So you want to visit a MLB city ...

[gonelong]

In this thread we detail a bit about the what, where, and how to attend a Reds game - Hotels, activities, where to eat, etc.

If you are visiting this site and are a fan located in/around another MLB city, please feel free to read over the write-up for your city and put your $.02 in!

I was wondering if we couldn't do the same for the rest of the parks in the league. Have 4-5 people adopt a park, find out what they can and put it together.

Hotels/Taxi:

Game Parking:

Tickets/Seats: How to acquire, what to get.

What to see/do/eat at the ballpark.

What to see/do/eat in the city.


Once we have one done we could then post it on another Team's message board and get confirmation.

chase Field		jmcclain19	
Atlanta Braves 		Turner Field		Open 	
Baltimore Orioles 	Camden Yards 		Open 	
Boston Red Sox 		Fenway Park 	 	dabvu2498
Boston Red Sox         Fenway Park             M2
Chicago Cubs 		Wrigley Field 		Open
Chicago White Sox 	U.S. Cellular Field 	Open
Cincinnati Reds 	GAPB 	 		Completed
Cleveland Indians 	Jacobs Field 	 	KittyDuran/In Progress
Cleveland Indians       Jacobs Field             Yachtzee
Colorado Rockies 	Coors Field 	 	Open
Detroit Tigers 		Comerica Park 	 	Heath
Florida Marlins 	Dolphin Stadium 	oneupper
Houston Astros 		Minute Maid Park 	Open
Kansas City Royals 	Kauffman Stadium 	Open
LS Angels of Anaheim 	Angel Stadium 		Open
Los Angeles Dodgers 	Dodger Stadium 		Open
Milwaukee Brewers 	Miller Park 		tripleaaaron
Minnesota Twins 	Metrodome 		Open
New York Mets 		Shea Stadium 		In Progress
New York Yankees 	Yankee Stadium 		In Progress
Oakland Athletics 	McAfee Coliseum 	Open
Philadelphia Phillies 	Citizens Bank Park 	Open
Pittsburgh Pirates 	PNC Park 	 	Gonelong/In Progress
St. Louis Cardinals 	New Busch Stadium 	Open
San Diego Padres 	PETCO Park 	 	Red Leader
San Francisco Giants 	AT&T Park 	 	Open
Seattle Mariners 	Safeco Field 	 	Open
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 	Tropicana Field 	Open
Texas Rangers 		Arlington 	 	Open
Toronto Blue Jays 	Rogers Centre 		Open
Washington Nationals 	RFK Stadium 		registerthis


AAA:      Louisville
AA:        Chattenooga
High A:  Sarasota
Low A:   Dayton                  
Rookie:  Billings
Spring Training

Additional Information about these parks:
http://travel.ballparksofbaseball.com/

If you would like to take the lead on a park, PM me and I'll add them to the list. If you would like to help with a park, PM the person listed above.

Once we have as much input as we are likely to get ... I'll compile all these into one new thread with each park as its own post. I'll then put a list in the first post with links to each park so it'll be neat and clean.

Thanks,

GL

[tripleaaaron]

I am going to Milwaukee in August, I can do that park after that time, unless anyone else covers it by then, all the other parks I've been to I wouldn't necessarily be able to report on, has been over 5 years.

[registerthis]

I'll be happy to do RFK, GL...when did you want this?

[gonelong]

Pittsburgh Pirates PNC Park

Edit: This information from Pirates message boards ...

==================
= PNC Park, Pittsburgh
==================
Nightlife:
For the < 30 Crowd
North Shore (Right around PNC Park) - several bars around, many of which are quite new. You'll have no problem locating them, most of them are on, or within a block of, the same corner by the LF enterance to the ballpark

The Strip District - http://www.neighborsinthestrip.com/index.html
a little pricier and more nightclubbish than barish, you'll pay a cover to get in many of the places. This is where athletes that visit our city tend to get themselves in trouble.

For the 30+ Crowd:
Station Square - : http://www.stationsquare.com/tourism.htm
used to be nothing but a touristy mall. You can still check out the mall area and be dazzled by the number of black and gold stores (this is a Steeler fan's dream, mostly), but there is now a nightlife over by the Hard Rock Cafe.

The South Side - http://www.southsidepgh.com/index_new.htm
this is, IMO, more like Pittsburgh drinkin. Its more laid back, you'll find dive bars as well as nicer places and you can walk from bar to bar to bar all night long (mostly cover-free) without hitting all of them.


What to absolutely not miss in the city.
Duquesne Incline: http://www.incline.cc/

Local Flavor: Primanti's sandwhich: http://www.primantibros.com/

You can take a river boat to PNC?
Water taxi service to PNC Park and Steelers Stadium is available on game days from The Boardwalk (and Carnegie Science Center for PNC Park).

