Arlington Stadium Architect: 'you know what we need? 20,000 metal bleacher seats under the sun with no shade for our fans to enjoy 110 degree Texas summer days'🥵
And then they built The Ballpark in Arlington and said, "Let's use metal score signs and store them under the sun so the guys that hang the scores can get 3rd degree burns! Oh and and top of that, let's keep this stadium open to the elements during the middle of the hottest part of the year!" At least they let us take in coolers for a while. I moved to Houston in 2020, so I haven't been to the new stadium. However, I have always loved Minute Maid Park and would make trips from Dallas to Houston to watch The Strangers play the DisAstros there.
@IgoByaGo the Ballpark at Arlington was beautiful though. Probably top 5 aesthetic design. Just too damn hot. Only stadium I've been to where people move up instead of down for better seats
In defense of Olympic Stadium, I went there in 2000 to catch a game and cross another stadium off my list. What it lacked in aesthetic charm was more than made up for in the cultural flare and vibe that it exuded. Taking in a Major League Baseball game while seeing and hearing the announcements in French, enjoying local favorites such as poutine and Labatt beer, and being inside the dome rather than the chilly weather outside in September provided a surprisingly satisifying sense of warmth. All of this left a lasting impression on me and I immediately went back in April of 2001 for the opening series. I've been to all of the stadiums and I can't compare the experience I had at the Big O to any other baseball experience I've had. I was immersed in the actual game and atmosphere the whole while rather than being distracted by tacky gimmicks and trinkets that some of the newer stadiums use to attract fans. It wasn't the most beautiful stadium, but it certainly had its own charm and I wouldn't put it on this list. There's so much more than aesthetics to consider when judging or ranking baseball stadiums. I feel like the Expos were that special team that MLB had that no one appreciated until they were gone.
I take your point ... but Montréal could have had all the upside you describe while playing in an actual ballpark. I'm sure the experience had its charms, but it sounds as if they were IN SPITE OF Olympic Stadium, not because of it.
@@scotthersey4380 Well, a little bit of yes and no to your reply. I liked it in the sense that it was my first dome and I was just in awe of its vastness when I entered, and from an architecural point of view the outside is impressive, it looks like a giant white elephant whereas other domes look(ed) like cookie cutters with lids. Although, I realize this adds nothing to the game inside. There was a time when a dome was just thought of as another stadium. But even in 2000 when I went there, they were starting to be viewed as eyesores. Long-term, Olympic Stadium couldn't work, not just as a dome but for its continuous maintenance problems. But as you said, it would be nice to experience the same outdoors. I still have the pamphlets I picked up at the game "Baseball is Back!" with renderings of Labatt Park, it was to be the Camden Yards of the north. It's really a pity how things turned out. Right now, baseball in Montréal doesn't look promising, but you never know...
I never saw a ballgame there but I did go to a Pink Floyd concert there and I couldn't stop thinking about the large chunks of concrete that occasionally came crashing down from the upper deck. I haven't heard of any lately so I assume they fixed that problem.
Baseball stadiums are what made me into the stadium nerd that I am. Of all the stadiums of any major sport in the world, they’re the most unique, and even the worst stadiums are still really fun to talk about.
As a Season Ticket holder for 15 years at Arlington Stadium, please remember: There's Fort Worth, and 32 miles apart was Dallas. Arlington was a total bedroom community right in-between. So, there was the minor league team called: The Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs, playing at Turnpike Stadium. When the Washington Senators moved to Arlington after the 1971 Season, the agreement that Arlington had to produce for MLB, was that the Stadium had to be "retrofitted" to seat 35,000. Thus, Arlington Stadium was the old (I believe 4,000-seat Turnpike Stadium) was given all those metal seats in the outfield, and LET ME TELL YOU: In the Texas heat of June, July, August and early September, those metal seats caused heat prostration, due to the intense sun, metal on your feet, and no backs--made for a horrendous experience in Summer. Games began, mercifully at 8pm, late for families with small kids. With the signing in 1980 of the legendary Nolan Ryan, and ownership by Gov. George W. Bush, so many tickets were sold, so much popularity with he, Charlie Hough, and other really great players, enough revenue came in for the owners to play a new Park, "The Ballpark in Arlington," a BEAUTIFUL venue. Therefore, Arlington Stadium's metal outfield seats, the boring uniformity of the outfield, was BORING, and the bad part was that with 25,000 seats in the outfield, i.e. CHEAP SEATS, caused smaller revenue----BUT the great part was that a family of 4 could all go to a game for $20 (plus concessions), made it a very affordable venue and fun for the fan, but less revenue for the Team.
