park after the game.

The small crowd didn't do the park justice.

Another small crowd watches Fresno play a getaway game against Reno.

We went to Fresno in the midst of our 2014 loop of the Western States. It was our first 2 week roadie together, which meant less parks overall, but it worth it. This meant we were coming from a baseball-free night in Las Vegas the night before, headed into Fresno to watch the Grizzlies, the San Francisco AAA team at the time, take on the Oklahoma City RedHawks, who were Houston's.

It was a Wednesday night, which saw a sparse crowd, officially in the area of 3,000. Considering they would draw 10,000 for the game on Saturday, the park was very slow, the seating bowl was nearly deserted. The park is located in downtown Fresno, which is a little shady, with not much else even open after the game.

I caught this park on a bad night. Without many people, it just appeared slow, even though this wasn't an average crowd. The food wasn't particularly memorable and the facility itself looked to be maybe a little above average for the PCL. They were advertising the upcoming "Taco Throwdown" where local taco trucks would park in the left field corner, with a winner being crowned before the end of the game. The product on the field was good, with a late inning comeback by Fresno fought off by the RedHawks. I plan to swing back through here as part of a "California Retreads" roadtrip, to give some misinterpreted California ballparks(I'm up to 4) a second chance. Until then, this one's markedly average.


Update 2015: The Grizzlies got caught up in the massive affiliation shuffle in the PCL and are now the AAA stop for the Houston Astros.

Update 2019: Fresno is now the affiliate for the Washington Nationals, starting this season. I made it back in 2016 for a getaway game against Reno. The noon start time meant this crowd was possibly even smaller than the first time. I remember Socrates Brito,  A Diamondback prospect who eventually had a cup of coffee with the Blue Jays having a good day and the box score confirms that my memory is correct. I will have to go out of my way to go here a third time on a night where people might actually be present. Until then, this one is still a 7.



Linescores: 
2014-08-13
                                                          123   456    789   RHE
Oklahoma City RedHawks(HOU)                                     4
 Fresno Grizzlies(SF)                                                     3

The boxscore on MiLB.com no longer loads and I wasn't able to find an alternative. I'll dig more next time.

2016-05-05
                                            123   456    789   RHE
Reno Aces(ARI)                     000   120    000   390
Fresno Grizzlies(HOU)             000    000   101   271
Temp: 63F Time: 2:59 Att: 2,830

First Tennessee Park

Nashville Sounds, Pacific Coast League

9/10

The facade is NOT redbrick, but instead, glass and polished metal.

The park has a great view of the Nashville skyline, plus an LED board in the shape of the old guitar scoreboard.

The park is slowly over capacity on a good night.

I made a long drive from just outside Beloit, to head down to Nashville, for this game against Omaha. Nashville is an old American Association city that moved to the Pacific Coast League. This is a new park as of 2015, built on the site of the old Nashville ballpark, Sulphur Dell. It has two tiers and a wide, wrap around concourse. The atmosphere is a little more consistent with a lower level of baseball, while the park itself presents something a little more "big league".

The concessions are major league calibre in my opinion. I had the Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich, which I liked quite a bit. Overall, I'd give this place a point for food and facility and a half point for the atmosphere. The other noteworthy detail was the city of Nashville, I ended up seeing the area around the ballpark, part of downtown and ended up staying out by the Vanderbilt University campus and was pretty impressed. I ended up back there the following March for a Predators game and have it on the list to visit with the wife soon enough. 

Update 2019: I've finally gotten a review for this one up. This year, the Sounds will be affiliated with the Texas Rangers. 

Linescore
2017-05-25
                                                123    456   789   RHE
Omaha Storm Chasers(KC)         010    230  002   890
Nashville Sounds(OAK)               010    001  200   482
Temp: 74F  Time: 2:52 Att: 10,442

Smith's Ballpark

Salt Lake Bees, Pacific Coast League

8/10

 The crowed queues outside for a Monday night game versus El Paso.

Pre-game festivities well underway for the Bees/Chihuahuas

 The scenery of this ballpark is tough to beat.

After we left our seats to wander. About 60% of the crowd stayed until the end.

We rolled through here in the summer of 2014, having seen a game in Great Falls the previous afternoon and headed for a baseball-free evening in Las Vegas the next night. I had Salt Lake in mind for awhile, I'd heard nothing bad about it and the scenery was supposed to be amongst the best anywhere.

It was a Monday night match up seeing the hometown Bees lined up against the El Paso Chihuahuas. Monday is without question, the hardest sell for attendance, and like a lot of other clubs, Salt Lake go for the family crowd, which they got plenty of. We sat upper deck, first base side and the adult to child ratio was pretty low. I remember the concessions as nothing spectacular, but on second thought, there were a lot of unique choices. Atmosphere was alright, I vaguely remember some on field promotions/contests and the fans weren't terribly into the game, but did recognize good plays. We ended up sitting next to a guy in a Nashville Sounds jersey, who as it turned out, was on a similar trip, only with no Major League games....since 1994's strike. Some people have even better memories than me I suppose.

The best thing about Smith's Ballpark is actually the park itself, which is rare. The location is one plus. While there isn't anything too memorable right next to the park, there is a lot between the park and downtown. Light rail stops right next the ballpark and parking appeared to be easy enough. We walked about half an hour from downtown to the game after driving a good distance that day and besides the fact that it's around 35 Celsius in Utah in the summer, it wasn't bad at all.  I would gladly go to another game here and would recommend it.

Update 2017: We went back here again in 2015 for what ended up being a 7 inning game as part of a single admission doubleheader against Las Vegas. The ballpark is great, but this time, the atmosphere began to drag things down a little. It's par for the course that most people are quite casual about going to a game in this day and age, but the crowd at this game bordered on oblivious. A woman walked into our row and proceeded to stand there for about 40 minutes, talking to a friend she had run into. It had been kind of an inkling before but it seemed to cement that this is clearly a place to hang around first for some.

I really like this park, the food is average, but the atmosphere is non-existent, people don't care about the game at all. It's not bad enough to take off a point, but I did consider it. Salt Lake is an area I swing through usually at least once a year, but I'd prefer giving Ogden another look before coming back here.

Linescores
2014-08-11
                                           123  456  789  R H E
El Paso Chihuahuas (SD)       002   010  202  7 9 1
Salt Lake Bees (LAA)            322   001  00X   8 10 1
Temp: 94F  Time: 3:02  Att: 10,817  


2015-08-08
                                           123  456  7  RHE
Las Vegas 51s (NYM)           112   000  0  490
Salt Lake Bees (LAA)            001  000 0  140
Temp: 77F  Time: 2:32  Att: 11,176