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

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

Tuscon Electric Park

Vacant

8/10

10,000 plus for the last D-Back home game at TEP.

This park was an excellent venue for spring training games.

This place was jammed.

I went to my one and likely only game at then Tucson Electric Park in 2010, during Spring Training. The Arizona Diamondbacks played their last game as a full-time tenant here against the Milwaukee Brewers. I dragged my stepfather out here, as he wanted to take me to the Pima County Air Museum and I shoehorned him into going to the game as well. I had to agree to leave early, but a deal was struck.

We arrived early enough, but got stuck in a large line to park, had to buy tickets(military buy 1, get one free, yay!) and got inside in the 2nd inning. Stayed for 5 innings, then left at the end of 7, to beat the crowd.

I thought from a baseball standpoint, the park was well laid out, concessions were good and not very expensive, but we only had some light fare(Ice Cream Sandwiches and perhaps some Beer). It's a relatively straightforward layout with a wraparound concourse, a decent view of some nearby mountains and a 2nd level with some shaded seating.

This stadium is a somewhat cautionary tale. The spring tenants left for Phoenix when that trend continued. The Sidewinders suffered from low attendance, because of Tucson's 100+ degree summers. The AAA Padres were clearly a temporary resident and struggled to draw over 2,500 in their three seasons here. Now, it hosts 4th tier soccer(sometimes) and two or three Cactus league games a season. This was strictly a location issue, as the park itself is new and at the time of its being yanked, was still better than at least 2 of the stadiums in the Phoenix area.

 Overall, this is still a relatively nice park, with the location being the main reason that someone isn't training here. The capacity crowd was a strain on everything, but it was still an enjoyable place to catch a game. Hopefully someone will move back in here soon, but with the Arizona summer being what it is, Spring Training is the only thing that seemed to work.


Update 2018:  I still have not been back here, but since my last review, another tenant has come and gone. The Pecos League put the Tucson Saguaros here and while the team played well, baseball in the summer heat of Tucson just didn't sell to anyone and with sparse crowds, the expense of playing here just wasn't justified. They will move to a city park with a capacity of around 1,000 for this year. The team only played here Thursday-Saturday, with Sunday home games in nearby Bisbee, although this year, Sundays will be in Winslow, 4.5 hours away.  The park is known as Kino Veteran's Stadium again, after the sponsorship deal with Tucson Electric expired.

Pima County, who own the facility, made a push at the end of 2017 to have the Milwaukee Brewers relocate their Spring Training here from Maryvale, after a possible new park in Gilbert, on the east end of Phoenix, fell through. This doesn't appear to have gotten any traction, as the Brewers are reportedly now negotiating a long term lease to stay in Maryvale, which I'm glad to hear about.

I would give this place a point for facility, if only barely, so it remains an 8.

Linescore:
                      123    456    789   RHE
Milwaukee       000    000    100   1XX
Arizona           104    100     21x  9XX

Temp: N/A  Time:  N/A   Att: 10,009 

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

Foothills Stadium

Vacant

No Rating

The ballpark is fenced off with motion sensitive cameras, so this was about as "inside" as I got.

This is through a chain link fence....

And my best one probably, you can see the melting snow on the ground.

 I took a walk around Foothills Stadium in March of 2016, when I was in Calgary overnight and it was right across the street from my hotel. This place hosted the PCL Calgary Cannons for many years and when I moved to Alberta in 2011, the North American League's Calgary Vipers were playing here. Famous Cannons such as Bret Boone and Alex Rodriguez played here. I casually looked at a few dates, but didn't go. Of course, the end of the 2011 season saw the end of the North American League and most of it's franchises in short order. The Vipers were controlled by what I call a "hobby owner" and unfortunately, he had gotten very sick and needed to step away, leaving the Vipers without really any chance of operating for the year. Calgary was out of the league by the end of September 2011, leaving the Edmonton Capitals a lot more vulnerable, without a travel partner 3 hours down the road.

This place is simply put, well past it's prime it's a mostly wood and metal ballpark with a very high outfield fence that when I visited, wasn't painted. All I can say is that this place has almost certainly seen it's last pro game, as it's not even the nicest park in the area anymore, as the summer league Okotoks Dawgs play in Seaman Stadium just a few miles south of the city limits, which from photographs is around Pioneer League calibre. Still, I would have liked to have gotten a game in here. It serves as a reminder to get to the vulnerable parks sooner rather than later.

PGE Park

Vacant

8/10

The exterior of the Stadium was one of the best features.Ivy, a old-fashioned neon sign and a schedule out front? Absolutely.

                                   

From the street, prior to the gates opening. You can see how much of PGE was in a hole.