Booking a Tour of the Park:
Call (412) 325-4700 or 1-800-BUY-BUCS ext. 4700

Children/Students - $4.00 per person
Seniors (55+) - $4.00 per person
Adults - $6.00 per person
Groups of 25 and over - $4.00 per person*

[bucknutdet]

NY Yankees/Mets:

Hotels: Stay in Manhattan, anywhere else is a bit of a risk, use Priceline or similar website (FYI, they are expensive). Taxi's to the game.. you can't afford it.

Game Parking:
LOL, if you haven't driven in the City before, don't even attempt it. Parking prices, LMAO, even funnier. For the Yankees take the subway, the B/D from Rock Center, but be careful. To the Mets, take the 7 from Grand Central & pray you can catch the express.

Tickets:
For the Mets you shouldn't have a problem, but for good seats you may have to scalp. The Yankees may be a different story. But trying on the website is a good place to start. As for good seats, you probably don't have enough money.

What to eat at Ballpark:
You're in NYC, eat the Pizza or the Dogs. While you wont' be able to afford the beers at $8, they sure look tasty. Of course they have the rest of the average tasting ballpark food as well.

What to do/eat in the City:
It's New York, you can do anything you want. Most of the food is good too. The list of good places to eat would be endless.

Disclaimer: (This was compiled slightly in gest, while somewhat factual, it might not be completely accurate, but comes from my few of years of NYC experience. For a more complete list a more "seasoned" New Yorker would be more helpful, then again, probably not, they'll tell you to 'eff off. )

[dabvu2498]

This is based on what my 3 years in Boston was like 5-8 years ago and then a couple trips back in the last 3 years, so some of my info may be a little off.

Hotels/Transportation: priceline.com is your best bet just about anywhere. Make sure your hotel is within walking distance of a T (MBTA subway) station. My dad liked staying at the Tage Inn in Somerville for a reasonable price, but that was when I had a car in town and could drive, pick him up and go to the T station. The Inn at Harvard will occaisionally run some decent deals in the summer if they are not hosting any conferences.

DO NOT rent a car or plan on driving anywhere in town unless you enjoy testing chaos theory. There are no painted lines on the roads, very few street signs and very few people willing to help an out-of-town motorist. From my experiences driving there, there is one rule of the road: Person with the biggest cajones wins. (This rule also applies to pedestrians.)

A word about the T. Almost every sight/event worth seeing in Boston is accessible by the T. Fenway=4-5 blocks. Old North Church=6-7 blocks. etc, etc, etc. DO NOT think you can drive/park in Boston. The T safe (usually clean), fairly simple, tokens are 1.25 now (I think you can buy a tourist pass), and runs 5AM-2AM.

In the 35-40 games I went to at Fenway, I never once drove or was driven, so I don't even know how to tell you to do it. In fact, I never noticed a lot around the park that wasn't a permit lot. Take the Green Line (B,C, or D) to Kenmore Station and follow the signs and the crowd.

Game Parking: See above.

Tickets/Seats: How to acquire, what to get. What to get??? Hmmm... GET IN THE BUILDING!!! The only seats I would truly avoid are any marked "obstructed view" unless you feel like making out with an iron post for 3-4 hours -- choose SRO's instead. I would also caution against the RF Grandstand seats. LF's are not so bad. But choose the bleachers over either of these options. Infield Grandstand seats can be hit-or-miss depending on how far back they are and the positioning of posts. Anything in the Loge or Field Level is fine, but you better roll deep. The Roof Boxes (not Monster) can be had for a decent price sometime, but don't give you the true Fenway flavor.

How to acquire? Roll deep. Ebay is full of scalpers and a few regular folks selling tickets. Most true RS fans with season tickets will only sell to others of a like mindset. This means not you.

If you really want to go, you'll pay and thus, go ahead and pay for something decent. Scalpers can be found all along the route from Kenmore to the park.

What to see/do/eat at the ballpark. See it all. Get there early at least once and just walk around until the gates open. Check out all the goodie shops around the park as well as the chicken on a stick and sausage vendors. Visit the Ted Williams monument. When you enter the seating area, come up through the tunnel around Aisle 127. You may pass Johnny Pesky, in uniform, near the entrance to the RS clubhouse on the "concourse" back there. Stand over the dugout and chat up the guys as they come in and out of the dugouts. Go shag balls out in the bleachers during BP. The ushers pretty much let you have free run of the place (except the Monster) during BP -- take advantage. Enjoy the best baseball experience in the US. Cheer like crazy, jeer like crazy. Sing along with Sweet Caroline. (Varitek named his daughter Caroline, by the way.) Hope the Sox lose once sometime in your trip so you can learn new curses. Hope they win once so you can hear Tessie/Dirty Water.

