Grew up about 20 min. from Dr. Pepper BP, been to countless Frisco RoughRider games during my childhood… it really is a magnificent stadium with a great atmosphere!! Very happy that this ballpark made the list!🤘🏼
I remember 30+ years ago when Buffalo built the park the Bisons play in when it was state of the art for minor leagues. It was built to be upgradable to MLB level and the plans were already drawn up... but the team they were trying to get went to Denver. Now, so many minor league cities have quality ballparks... I remember some of the Bisons players who rather stay with the indians AAA team because they loved playing there... Nice to see so many parks that didn't break the bank to build. Some of those older minor league parks are not much better than dumps with a diamond in the middle.
Lindquist field is in Ogden, Utah. It does have a beautiful backdrop. Especially early in the season when the mountains are still snowcapped. One cool feature about the ballpark is that there is a brewery on the street that is behind the right field wall. The brewery has a back porch that borders the right field fence where there is a gap in the advertisements. All you have to do to see a game is go grab a beer on the back porch of the brewery and watch the game through the right field fence. Right there at field level.
I would say my favorite has to be Day Air Ballpark, home of the Dayton Dragons. They hold the longest consecutive sellout record, breaking the Portland Trailblazers record back in 2011. Us Daytonians fans love us some Dragons baseball.
Lived in North Carolina for a few years and loved going to Durham Bulls games. Such a nice stadium and in a renovated area. Would love to check out some of these other stadiums 👌🏻
No one talks about Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport Iowa, home of the Quad Cities River Bandits. its an amazing stadium, not that big with seating but it has the bridge, teh river, the Ferris wheel, the grass hill in left field with the corn exclusive seats on the left field foul line, the right field porch, and the woodmen woodman building across the river. Sometimes they have rides run on the left field foul line, and sometimes they set u pa bouncy castle on the field field foul line. everything about this stadium looks amazing and is extremely un talked about when it comes to top 10 minor league stadiums and ballparks.
Your number 7 Lindquist field is here in Ogden, Ut. You actually can sit on the wall it’s more picking style seating. The restaurant behind it bought a section of the advertising and you can watch games from their outdoor seating now. Yeah it’s rookie ball but tickets are $8 to $12 bucks and hot dogs are still $2.50 so it’s a fun time for the family
First off, since I’m not here for the rankings, THANK YOU for pointing out the standing areas in the park in Columbus. That’s the kind of thing I’m looking for if I get the chance on my trip next month. The minor league parks tend to be poor about pointing out beer rails and alternate seating arrangements other than the berms. There is no more rookie league. What you presented from Ogden is now in one of the hilariously named “partner independent leagues.” None of that changes the backdrop, thankfully. If you do want to approach collegiate wood bat summer leagues, I dare you to look at Walker Stadium in Portland. The actual structure might hold 1,000 fans and can barely be considered architecture. By not having more than one concession stand attached to the structure, the park surroundings allow the Portland Pickles to set up tents and, if they want, food carts. There are grass berms down both foul lines and fans are allowed to bring lawn chairs… and even use them in celebrations. The advertising at the fences doesn’t reach the bottom, allowing an entire line of picnic tables a view from just outside the outfield fence (not bad views from those tables, partially because it’s only 325’ to straightaway center). Otherwise, that fence is lined with even taller fir trees and helps give the feel of playing in a forest. Then there’s the promotions… The Shining Night. Tap Water Appreciation Night. California People Moving To Portland Night. Let’s say these guys (unlike the many minor league attempts outside of maybe the Portland Mavericks) TRULY get Portland.
You should rank the best Cape Cod Baseball League(where a player REALLY gets noticed) fields. Personally, my favorite is Veterans Field, home of the Chatham Anglers.
Went to Louisville last year. The bridges in the background are cool but I love the exterior. Reminds me of a train depot. You walk inside and there's a brewery and the ticket windows and a big area for group events. Was in Columbus a day later and really liked it! Las Vegas is a very nice park but the prices are exorbitant for minor league ball. Frisco's architecture kinda reminds me of a ranch house. It just screams Texas. Enjoyed the game I saw there, though the hotel beyond CF gives off weird vibes. Personal favorites I've been to are Dayton, Quad Cities, Reno and St. Paul.
People’s Natural Gas Field in Altoona, PA is a sick field also.(liked it called Blair County Ballpark before) AA team for the Pirates. Appalachian Mountains in left field and a roller coaster in the adjacent amusement park in right.