The only people that would label Arlington Stadium a BAD stadium are those that never went to a game there. Sure, it was bare bones, and sure the heat and the metal were, in some ways, torture. But most Ranger games in the summer were at night, and things weren't too bad then. If you wanted to go to a baseball game for an "experience," well, fine, AS wasn't for you. But if you wanted to watch baseball and be in a decent to good seat no matter where you were to do it in, it was a pretty good place to be. I'm not saying it didn't need to go -- it did. It was a minor league stadium added on to. It needed upgrading for the players more so than the fans. The last few years I went, I'd get a seat about 20 yards past third base up about half way. It was a terrific place to watch a game. You could see everything well except for something in deep right corner (which happens, what, once/twice a game?). You could see how plays on the bases develop, and you were close enough to call outs yourself!
Jarry Park actually was a community field that they threw seating onto in order to house the Expos. It was only supposed to be used for a couple seasons. It ended up being used from 1969-1977.
You beat me to it by 15 minutes. It had it's charms. Of course, I didn't know better as an early teenager, just happy to be at a Major League park. The Expos didn't have any choice, much like the Seattle Pilots that same year in what I heard was a terrible park until they built something more suitable. Today, MLB would never allow something like that to happen to an expansion team.
@@pierrelevasseur2701 Indeed.. I think it's a smarter strategy to have things like a MLB ready park ahead of time.. I'd love to see a return of the Expos, but I don't think it'll happen with the current atmosphere...
@@mikematson6323 Maybe The Rays can move to MTL down the road but Olympic Stadium might have too many demons so I don't think it would make a good home. I am surprised Jarry Field was used for so long. The rabbit hole is deep when you look into the construction of Olympic Stadium and factor in all of the bribes, corruption, lost money, skimming, etc.. I think it cost $1B and I still don't think it has been paid for yet.
@@mikematson6323 They were going to use the Autostade, but for some reason, they couldn't get it to work. Then, they were going to build a dome stadium, but it got voted down. Jarry was a "Hail Mary" to keep from losing the team.
Colt Stadium, Jarry Park and Arlington Stadium were not all that bad. They were nice little ballparks with good views of the field. In both cases, the only real problem was the weather.
ALL TIME? Robison Field St. Louis, Palace of the Fans Cincinnati, Roosevelt Stadium Jersey City Dodgers part-time, Exposition Park Pittsburgh, Baker Bowl Philadelphia. All the worst in their own eras. Main issues: wood stands that caught fire or collapsed, odd dimensions, groundskeeping issues and flooding, and obstructed views. Before 1938, no lighting with dark balls that were seldom replaced and hard to see late in many games- Ray Chapman head hit by pitch died shortly thereafter. By the way, the Trop was home to the Tampa Bay ice hockey Lightning for several seasons.
The Baker Bowl was quite a thing on its own. It's the last stadium to host the world series that predated the modern world series. It had a fire. It collapsed twice. It hosted its last game in the late 30's, but wasn't fully demolished until 1950!
Love your Stadium ratings. Been to Oakland to see an out of town game. It’s the Astrodome without the roof with pee trough’s still in operation in the men’s room.
Globe Life PARK was formerly known as The Ballpark in Arlington, opened in 1994. Globe Life FIELD is the current Rangers' ballpark, opened in 2020. Globe Life Park was a gorgeous stadium, but SOOOOOOO miserably hot in the summer.