         The giant, ivy colored wall and hand-operated scoreboard were unique touches.Was that giant bell for homeruns? I didn't see one, so I'm not sure.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Oregon minor league team leaves old-time ballpark for uncertain future(Eugene?).  I drove to Portland from Everett, not a very long drive at all and took in a game featuring the Portland Beavers, who were the San Diego AAA affiliate at the time and the Tacoma Rainiers. I stopped in the southern suburbs of Portland and drove all the way to San Francisco the next night.

This place is also a depression-era park, it’s a unique setup as it’s built on a slight hill, so the park is sunken below street level. The concourse isn’t usually a favourite of mine, but this one looks great, has good souvenir stands and lots of food options, definitely a plus. But, there must be progress. The Beavs’ summer roommates, the Portland Timbers soccer team moved into Major League Soccer in 2011. One of the caveats? No more turf and no more dirt. So the Beavers had to move. There was talk of going to Beaverton, Oregon, there was also a possible temporary home at the Clark County Fairgrounds in nearby Vancouver, Washington, across the Columbia.

Still, the Beavers' attendance at PGE(Now JeldWen Field) was terrible, as they drew under 7,000 for their home opener in 2010. I couldn't believe it was so poorly attended. “I’d hate to see Portland get their team taken away after fighting to get them back” was what I said when I reviewed the park in 2010 after a 2009 visit, but that’s exactly what happened. The team and city couldn’t settle on a new site for a stadium, and the Beavers were sold to a group that will have them play in Tucson for 2011, then Escondido(a suburb of San Diego) for 2012 in a new park. Such are the ups and downs of having a minor-league ballclub.

As of 2014, this team finally has a permanent home. The plan to build a park in suburban San Diego failed to gain support from local legislators, once their preferred method of financing was shut down by the state government, so, the Tucson Padres, as the Beavers became, ended up making a three year run from 2011-2013 before finally building a park in El Paso, TX and taking the name, the El Paso Chihuahuas.

The area around PGE was residential, I can’t think of too many others where’s that’s the case. Large condo buildings, a hotel and a gym(The Multnomah Athletic Club, which has a seating area overlooking the park) are in the neighbourhood, as is a stop for the MAX light rail, so if you’re set up to stay the night in Portland, take the train to the park. There is a decent looking sports bar in the basement of a condo building on Morrison Street. Parking was in a parkade across the street and was around 15 bucks, but there were so few people in the area that it was ok to get out.

It was quite empty, but it’s a nice park. There's so many unique quirks, the layout is pleasant and shows the results of some prudent renovations the last time the Beavers moved away. Don't even get me started about the feral cat colony for pest control(didn't see one). There is an electronic video board, but it’s small enough that it augments the nice hand operate scoreboard in left. The park being in the middle of the city is always a plus in my book, that’s where they belong. There are plenty of places to hang out before or after the ballgame. 

The only criticism of the park that I had was the relatively poor attendance, which is one of the reasons they left town, still everything else was top notch. It was a pretty place to watch a ballgame and is probably one of my top 5 parks period.

Update 2016: In the end, the Chihuahuas, as they're now known, got a shiny new ballpark in El Paso, Texas. PGE Park is now Jeld-Wen Field and home to Major League Soccer's Portland Timbers, who won the 2015 MLS Cup. There is a whole new stand across the former outfield, plus a grass field. Both the franchise and city seem better off without one another.

I have had to seriously revise the rating here though from a 10, down to an 8. While there's no doubt in my mind of PGE being a good ballpark, the atmosphere was lacking, as only 4,000 in a stadium like that seemed empty. The only other person in my section left very early. I also didn't eat here, my fault, but I don't give out the food point if I didn't. It's still too bad things didn't work out, but at least with Hillsboro's new park, there's an option for local fans.

Linescore:
2009-08-26
                                          123     456     789  10   RHE
Tacoma Rainiers(SEA)         000     001     000   1    250
Portland Beavers(SD)           001     000     000   0   160
Temp:81F   Time: 2:57  Att: 4,052

Telus Field

Vacant

6/10

The park actually has a relatively pleasant, redbrick exterior.

Then you get inside....with the turf infield and grass outfield. A sunny June afternoon saw the Edmonton Capitals play the Lake County Fielders.

                                

Here you can see the unusual configuration of the field, seats on top, suites on the bottom.

We went here for two games(I think in 1998 or 99) to watch the Edmonton Trappers play the Vancouver Canadians during Vancouver's final year in Triple A when we went on a Vacation to Edmonton. The Trappers were either an A's or Angel affiliate at the time. The field was a still unique to me with the combination of a grass outfield and a turf infield. Not too sure why. Attendance was higher the second game, because Chubby Checker had a post-game concert. That’s right, the King of the Twist, reduced to AAA post-game entertainment, plus fireworks.

