Minor League Ballparks
For fans of all the great parks in the smaller cities around the country.
AT&T Field-Chattanooga
I was really hoping for a good experience at Chattanooga, but unfortunately, I felt a little disappointed. Heading there was actually a little tricky. When you get off of Highway 27 and it is right there in your face. I was thinking, "Great! I can get a spot to park close to the park and I'm in!" Not the case. Much like the MLB ballparks, Chattanooga is located in the downtown area and there were only a few regular parking spaces but also a parking deck. So after trying to find what I was looking for 15 minutes, I went in the parking deck. Then the next thing came and that was to get to the park itself. I climed what felt like endless flights of stairs since the stadium is built on a hill. And even when we got in, we still had to climb a set of stairs to get to our seats. Very rough.
We got to our seats which was behind home plate and they were fine, but due to the seating at Chattanooga, there were no cup holders or any space in the front row. Also noted was because of how the right field foul line seats were angled in so much it actually blocked off a bit of right field from home plate. And the game itself was fine, but there just seemed like something was missing from the park, giving it an authentic Minor League feel.
Prices were actally very good but the selection was limited in both the food category and the souvenir seciton (mostly shirts and ballcaps). The burger and fries they had there was good, but the pizza was not unlike what you would find from your local grocery store in the freezer (i.e. those $1 frozen pizzas). The scoreboard at the park was small and there weren't any cameras on the field beside the one behind home plate. I was saddened on that, especially since the Class A Savannah and Rome were able to have at least 3-4 cameras inside the park.
I did like the push to have the Chattanooga fans try to rally behind the prospects and the Dodgers franchise (Dodgertown, Tennessee was what they were gunning for, but I am not sure if they will do well since it is Braves country). The fans, though quiet, stuck around to watch the final out of the game and I liked that (though some were heckling their own players which made no sense).
Overall I would have to say I was very disappointed by the park. It wasn't BAD, but nothing really good on it. It just seemed like they wasted a golden opportunity to have a great minor league ballpark like they had with Engel Stadium (from what I have been told).
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE BALLPARK:
1. Prices were cheap throughout
2. The whole place was very clean (save for the bathroom where paper towels were all over the floor
WHAT DIDN'T LIKE ABOUT THE BALLPARK:
1. Poor location-wasn't in a bad area of town for sure but just set on a hill and I wasn't keen on that
2. Variety of food/souvenirs
3. The park just lacked a true minor league charm that I have experienced at Rome, Savannah, and even Gwinnett
But overall, this park is still better than Gwinnett.
We got to our seats which was behind home plate and they were fine, but due to the seating at Chattanooga, there were no cup holders or any space in the front row. Also noted was because of how the right field foul line seats were angled in so much it actually blocked off a bit of right field from home plate. And the game itself was fine, but there just seemed like something was missing from the park, giving it an authentic Minor League feel.
Prices were actally very good but the selection was limited in both the food category and the souvenir seciton (mostly shirts and ballcaps). The burger and fries they had there was good, but the pizza was not unlike what you would find from your local grocery store in the freezer (i.e. those $1 frozen pizzas). The scoreboard at the park was small and there weren't any cameras on the field beside the one behind home plate. I was saddened on that, especially since the Class A Savannah and Rome were able to have at least 3-4 cameras inside the park.
I did like the push to have the Chattanooga fans try to rally behind the prospects and the Dodgers franchise (Dodgertown, Tennessee was what they were gunning for, but I am not sure if they will do well since it is Braves country). The fans, though quiet, stuck around to watch the final out of the game and I liked that (though some were heckling their own players which made no sense).
Overall I would have to say I was very disappointed by the park. It wasn't BAD, but nothing really good on it. It just seemed like they wasted a golden opportunity to have a great minor league ballpark like they had with Engel Stadium (from what I have been told).
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE BALLPARK:
1. Prices were cheap throughout
2. The whole place was very clean (save for the bathroom where paper towels were all over the floor
WHAT DIDN'T LIKE ABOUT THE BALLPARK:
1. Poor location-wasn't in a bad area of town for sure but just set on a hill and I wasn't keen on that
2. Variety of food/souvenirs
3. The park just lacked a true minor league charm that I have experienced at Rome, Savannah, and even Gwinnett
But overall, this park is still better than Gwinnett.
meg minard (30/44/205)
At the time I went, there was an escalator that brought one up all those steps. Guess they've replaced that with steps.
Did you notice the visiting team's clubhouse door was in the right/center outfield wall? That seemed odd to me but I have seen it in a few more minor leagues stadiums I've visited.
They must have changed their souvenir shop. I commented on it being big but no postcards. When visiting a stadium, I just mainly go in just to get hat pins and check for postcards.
Jul 27, 2010