First Horizon Park, home of the AAA Nashville Sounds is awesome. Brooklyn Bowl overlooking left field, Guitar Scoreboard in right, city view, open bar in right field, and many good family amenities and a close drive to Broadway.
Lindquist Field, downtown Ogden, Utah. Walked by it a few times when I visited Ogden. Though I've never been to an Ogden Raptors game, yet. Maybe one day I'll check one out. And that large white building is the Ogden Utah Temple of the LDS church.
just visited Parkview Field and my only complaint was the netting. The netting was a bit obstructive compared to other parks. Still a beautiful stadium.
Durham Bulls Athletic Park is really nice. The outfield wall has a bunch of restaurants up there and are always booked solid on game days. The food options at the park itself is amazing, love how quit a bit of the seating is covered, and it’s very unique. Quite a few unique features they have like the bull and the children’s play deck, and the homerun whistle
I went to many games there when I lived in Raleigh and Chapel Hill and I agree. It is a great stadium and they built the apartments, lofts, and shopping around it out of old tobacco factories which increases its charm. I lived there in the late 90s when it first opened so most of the stuff around the stadium was in the planning stages but it looks like it all worked out great and they found a way to revitalize the downtown area of Durham around the park. It is a model other cities should follow. The food options there were great. I specifically remember a burrito place that I really liked.
I went to a ton of games in the early 90's at the old park. It was awesome. I went to 1 game at the new stadium and hated it. Yeah, it was nice and new, but fans were too far from the field and all the prices were doubled.
Dr. Pepper Field (or whatever it is called) reminds me of what Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston (where the Red Sox played prior to Fenway Park) used to look like in terms of its architecture. Hoping to get to Durham this summer. Great video.
You should really check out CHS field, it’s a pretty minor league stadium…standing rails around the whole outfield, lawn seats, small pirate ship, no unnecessary seats, overall great environment
I love Smith's Ballpark. I've got my Bees hat on right now. The Dr. Pepper park looks like an old school cricket ground or something. That thing is wild. There are some beautiful parks out there. I love this stuff.
How can you NOT have Victory Field on you Top 10 list when it has ALWAYS been ranked in the Top 3 of the BEST Minor League Parks in the Country! Huntington Field and Louisville Slugger Field Parkview Field and Huntington Bank Stadium are nice also but it is like your BLANTANTLY disrespecting Victory Field! I hope that you reconsider doing this list!
thing is when ranking you can only think of so many at a time and you have your own opinions on why you chose to not put a certain something in your ranking
I have been to many minor league parks and you mentioned a few of my favorites including Durham NC but my all time favorite is FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading PA. It is more than 70 years old but has been modernized so you get a Fenway Park/Wrigley Field vibe there with all of the modern amenities. They also have amazing ballpark food and the prices are reasonable.
Completely Agree, a Year or 2 ago, Sahlen Field Was Ranked No 1 and Now it does not rank in the Top 10?? What a Travesty! We are not saying its still Number 1 As some of these are Beautiful Settings but Dropping out of the Top 10???? NO WAY!!
Top 10: Abridged, with the teams and classes. 10: Louisville Slugger Field, Louisville, KY (Louisville Bats, AAA) 9: Blue Wahoo Stadium, Pensacola, FL (Pensacola Blue Wahoos, AA) 8: Las Vegas Ballpark, Las Vegas, NV (Las Vegas Aviators, AAA) 7: Lindquist Field, Ogden, UT (Ogden Raptors, MLB Partner) 6: Parkview Field, Fort Wayne, IN (Fort Wayne Tincaps, High A) 5: Smith's Ballpark, Salt Lake City, UT (Salt Lake Bees, AAA) 4: Dr. Pepper Field, Frisco, TX (Frisco RoughRiders, AA) 3: Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham, NC (Durham Bulls, AAA) 2: Huntington Park, Columbus, OH (Columbus Clippers, AAA) 1: BB&T Ballpark, Charlotte, NC (Charlotte Knights, AAA)
When you do bottom 10, I wanna make one suggestion: Mirabito Stadium I've been to this park multiple times. The concourse is cramped, they tried to go the Wrigley route by placing the stadium smack dab in the middle of the city, the outfield is a rail yard, and the atmosphere is squished as hell. No god view, either. The food isn't that bad and, I'll be honest, I like the hidden dugout behind the wall that's out in the open. But, this place has other problems such as rusty guardrails among other things that negate the experience here. They don't play good ball here either.