Globe Life Park is now known as Choctaw Stadium, and became multi purpose after Globe Life Field opened. Choctaw Stadium is now the home of the Arlington Renegades of the XFL, North Texas SC of the MLS Next Pro, and the Dallas Jackals of the MLR (Major League Rubgy)
Tropicana field was also the home of the Tampa Bay lightning from like 1995-97 i think. They actually had the NHL attendance record at 28k for about a decade
Yup, from 1993 to 1996, and then they moved to their current arena. They still hold the record for biggest attendance for a playoffs game, and I believe the only games with bigger attendances were all special events like the Winter Classic/Stadium Series/Heritage Classic/etc.
But it was oversized, symmetrical, and used additional temporary seating for NFL games, all of which were pretty much the hallmarks of the cookie cutters. It was just ahead of its time in that respect, as was Baltimore's old stadium.
@@guyfaux3978 There wasn't any temporary seating in Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The bleacher seats were there and only used for football after Bill Veeck put the baseball fences up in 1947. "Cookie Cutter" means there were others like it. There were really no other stadiums like it.
@@GeorgeFSalem The "wishbone" shape was similar to Baltimore, though. And the Colts did put in temporary stands in center field. I may have confused those two stadiums, although Baltimore's wasn't nearly so large.
another bad stadium that a lot of people never think of or mention is Sick's Stadium. it was an old minor league park that the Seattle Pilots had to use because they were forced to begin play a few years earlier than intended & the Kingdome wasn't ready yet. they were expanding the stadium during the season & became such a headache. the team moved to Milwaukee after only 1 season
I'm VERY surprised this stadium was not included because it was a real shitshow. Plumbing didn't work properly because the stadium was expanded to 25,000 capacity and the plumbing couldn't handle that.
Totally agree....I was just going to make a post about it, and saw you had one.. When it opened to MLB..it only had a capacity of about 19000, and the plumbing couldn't even handle showers/toilets etc..
We loved going to Arlington Stadium. It was a large minor league ballpark, but it was comfortable and very open. It was nice having a breeze in the ballpark in the hot Texas summers.
Family friends had a box at Exhibition Stadium. Weirdest "luxury" box in a place otherwise devoid of luxury. The seagulls in the outfield were always horrible, but it was a great place to watch Dave Stieb toss.
The two dollar seats in the outfield were fun, and were the only part of the stadium that was covered. I still remember the night against Baltimore when the Jays hit 10 home runs and they fired off the guns on the Haida at Ontario Place.
I played in every park mentioned here except Jarry and Exhibition. Of the cookie cutters, the worst was Three Rivers in Pittsburgh and perhaps Atlanta Fulton County. However I have a fondness for AFC since I saw my first MLB game there in 1978 and was a huge Braves fan in the 80s. The best cookie cutter was Busch in St. Louis. Very well kept. Oakland Alameda was a fun place to play in the early 90s when it was open in centerfield. Always liked pitching there. Felt like you could shake hands with the hitter. As for the domes, my ERA in the Kingdome was probably a thousand so I wish I could have been the one to push the demolition plunger. Felt like you were pitching from second base. What a pit. Out of all the parks I played the worst had to be Cleveland Muni- the clubhouse was the size of a standard hotel room. I have no idea how that would have worked for football. Well I could go on and on. Thanks for the memories.
Well, for a stadium that was built in eleven months and for $18 million, Atlanta-Fulton County was pretty decent. Lots of good memories, and a lot of bad ones, too. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
The Oakland Coliseum also isn't just a recent issue.. Yes, Mount Davis is a horrible add on.. However, in the 70s before the team got good, the stadium was known as the Mausoleum.. Plumbing didn't work, among other things..
Open air would only make sense for very early in the season. Late in the season the sun sets earlier, but Septembers can be quite rainy. It helps when you purchased a ticket to know the game won't get rained out.
@@davidnovak707 it rains daily in St. Pete from June to August, and it comes out of nowhere. So many games I’ve gone where it’s sunny when I enter, but can hear thunder by the 4th inning.
