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11/26/00- Stadium Envy I've written about the new Tiger Stadium this year. Since I've visited over 20 Major League ballparks I thought that I was pretty safe in saying that it was one of the best new parks in the Major Leagues. But it's not my favorite. My new favorite is the Ballpark at Arlington where the Texas Rangers play their games.
Wow! what a place! I can't say enough about what an outstanding facility it is. I had the pleasure of taking a tour of the stadium when I was in Dallas for business last month. It's disappointing to know that Detroit officials visited this park before designing the new Tiger Stadium and copied so few of it's the great features.
First of all let's talk about how it looks from the outside. It's an impressive structure with plenty of parking right across the street. The Ballpark includes a range of shops and restaurants which make it a destination all year round. Its 'Legends of the Game' baseball museum is the finest collection of baseball memorabilia outside of Cooperstown. There is restaurant that looks down onto the baseball field which is open year round. A picnic area is located in Center Field which includes a miniature wiffle ball field (my favorite feature!) complete with fences. The suites in the stadium are named for Hall of Famers and include a bigger than life sized painting of each player at each suite entrance. The feature that really gave me a pang of nostalgia was right field deck which is patterned after the right field deck in the old Tiger Stadium complete with overhang. It's pretty sad that you need to go to Arlington, Texas to see a stadium that reminds you of the Classic Tiger Stadium. This is a feature that NEEDED to be included in any new Stadium in Detroit. Another neat feature that really isn't a part of the stadium but is on the stadium grounds is the little league ballpark. It stands practically in the shadow of the Ballpark and Arlington and gives local children a first class facility to play baseball. The one criticism that I do have of the Ballpark at Arlington is that the scoreboards are small. Easy enough to fix at some in the future. I'd trade the scoreboards at the Tiger Stadium for the Right Field pavilion at the Ballpark in Arlington in a second!!!
It sucks to have ballpark envy. It really sucks to envy a ballpark a year after your team builds their new park. I still like the new Tiger Stadium but not nearly as much as I like the Ballpark at Arlington. If you ever find yourself in the Dallas area make sure that you visit the Ballpark at Arlington. You'll see how a ballpark should be done! Phil Callihan |