Eventually, the Trappers moved away, after getting a few more years than Calgary, thanks to building this new park. They were replaced by an independent team in the Northern League, the Edmonton Cracker Cats. The 'Cats moved to the Golden League after 4 seasons and after one there, became the Capitals under new ownership. After two more seasons in the GBL, the Capitals took to the field with their new counterparts from the remnants of the Northern League and the United League for the North American League's first and subsequently only season.

I went back in 2011, with Edmonton now the closest park to my house. The Capitals were in the first month of the inaugural North American League season and playing the Lake County Fielders. The park is a very nice facility, with a brick façade and roomy concourse, it’s a legitimate minor-league park. They STILL had the turf infield with actual outfield which is a bit ugly. I would go back to see the Capitals play the Chico Outlaws, the Yuma Scorpions twice(even seeing an aged Jose Canseco whiff going for a homerun), the Calgary Vipers, then the Rio Grande Valley Whitewings for the NAL flag. That series was played entirely in Edmonton with the Whitewings having to borrow players from the San Angelo team they'd just knocked out. This was necessary because many of their Central American players were refused entry visas into Canada. 

Edmonton won in 5 games and never played again, as the entire league slowly withered away over the summer, leaving only just 4 teams lined up for the 2012 season. The Capital's owners, the group that owns the Edmonton Oilers hockey team, elected for a yearlong hiatus, to try and find a new league. As of 2016, that hiatus is ongoing, leading most to consider the team defunct. A big handicap is the lack of progress in Calgary, which most consider essential to having baseball here, as it allowed teams based in the US to rack up 8 or so games with one border crossing.
 
Telus Field hosted the Women's World Baseball Championships in 2012, which drew some large crowds for certain games, but has as the primary tenant, the Edmonton Prospects, a summer league team that averages a few hundred people, but boosts the totals with a few days they almost sell out. The Prospects have been relatively poor in the last few seasons, but have shown slight improvement. I went to a game in 2013, but didn't enjoy it and left early. Apparently the players only enjoyed it so much as towards the end of the 2013 season, the manager and numerous players walked off the team, in protest of how it was run. Their prime example? Not ponying up for a hotel in a city 4 hours away, leading to the team busing back and forth, some late nights and poor results. The team seems a little better run now and went from a .200 record to .450, partially because of bringing on the Capitals old manager. I might be convinced to go back this year.

The city of Edmonton, which owns the field was reportedly considering knocking it down in 2014, to redevelop the entire neighbourhood it's in. This idea got shut down, with the wood bat league continuing to operate.

Telus itself isn't too bad of a park, it was built in the mid 1990s with the hope of keeping the Trappers around, which sort of worked, they played 9 seasons there, before moving to Round Rock, Texas to become the Express. It's a nice looking park on the way in and on the concourse for sure. Concessions are straightforward, but what's there is good and lines are usually short. The atmosphere was quiet when the Capitals were there and for the Prospects, it's limited to friends and relatives most nights. The choice of having the suites on the bottom meant that the whole seating bowl got lifted up, so sight lines aren't as good as they could be. I would take a point off for the stadium because of this, plus the field consisting of a turf/dirt split with the turf looking rock hard. Atmosphere was a half point off as well.

I previously gave Edmonton a 6.5, but I've since bailed on half-points. Is it closer to a 6, or a 7? I'd say 6. It's built where the previous ballpark was, with parking being in a grassy field and not being within a walk of much besides the river valley, there isn't much to do in the area before or after a game. Location is the biggest knock in my opinion. Still, with Edmonton being my home for awhile, I certainly hope the Oil City can lure an Indy league team back soon, but I know I'm hoping for an awful lot.


Update 2016: 2016 brought a deal where the Prospects agreed to operate the park themselves for two years. The city itself seems to have accepted that professional baseball of any kind is no longer viable in Edmonton, largely because of it's location. I left the rating at a 6.

Linescores:

Notes: I cannot find all the games I went to. I had two AAA games here in the late 90's but not much more info. Just looking at the limited players I remember, I think the AAA games here may have been in 1998, or possibly earlier. I may have a program around the house somewhere, it will linger as an unsolved mystery on the blog.