Mile High Stadium in Denver was a doozy as well. Rockies played there for 2 seasons before Coors Field opened in 1995. Mile High was an old, rotting, rusting, smelly dump.
Don't forget Colt Stadium, the original home of the Houston Colt 45s, renamed the Astros. Colt Stadium was famous for it's heat, mosquitos and rattlesnakes.
No way kingdome was worse than the metrodome . Kingdome dimensions and crowd intensity was so far above and beyond that garbage grocery bag roof stadium
The metrodome was the best dual use stadium. It wasn't cookie cutter like the others it had defining character such as the "baggie" and milk jug out in right field. People just hate on it as it's a dual use, but it was the best of the dual use stadiums
Imagine if the outfield wall of Tropicana Field was a window from the beginning. I mean, the ceiling in the concourse area is still too low and the overall location still sucks. But more natural light would help.
San Diego’s old stadium was not bad at all. I couldn’t understand the team demanding a new ballpark or the city spending the money to satisfy the owners when the old Stadium built in 1967 and had a major renovation in the mid 1990’s to get the all star game. It was called Jack Murphy stadium in the 1980s and 1990’s. The NFL Chargers played there and were a strong contender many times. Their greedy owner demanded a new stadium and left for greener pastures in LA where they have stunk since moving. The city was right to turn them down and wrong to knuckle under when the Padres demanded the same thing. If billionaire owners want new stadiums they should pay for them. Not demand taxpayers shell out, many of who may not even be sports fans.
Yes, it's shocking they still use Tropicana. It's warehouse-like and lifeless, but it's in a bad part of the Tampa Bay area, too. It's not easily accessible and the parking sucks. That was back in 2001! What could it possibly be like now? That team needs/deserves some sort of state-of-the art retractable roof type place more centralized to Tampa.
The Kingdome at least had unique field dimensions for a multi-use dome and that right field is iconic from all the Ken Griffey Jr. blasts. I have a soft spot for ugly domes and I think the idea of a dome gets a bad rap because of so many previous shitty ones. I think a dome thats designed for baseball and has natural lighting features would be really cool. Idk, I just find domes comfy.
The worst stadium I ever saw was only used in 1969, I believe -- Sick Stadium, home of the very short-lived Seattle Pilots. Named for a guy whose last name was Sick, it really was sick. And not in a slang good way. Now, I know that the original "conference seeding" graphic you showed said that it only accepted stadiums that had been used for at least five major league seasons, but Sick was not only historically bad, it also propelled the Pilots out of Seattle entirely. It was just glaring that there was not an MLB-level park available there, and it took the construction of the Kingdome to bring another team back to the PNW.
Here is Sick's Stadium's namesake... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Sick Sick was a brewer, which is ironic iykwim. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainier_Brewing_Company
In defense of RFK Stadium, it was a GREAT venue for football, soccer, and concerts. I would also rank it above Riverfront, Three Rivers, etc., because it had grass and asymmetrical dimensions.
The grass in the astrodome did work at first..the problem was players couldn't see the ball against the bright ceiling. So they had to darken it and the grass died right away. They finished the season painting the field and astroturf was invented for the next year.
I liked the Kingdome. It was warm, dry, comfortable and easy to access and park. Yes, it was a concrete tomb, but it was OUR concrete tomb. Ruppert Jones and Ken Griffey Junior were right below me from the center field bleachers. Without the Kingdome, there would be no Mariners or Seahawks. It hosted the Sonics and Sounders with record setting crowds. It hosted two Final Fours and NCAA Regional Finals.
I liked the Kingdome too, it reminds me of Rogers Centre a little bit, it just needed a renovation. The earlier years of the Kingdome were great and it remained vibrant and loud during the Griffey era in the 90s. Tropicana feels so dull compared to the Kingdome. I much prefer the Kingdome over ugly Lumen Field.
