CHICAGO CUBS—OVERALL BALLPARK CHASER RANK-3RD

GETTING THERE

O'HARE AIRPORT is definitely the better airport to fly in for the game—otherwise if you are driving from EAST or WEST sooner or later you will connect through the 90 and 94 highways, let us concentrate on flying in. O'HARE is one of the bigger airports in AMERICA with lots of restaurants and amenities within. They built the airport knowing full well that many of the travelers would be experiencing delays from the ‘WINDY CITY’. This city is a ballpark chaser’s nightmare for flying in and out of. 75% of the flights I have had in the 15 plus airplane trips in and out of the city have been delayed---including costing me a missed game in Toronto during my first streak attempt. So number one rule is to fly into the city early as possible to and from so you can give yourself the best opportunity to make your next baseball game.
O'HARE is a strong 'HUB' airport for the airlines: AMERICAN, UNITED AIRLINES AND US AIRWAYS. Your cheaper flights like most airports are always going to be early. Personally, because of the Since the airport's close proximity to Milwaukee, you are better off to fly to MKE for cheaper fares—especially if you are combining Chicago with Milwaukee in a baseball trip. Sometimes there are also cheaper flights when flying into Chicago’s other main airport (MDW).
If you are not going anywhere but to baseball games I do not recommend driving a car—not only is it very expensive with multiple tolls—in every direction—but the traffic is some of the most intense I have ever been a part of. The subway/buses system might just be the best in AMERICA. www.transitchicago.com.
Now coming from O'HARE—they have a subway terminal in the bottom floor of the airport. The blue line will take you all the way into thew downtown sector. Particularly if you are going to WRIGLEY FIELD—you will still need to take another bus to make to the game. The easiest solution is to take the blue subway until you can connect to the RED LINE HOWARD Train---before you arrive at the ADDISON STOP. Subway rides go for a mere $2.50 per trip.
If you are travelling by car, there is a quick shuttle from ‘O'HARE’-to the car rental facilities. Weekday car rentals are quite pricey at about $70-100—even with a Priceline bid you will still pay upwards of $50 per day. Weekend days are not as bad. I highly recommend ‘BUDGET’ at OHARE, the ‘FASTBREAK MEMBERS’ receive top-notch service at this facility and it is well worth the time savings and non-hassle to rent with these guys.
I always drive on the 90 highway to the game until I come upon the exit of W. Irving Park -and take that street until I hit N. Sheffield. There are nice parking lots out there for $10-20-and it is only a mile walk away from WRIGLEY. I would travel the same way coming from 94 East. Under no circumstance is it good to drive anywhere near ‘WRIGLEYVILLE’ before or after the game.

PARKING

It is unruly to pay the parking fees close to the ballgame at $30-40 per game—if you are willing to walk 2-3 miles you can find decent prices for parking that are about half of that fee.

HOTELS

I highly recommend staying at the ‘SHEFFIELD HOUSE HOTEL’ www.sheffieldhousehotel.com This affordable hotel is located about a mile from the park--and you can stay there for under a hundred dollars for a normal room and only slightly more for king-sized beds. Ballpark chaser tip---is that with this hotel, any other hotel-be prepared to pay for parking or to have to find alternative means.

BALLPARK CHASER SPECIAL—CHICAGO HOSTEL AT 25 E.CONGRESS PARKWAY. www.hihostels.com For that singular traveler the rate is only $37 per night for a bed and you receive a continental breakfast. This location is right in downtown Chicago-and about a mile away from GRANT PARK-where President Obama made his acceptance speech. This particular hostel is perfect for either a game at WRIGLEY FIELD OR US CELLULAR FIELD. One block from the hostel is ‘STATE STATION’ which connects you to the RED LINE 95TH/DAN RYAN EXPRESSWAY towards US CEULLAR for 15 minutes—and the HOWARD TRAIN—which takes about 20 minutes to WRIGLEY FIELD. This hostel is also a short walk from CHICAGO UNION STATION—where you can travel via AMTRAK TRAIN.

AMTRAK SERVICE
This is a phenomenal way to travel between Milwaukee and back---for $22 for a one-way ticket the train only takes 75 minutes between cities and they run every few hours.

DOUBLEHEADER ATTEMPTS:
Chicago has a lot of double header attempts---mainly because the CUBBIES play so many day games---those SATURDAY nooner’s lend themselves to many chances.

CHI WHITE SOX—there is only a 30 minute subway trip between both parks—or about an hour in traffic.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS—BALLPARK CHASER SPECIAL HERE—during weekdays there is a train that leaves CHICAGO UNION STATION at 5:08 pm and arrives in Milwaukee about 6:45. This is where the flight to Milwaukee ties in perfectly. You could take an early morning train into Chicago and then take the RED LINE HOWARD into the game---after the game--take the RED LINE D.RYAN EXP back to the station. All you have to do is park at the Milwaukee Airport (AMTRAK STATION)—and then drive the 10-15 minutes into town—(TAKE HIGHWAY 94 east before turning onto NATIONAL AVE—all the way to MILLER PARK. With games ending by 4:00 IN cHICAGO routinely you can make this trip. In driving you are capable as well but it is a lot tighter and massive traffic still may stop you.