2011-06-11
                                    123    456   789   R H E
Lake County Fielders     002   000   020    4 4 1  
Edmonton Capitals         020  121   02x    8 10 3
Temp: 19C  Time: 2:31  Att: 1,311

 2011-07-23
                                   123    456    789   RHE
Chico Outlaws              001   000     000  180
Edmonton Capitals        023   000     000  552
Temp: 15C   Time: 2:36  Att: 1,373

2011-08-12
                                    123    456   789    R H E
Yuma Scorpions             013   011   100    7 13 0
Edmonton Capitals         021   001  202     8 15 1
Temp: 23C  Time: 3:32  Att: 4,155

2011-08-16                      123    456   789    R H E
Yuma Scorpions             302   402    000    11 17 2
Edmonton Capitals        351   210    11x     14 19 0
Temp: 21C   Time: 3:30  Att: 1,736
Temperature is afternoon high, gametime temp not available

2011-08-25
                                    123    456   789    R H E
Calgary Vipers               100   000   102     4 8 0         
Edmonton Capitals         022    043   00x    11 15 0

Temp: 19c  Time: 2:46  Att: 3,932

2011-09-08
                                                      123    456   789    R H E
Rio Grande Valley Whitewings          000     010   000    1 7 1     
Edmonton Capitals                           101     130   10x   7 12 1
Temp: 29C    Time: 2:50  Att: 3,083

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: 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.

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

Cashman Field

Las Vegas 51s, Pacific Coast League

7/10

                  To say the exterior of the stadium is somewhat plain is a bit of an understatement.

The design of the park is very functional, and is somewhat similar to Camelback Ranch in the Cactus League.

The hometown 51s battled Tucson on a beautiful night.

I stopped in Las Vegas on my 2013 loop down to Phoenix. The way it worked out, the only park between Los Angeles and Phoenix, that gave me enough time to make an afternoon game in Phoenix the next day, that I hadn't seen, was this one. Despite the bad reviews, I headed out. I rolled into town on a Sunday night and after settling in at the Plaza Downtown, I headed over to the ballpark. The matchup saw the 51s, who had already clinched the division flag taking on the Tucson Padres, who were playing their 2nd last game ever, after a 3 year pit stop in Tucson, between being the Portland Beavers and becoming the El Paso Chihuahuas.

I arrived super early and as a result, got lots of photos. Concessions were not bad, mostly with standard ballpark fare, although there were many varieties of the Burgers/Chicken Burgers. Parking is ample, but apparently, can get crowded when other facilities in the same complex as the ballpark have events as well. The crowd on this night was around 3,000, which in a 9,000+ seat park, left a lot of wiggle room. After the previous night of being packed in at Dodger Stadium, it was a welcome change.

Baseball in Las Vegas has always been a bit of a tough sell, as not too many places have more entertainment options on any given night. Some tourists do wander off the Strip and out of Downtown to catch a game, but it seems like a more local crowd. Besides the team heading to the playoffs(and a subsequent first round exit), the chatter around the ballpark was about a proposed replacement to Cashman, to be built in Summerlin, a wealthier planned suburb of around 100 thousand people, to the northwest of downtown. Ownership and the PCL commissioners office both support the move, while the mayor of Las Vegas favours a redeveloped Cashman instead. The 51s apparently have a 10 year lease, but can escape with 2 years notice. With the lack of any real proposed MLB stadiums, the Vegas ballpark saga could be one of the more interesting ones in the near future.

As for Cashman, after reading largely mediocre, or negative reviews, I found it was right around a 7, which is my average rating. The exterior is bland, the interior has a sleek, southwestern look to it. Food options are simple but with good variety and for the average ballpark crowd, parking is more than adequate. The location just north of downtown is good for luring tourists, although the neighbourhood leaves something to be desired. I wouldn't go out of my way to go back, but I wouldn't mind either.

Update 2016: As alluded to earlier, the Tucson Padres moved east to El Paso after the season, though they did have to play a handful more games in Tucson as the El Paso Chihuahuas as the park in El Paso wasn't done on time. As for a new park in Las Vegas, there hasn't been a whole lot of progress other than the city making it clear they will not help fund the proposed new park in the Summerlin area and are planning on redeveloping Cashman Center, with or without a renovated Cashman Stadium. So if nothing else, the lines in the sand have been drawn, but not much officially in the 2.5 years since I went here. Maybe next update?

Linescore
2013-09-01
                                     123     456    789   RHE
Tucson Padres(SD)         010    001    001   380
Las Vegas 51s(NYM)       000    100    100   291
Temp:91F    Time: 2:38   Att: 3,464  

Aces Ballpark

Aces Ballpark

Reno Aces, Pacific Coast League

6/10

                                    The famous "Reno" sign, next to the closed Fitzgerald's Casino

The interior of the park has a bit of a southwest feel.

                                          On the whole, it has a very clean, but sterile feel.

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.

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