@@lynntempleton9640 The problem with Lumen is it's aged pretty hard though as far as the interior look of the stadium. The mistake Paul Allen made was not making that roof retractable like T-Mobile Park which is great. The rain did a lot of damage to Lumen over the years. I think they need another one this time with a retractable roof similar to Soldier Field which is unfortunately gonna be vacant by the Bears soon.
Tropicana Field was actually built for the Tampa Bay lightning hockey team, but in 1998 when the rays were an expansion team, MLB this threw them in there
More accurately, the building was designed and built to house a major league baseball team, but the city built it before being granted a team. As it was largely sitting empty, the Lightning moved in for three seasons until 1996, when their proper arena was finished. The Devil Rays arrived a couple of years later.
They were trying to lure a MLB team. Instead they got the Lightning and the Florida Suncoast Dome was the only place they could play in the Tampa Bay region.
How can you lump Cleveland Muni in with the donut stadiums?! They weren't remotely the same thing. Muni was 40 years older and not fully enclosed. It had dedicated bleachers. It was a dump for baseball by the 70s and 80s, but it was OUR dump and no one else can make fun of it. But it was also a football cathedral until its demise. It was packed for football. Its biggest flaw (other than the product on the field) was simply that it was too big for regular season baseball. I also don't think you can ding a stadium simply for being too big when they weren't built just for baseball. You may just be very young, but the luxury of purpose-built stadiums is just that: a luxury. Most make terrible economic sense for the taxpayers, especially NFL stadiums, so it made sense to stretch the public funds a little.
Tropicana Field also was the home of the Lightning before baseball came to town. The roof isn’t low it just tilted to fight against hurricanes. Other than the roof it’s actually a nice stadium it’s extremely hot here in Florida and the rays tank is super cool. The concourses are up to date where it doesn’t feel outdated. Attendance would be higher had the owner not play games with fans regarding a new stadium and relocation.
That Stadium was Bad For Baseball Big Time and Nighttime Was More Worse With The Cold Winds Coming Off The San Francisco Bay But At Least U Guys Have a More Nicer Stadium with Less Strong Winds At Times Dispite That Giants Fans Wear Some Winter Clothes at Times!
It only saving grace was it was not horrible on a nice Sunday afternoon. But other then that.... It may be the worst and far worse then some of the ones he listed.
I love going to Tropicana Field. No sunlight, no sun beating down on you along with the 100% humidity. It’s like every game is a night game. When we make the 3 1/2 hour round trip to watch I game I know for a fact the game will not be rained out and that it will be cool and comfortable. Also I can pay for a cheap seat and move to a better seat later if we want to.
I used to work At the Astrodome in the early 80's and know its history pretty well. At the beginning it had a clear glass roof and the grass grew. Players complained of the glare and not being able to see fly balls, so the glass was painted white, and the grass died. Monsanto then created Astroturf in 1966/67 and it was installed.
Seriously, unless you were from Toronto you have no idea how bad Exhibition Stadium really was. Outfield seating was a joke. Even Olympic stadium in Montreal was lush compared to Exhibition Stadium. But no-one cared. It was also used in the summer for concerts ( the stage was the white half shell on wheels next to the scoreboard) during the CNE-Canadian National Exhibition, the stadium was part of a whole complex connecting to Ontario Place. We use to sit as close to the black seats as possible so when the game was televised we could wave at people at home. It was general admission and was $2.
@Chatta Ortega Neither was Jarry Park, but the Expos were stuck there for eight years because their stadium plan was sidetracked when Montreal was awarded the Olympics.
I have been to almost every stadium and Riverfront was not that bad. The Plastic seats in Veterans Stadium could get blazing hot. Even Three Rivers was good for seating. I have been in Cleveland, and it was a mosquito infested enclosure in July. I deplored going to Cleveland. i was born in Houston and worked for the Astros. The only thing worse than the dead grass was the carpet they put over the cement that they called astroturf. Many a football and Baseball players careers were ruined on it!