Eats -- Roll deep. If it's chilly, get Legal Seafood clam chowder. My old man couldn't believe it was true. It is. Everything else is pretty standard fair. (Eat a chicken on a stick or a vendor sausage before the game -- they're still there after as well.) There is a large new concessions area down behind the RF grandstand/bleachers that I didn't really take the time to check out closely.

What to see/do/eat in the city. This is where I might fall short in my review. As a struggling young student, I was limited in my choce of eats. There are a variety of places near Quincy Market (downtown) that are worth investigating. The Harvard area also provides a goodly number of fairly inexpensive and diverse eateries. There's a vibrant Chinatown accessible by the Orange Line. Also, if you enjoy Italian, you must take a foray into the North End. The restaurants there tend to change names quite a bit, but try any of them. To stay in business in North End (Green or Orange Line -- Haymarket Station), you've got to be good! There are also a decent number of options around the ballpark. The Cask'N'Flagon is a bar catering to Sox patrons. (Not sure if they do food or not.) There are a couple of sports-themed restaurants/bars (and trendy-hipster nightclubs) on Landsdowne, behind the Monster. There are also some chain-food type options in Kenmore Square, near the station.

As far as what to see/do. Buy a book. It's only 15 bucks and it'll save me a lot more typing.

As you maybe can tell, I love Boston. Being from the South/Midwest, I was intimidated when I first arrived. My hillbilly accent did not help. Soon enough, I found out it really didn't matter. The people there are genuine, hard-working Yankees and they respect the same, no matter where you're from. And they got me to adopt their team. See, I (and most of us on this board) are passionate about the Reds. But there aren't a whole lot of us. That's why we need support groups like this one. For Sox fans, every subway car and Dunkin Donuts is a support group, because the whole region loves the Sox the way I love the Reds.

In summary, go to Boston! Go Reds! Go Sox!

[redsfanva]

This site might help out with some cities:

http://travel.ballparksofbaseball.com/

[gonelong]

Completely. Shameless. Bump.

[Heath]

After spending a few weeks (as recently as last summer) in NYC - I'll have to go "wikipedia" and edit the below about the Big Apple.

Hotel - any hotel in Manhatta would be fine - be prepared to shell it out (avg $200/night or more) No Days Inn next to the airport or in the 'burbs around here. Best way to go - stay with family or friends if you can do it.

Transportation. Use the subway. Its $2 a ride or $20/weekend for unlimited rides. Its the best way to get to the game bar none. Everyone else uses it, why not you. The 7 line takes to you from Grand Central to the Willets Point/Shea. If you want to go to Yankee, take the Green 4 line to the 161st/Yankee. NOTE-There is no subway from LaGuardia airport. You must taxi to Manhattan.

Tickets - you would be surprised how easy tickets can be gotten. You can get Mets tickets anytime. Yankees are pretty easy except for Red Sox tickets. Go online at the teams website. You will pay decent money, but the best seats are already gone. In Shea, I'd sit in the second tier (I think its $25-30/ticket. At Yankee, get what you can get. If you sit in the bleachers, you can not get to the other parts of the stadium AND there is no adult beverages.

Restaraunts - Shea's in the middle of parking lots, the airport, and a subway platform surrounded by Queens. Eat at the Park. Yankee is in an older neighborhood of South Bronx - I'd recommend eating before you hit the subway. Yankee does have some neat older bars around the Stadium. (And it is THE Stadium. The Mets play at Shea.) If you want Yankee atmosphere, eat at Mickey Mantle's on 59th, south of Central Park and over by Columbus Circle. Its pricey - but very nice place to eat. Also, the hot dog stands in lower Manhattan/Financial districts are fantastic. (especially the Sabrett's stand - try it with kraut and spicy mustard)

New Yorkers are relatively harmless - just don't stare at people.

BTW - if you are trying to see the Mets & the Yankees, you need to schedule a week vacation - they don't play the same days. Rule of thumb-if the Mets are in town, the Yankees are away.

NY Yankees/Mets:

Hotels: Stay in Manhattan, anywhere else is a bit of a risk, use Priceline or similar website (FYI, they are expensive). Taxi's to the game.. you can't afford it.

Game Parking:
LOL, if you haven't driven in the City before, don't even attempt it. Parking prices, LMAO, even funnier. For the Yankees take the subway, the B/D from Rock Center, but be careful. To the Mets, take the 7 from Grand Central & pray you can catch the express.