Ogden is now in the independent Pioneer league. Great view especially from the 3rd base side. Smiths ballpark in SLC is slated to be replaced soon. Frisco is AA not AAA. Another feature is the bullpens are in the grandstand.
I'm pretty pissed about the Bees moving from Smith's Ballpark. I have a lot of memories of going to Trappers games as a kid when it was still Derks Field.
#7 looks like a stadium built in MLB The Show's stadium creator. Though I wish they'd add the ability to make domed stadiums and put ads on the outfield walls.
I live in Fort Wayne and as a TinCaps fans, that’s pretty decent for where you have Parkview Field ranked at. surprised you didn’t mention the city skyline in the background. Thought you would of talk about that too
Smith's ballpark is also one ballpark I'd like to visit. especially since the Salt Lake Bees will be moving into a new stadium in South Jordan, Utah in a couple of years and University of Utah baseball team will also be moving in a new stadium on U of U campus. I might even visit Las Vegas Ballpark next time I'm down there.
Definitely not as nice as some of these parks, but I really like Riverfront Stadium, the Twins AA affiliate Wichita Windsurge’s home field. It has a AAA feel, as the stadium was originally built for the Marlin’s AAA team. It’s near good local restaurants and shops and has some nice views of downtown Wichita.
Live in Wichita, that ball park is incredible. Sucks Covid kicked the AAA team out, but the city loves the team. Great fun for a Friday and Saturday night
I feel like the one reason why I personally would not count CHS Field in a top-10 ranking of MiLB fields is that the view is not spectacular. Because the field is on the east side of St. Paul in Lowertown, it can't be oriented to give a view of one of the more lovely neighborhoods of the Twin Cities because that would blind batters during the early and even middle innings. So instead it faces... a freeway. By comparison, its sibling park, Target Field, possesses a great view of the Minneapolis skyline, one of the most spectacular skylines in the United States. Which is a real shame because in every other respect, CHS Field is a superlative ballpark.
Great video and I might be biased as a Red Sox fan but Polar Park in Worcester hands down should have been in the top 10. Nice view of the city skyline and nice views of old architecture like the twin towers of Union Station. Also the Park has old diner (lunch car), a kid's playground, and a duck boat.
I've heard mixed things about Polar, mainly that it feels very sterile and bland. Never been but it doesn't look like much of a ballpark from the outside.
@@jenniferjansen2484 Well I am a season ticket holder and love going to games as it is such a great experience. Usually negative things about Polar Park are from Rhode Islanders with sour grapes.
Been to Smith's -- very nice, but they may be replacing it for an expanded real estate play that most developers use to pay for everything. Plan to go to Salem VA, Chattanooga TN and hopefully Frisco TX this summer. I would nominate FNB Field on a city-park-island in the middle of the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg PA as a very interesting, pleasant and enjoyable ballpark to visit. Lynchburg VA has a historic stadium as well.
8:14 this is Frisco Rough Riders Stadium. There have been additions to the park since these pictures have been taken. If you’re ever in the DFW area you should really come to a game.
Check out Glacier Bank Park in Kalispell, MT. Smaller stadium but amazing environment, incredible forest and mountain views. Just built last year too, so brand new amenities. Mascot for the team pays homage to nearby Glacier National Park
I like Coolray Field. I went to many Gwinnett Stripers games, when I lived in Atlanta, GA. I also like Sahlen Field, in Buffalo, NY. The Buffalo Bisons are my favorite Minor League Baaseball team, although I am not a big fan of the Toronto Blue Jays.
If you like the brick warehouse facade. Then look up the Jacksonville Baseball Grounds. It's been a great complex. And they plan to expand it again soon.
What about Round Rock Diamond or whatever it's called now in Round Rock, Texas. Has been the Triple A affiliate for the Rangers and Astros. Currently Rangers.
Hell fuckin' yeah! Having Lindquist Field as number 7, which is in Ogden, Utah, my hometown, is cool as hell to see! We use to be the Dodgers affiliate, but that changed in 2020. Being able to watch Prince Fielder was a treat! Let's hope Utah finally gets an MLB team. We deserve one! There is a tiny bit of standing room in left field on top of the wall.