Thing with the Big Owe is that it wasn't designed for baseball. The French architect made it for the Olympics, two weeks. He knew nothing about baseball for which it would be used most, not to mention the fiasco with the roof. I don't think bad seating actually. My last game at Rogers was bad.
Haha, it was really funny that you ranked Exhibition Stadium in Toronto as the worst MLB stadium because I saw a game there in 1979 and my family and I had to sit on bleachers instead of actual seats and the fans had to throw the foul balls back onto the field. Also, I had been to Cleveland Municipal Stadium a couple of times too and I didn't think it was too bad, but one thing that sticks-out in my mind is that some of the seats were positoned behind big support posts. I was kind of surprised that you did not mentioned Seattle Sicks Stadium that the Pilots played in for one season. It was a minor league ballpark and had a lot of plumbing issues, much like the Oakland Coliseum.
As much as the cookie cutters get no love, I think Veterans Stadium belongs on this list more than Riverfront. It was so badly designed that the first football game there, they found out that a bunch of seats were too low to see the game. They were blocked by sideline personnel.
Exhibition Stadium was the first place I saw an MLB game. I am from Texas and it was the Blue Jays vs. The Rangers. It holds a special place in my heart. I was also like 3.
DG, the LA Coliseum from 1958 to 1961 comes to mind. The Dodgers played there before record crowds of 90,000 plus fans. But the left field wall was only 250 feet from home plate. Wally Moon made a career of hitting "Moon shots" over the 100 ft (appx) high fence. The 1959 WS was played there.
Candlestick park(San Francisco)...because of the weather, night games were too cold and windy...weirdly, for football, it was decent, October and November are two of the warmer months in San Francisco
Sometimes you have a fondness for your own experiences at those places that outweighs the problems. Growing up in Cleveland, I spent a lot of time at "the Stadium" (nobody from there called it "Municipal"). You bought a General Admission ticket and, by the 5th inning, you were in Field Boxes. It was close to the players. Enjoyed it there. I worked in Tampa a few years. Hated the drive over, but it was pleasant to sit in an AC cooled place. I could usually wrangle free tickets. It was generally a quiet place, the Rays were bad then, but it was MLB. Brought a book to read sometimes. Not your "pennant fever" atmosphere but, like I said, pleasant. I was a student at Ohio State and lived among some Reds fans. They looked at Riverfront as a shrine. They made pilgrimages to it. Again, all personal perspectives.
Trop famously hosted gigantic NHL crowds too (also weird mini racecar events in the 90s?). Had a fine time in section 206 this opening day. I grew up in that building and will weep like a schoolgirl the day it comes down.
I feel you. As a kid that grew up watching the Twins and Vikings at the Metrodome, I'll always love that place. The pressurized turnstiles when entering it made it feel like you were going through some sort of portal.
I attended Riverfront many, many times. (went to 2 games at Crosley!) This was during the 70s and 80s. Riverfront was for the time a great place to see a game. Quite large and impressive. During it's time it never got the hate. The infielders praised the turf. This is where the 1 bounce to 1st was invented by Davey Concepcion, best SS I ever saw.
A few thoughts.Shea Stadium had a view of lovely Downtown Flushing Yes, Tropicana Field was designed for baseball however it hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning for it's first few years under the name The Thunderdome. I've only been to one cookie-cutter stadium and I can't imagine anything worse than Veterans Stadium. As a child I thought cookie-cutter stadium were cool but knew better as I was growing up. Hard Rock Stadium never hosted an MLB All-Star game but obviously has hosted 2 World Series. Very good list and spot on on the honorable mentions.
I get it, Tropicana Field isn't one of these new billion dollar mega baseball stadiums and EVERYONE trashes it but its NOT as bad as everyone says it is. And it being a dome in Florida....have you seen our summers? Its HOT. Like SUPER-MEGA hot! and we get rain almost every day with thunder and lightning. Its a dome, it has air condition and the stadium has A LOT of parking!