Tickets:
For the Mets you shouldn't have a problem, but for good seats you may have to scalp. The Yankees may be a different story. But trying on the website is a good place to start. As for good seats, you probably don't have enough money.

What to eat at Ballpark:
You're in NYC, eat the Pizza or the Dogs. While you wont' be able to afford the beers at $8, they sure look tasty. Of course they have the rest of the average tasting ballpark food as well.

What to do/eat in the City:
It's New York, you can do anything you want. Most of the food is good too. The list of good places to eat would be endless.

Disclaimer: (This was compiled slightly in gest, while somewhat factual, it might not be completely accurate, but comes from my few of years of NYC experience. For a more complete list a more "seasoned" New Yorker would be more helpful, then again, probably not, they'll tell you to 'eff off. )

[vaticanplum]

NOTE-There is no subway from LaGuardia airport. You must taxi to Manhattan.

There is a bus though that goes right from all terminals the airport, the M60. It takes you into Manhattan (hence the "M") and also to the N/R subway line in Queens. Pretty easy and only $2 vs. a $35 base cab fare. I'm extremely cheap when it comes to transportation, though, unless I've been drinking.

Heath's right-- in general, always fly into LaGuardia if you can; it's much closer and more accessible to everything than JFK or Newark.

[Red Leader]

I was just at Petco for 3 games last week so I'll take that and do a write-up soon.

[Heath]

also - for the Interleague days - here are Detroit and Cleveland.

DETROIT -

Transportation - You have three options, your car, your car, and maybe your car. Oh, and you can use the Detroit People Mover. More on that later.

Hotels - Comerica is kinda off to the side of Downtown Detroit. There are some in the suburbs and you can park. Or, you can stay downtown at the Ren Center. The Ren Center Marriott has ticket deals all the time. Plus, you can have your car parked and you can take to People Mover to Comerica. The People Mover is an electric trolley that circles the city. It's a .50 per ride and it drops you off 2 blocks from Comerica at Grand Circus.

Parking - There is parking EVERYWHERE. The Tigers website has a parking map. The closer to the park, the more expensive. Best deal I have found was $10 for the parking garage in Left Center field next to Ford Field. Some people have parked for free up there, but I don't know where they are, and if its worth it. My opinion is, what's $10 to make sure your car is back where you parked it if you are plunking down $200 on your trip anyway?

Restaraunts - Hockeytown Cafe' is a block away. There's a Dog Stand in the stadium. Also - if you get really hungry for home, there's a Big Boy stand & a Montgomery Inn in Comerica. And Little Caesar's Pizza. Lots of Little Caesar's.

Tickets - Yes. Plenty. Sometimes, they even have "Internet 1/2-off" Tickets. Not a bad seat, except the Outfield seats are WAY out.

GIK might think I am nuts, and I hate the "School Up North", but every year I go to a Tigers game. Its worth it. It's a fun park to go to.


CLEVELAND -

HOTELS - Stay at the airport in the burbs - Don't get me wrong, the downtown hotels are nice, but parts of downtown think they are cosmopolitan and their prices reflect it. The Hyatt downtown does have hotel/ticket deals.

PARKING - all over the place - Can't miss them. There are parking garages just to east of 9th Street for $5.

TRANSPORTATION - Take your car. I-71 to I-90 to E. 9th St. Follow Signs (or light towers).

FOOD - Park has some interesting options. Best one is a KIDS menu - $1 for popcorn, $1 for drink, $1 for candy. Great for families. Normal ballpark fare - including microbrews from Great Lakes Brewery in the outfield. A few scattered watering holes across the street.

TICKETS - well, if this was about 5 years ago, I'd tell you to forget it. Now, you can walk up to the gate and get whatever you want. Be prepared. The 500 level seats are WAY high. You feel you looking DOWN from the Goodyear blimp.

[Heath]

There is a bus though that goes right from all terminals the airport, the M60. It takes you into Manhattan (hence the "M") and also to the N/R subway line in Queens. Pretty easy and only $2 vs. a $35 base cab fare. I'm extremely cheap when it comes to transportation, though, unless I've been drinking.

Heath's right-- in general, always fly into LaGuardia if you can; it's much closer and more accessible to everything than JFK or Newark.

The nice thing about JFK and Newark is the train will connect you to subway and then the sky's the limit.

I forgot about the M60. I took it once. Duh.

[Heath]

I was just at Petco for 3 games last week so I'll take that and do a write-up soon.

I vote for a RedsZone.com roadie to San Diego....

[Heath]

Vatican needs to do the Wrigleyville/Comiskey...err...US Cellular experience.