Shea Stadium was pretty brutal as well...half finished cookie cutter with barely anything in the outfield except the temporary bleachers in LF and massive scoreboard in RF. Upper deck felt like it went up to Heaven 😅
Yeah, I can't beleive Shea Stadium wasn't on this list that would've been in my top 3 all-time ugly stadiums, the outfield was too open with no seating and just one scoreboard. It looked like Dodger Stadium on the other side and Dodger Stadium gets way too much love for being old that's ugly too to me.
As bad as Shea was I would prefer going to a game there compared to Citi Field. People do not watch the game at Citi. People go there to eat. I do not want to go to a Met game and have a Shake Shack.
@mhbbej1 Yea that's a great point! Went to my 1st game at Citi Field in April and felt the same way. Unfortunately all the new stadiums are catering to the "casual" fan with bars and lounge areas (ex. Toronto).
Maybe it's too old, but I'm surprised you didn't mention Sick's Stadium. That place was a disaster. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sick%27s_Stadium#/media/File:Sick's_Stadium,_1967.gif
I seem to recall the Astrodome originally use clear roof panels, and that’s why they used natural grass? The problem was the glare, and they painted the panels to cut down on that… THEN the grass died
It's a bit unfair to have Exhibition Stadium and Jarry Park because they were temporary locations. There was never a thought these stadiums were a permanent home. As for Exhibition Stadium itself, it was built almost 30 years before the Blue Jays moved in. Sorry the builders didn't think in the forties that Toronto would get a team.
My first baseball game was at sunlife stadium and when you’re a kid you think it’s the most beautiful thing ever. I never thought it was that bad, only thing it was incredibly hot and day games were brutal.
0:40 You might of gotten confused here. The current ballpark of the Rangers is Globe Life Field, which is their new stadium they got in 2020. This person might be talking about their previous ballpark, Globe Life Park in Arlington, which is now known as Choctaw Stadium today.
There probably not many people left alive who experienced Sick's and Colt. 🙂 I can't comment on them directly as I have been no closer to Seattle than the SF Bay Area and no closer to Houston than DFW Airport. Plus I was in diapers/a toddler when the 'Stros were the Colts and turned 8yo during the 1969 season (the year of the Pilots).😊
You’re way off on the Kingdome. I went to plenty of games (baseball and football) at both the kingdome and the metrodome and man the metrodome was the most Dan Quale of dome stadiums. No character at all. Metrodome the stadium was a fuckin square. The kingdome had some unique stands at the very least. A sortve middle deck in left that hung off the wall it wasn’t great but damn it was light years better than the metrodome.
This isn't going to be popular but I used to love the expos and Twins stadiums. I don't know why I loved those dome looks. I remember as a kid playing triple play baseball and loved playing in those parks. Twins had that wall or stairs, I thought it was unique. I never been to those personally so in person it may not be great but from tv I loved them.
I think if you're from the Bay Area, Oakland isn't the worst stadium in baseball. If you view it as a dive bar, it has its perks when you're at the stadium, it's to watch baseball. San Francisco you can be there and the game is secondary (besides the playoffs and the Giants vs. Dodgers series).
The Expos playing at Jarry Park was a panic move. The team was just unable to get another stadium ready in time, and if they had not been able to convince the MLB to use it as a temporary measure, the team would have been moved to Buffalo before playing a single game. The idea was that it would only be used for a few years until max 1972, but the construction of the Olympic Stadium was an absolute mess because of frequent worker strikes and whatnot, and was itself barely ready for the 1976 Olympics. By barely, I mean that the iconic tower wasn't even finished in time. And remember, this was in Montreal, so most of the weather problems in Exhibition Stadium also apply here. At least, they never had to borrow a literal zamboni to clean up the playing field like they did for the first ever game in Exhibition. Its North-South configuration also meant a lot of headaches with the sun setting and blinding players on the field. It's a fantastic tennis court now though, and the huge park itself is one of my favourite in Montreal
It's funny to think that for how bad everyone says Tropicana field is the Giants were about to move there because it was a brand new stadium. Probably good thing they stayed put