Any of these cities you can combine if the eastern team plays a matinee—and the CUBS play a night game---you gain an hour when flying because of time zone changes.

CLEVELAND INDIANS
BALTIMORE ORIOLES
CINCINATTI REDS
DETROIT TIGERS
TORONTO

You can also drive to make part of the game if travelling from Cincinnati if they play a 12:35pm matinee—it is about a 4 hour drive when you consider the time zone change.

On Saturday’s the CUBS matinee games are 12:10 starts so you can make a 5:11 flight from ORD to STL that lands at 6:11 for a night game in STL—This is a cheap flight at about $80 one-way.

You can make a partial TWINS game by flying to Minnesota—flight leaves ORD at 5:17 and arrives at 6:55 pm—you could make it to TARGET by 2nd or 3rd inning.

GREYHOUND BUS
Another great way to travel in the mid-western USA, you can travel to neighboring cities like Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Detroit, Cleveland and St. Louis for $11-45 one way. Most are attainable within a day of travel-including overnight.
www.greyhound.com

INTANGIBLES

WRIGLEY FIELD has souvenirs that are really affordable for those with less money to spend in this dept like: Fridge magnets, pens, pencils and all sorts of buck or two items. Most ballparks charge at least $4 for these items. For those strapped for cash there is a MCDONALD’S right outside the ballpark that features the $1 menu. Also, you can buy any gear of the CUBS at countless amounts of vendors and souvenir shops—Maybe Yankee Stadium and Fenway only have more per capita then WRIGLEY FIELD Again I recommend STUBHUB (www.stubhub.com) for single tickets. Since there is such a high demand for tickets---a lot of e-tickets(PRINT FROM YOUR COMPUTER IN PDF)are available that only cost $5.00 to print instead of $11.95 plus tax to send via mail.
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US CELLULAR FIELD BALLPARK RANK BY CHASERS—19TH

GETTING THERE

Refer to The Chicago Cubs for O'HARE Airport. Actually MDW is much closer. Midway Airport is actually a lot like NEW YORK’S ‘LGA’ in that they dropped an airport in the middle of a suburban area. However if your preferred airline is either: AIRTRAN, DELTA or MIDWEST—then these are the main trips for Chicago at MDW. So if you fly into MDW-you are about a twenty minute drive to US CELLULAR FIELD on the 55 hwy-S.

Driving is easy. The 90-94 HWY gets you there to the 35th ST turnoff---you better give yourself a lot of time as this is bottle neck traffic once you are off the main highway.

SUBWAY is still the best way from downtown—you take the RED LINE-DAN RYAN EXP-95—it is only 15 minutes from downtown and a $2.50 charge. Unless there is 40000 people at the game, even after it is decent in returning downtown via the subway-RED LINE HOWARD.

PLEASE REFER TO THE CHICAGO CUBS FOR ALL HOTELS

PARKING/TICKETS

US CELLULAR FIELD is a complete rip-off for parking near the park. $23-30 is outrageous. It is also an outrage that their cheapest ticket is $21. Chicago White Sox head office you should be ashamed that YANKEE STADIUM/DODGER STADIUM/BUSCH STADIUM/AT@T PARK and SAFECO FIELD-offer lower end tickets that better your lower tickets and your park is not even in their league when it comes to rankings.



FOOD
I recommend eating downtown at any number of deep dish pizza tavern's before game time—although the dogs are pretty decent at the CEL—as well with the nachos.

INTANGIBLES
What I really liked about US CELLULAR FIELD is the countless music acts they have outside the game before the game. Also there are many monuments and statue’s that chronicle one of the most storied franchises in MLB. The fireworks shooting out of the pillars on the scoreboard are a fantastic visual. The back end tickets for most of us ballpark chasers is not so great, if you buy an upper deck ticket you are staying at that level only. Be prepared to take a few elevators an---then walk down the concourse ramp of 5 stories when exiting the park.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS-MILLER PARK
BALLPARK CHASER RANK—11TH

GETTING THERE

MKE(GENERAL MITCHELL AIRPORT) is not very far away from the ballpark—and in terms of value-may be the best airport to fly in and out of in America next to Indianapolis—but INDY does not have a ball team. Cheap flights from airlines AIRTRAN and MIDWEST highlight this little airport. It is easily the most accessible airport in the way of security and transportation. I have used this airport countless times for early morning flights coming and going—many of which included one-way drives from other cities just to take advantage of the cheap flights out of 'MKE.'
The car rental building is across the street from the airport. Milwaukee is known for cheap car rentals--and you can easily shop for a bargain at Priceline www.priceline.com in the name your own price section. I think I paid $15 for the day last time at National. Driving is definitely the way to go if you fly in.
If you arrived by AMTRAK OR GREYHOUND-more than viable options—you are an easy cab ride away from the park at $15-20 near the downtown sector.

BALLPARK CHASER TIP-AMTRAK offers baggage service drop-off at the station downtown for $3 per day, a great thing to combine with a doubleheader with Chicago minus the luggage. Both the AMTRAK AND GREYHOUND STATION are in the same location---remember you can also exit at the airport station-and take the free shuttle bus to the airport to rent a car. Subsequently you can take this train from the airport to the downtown AMTRAK station for a $7.50 fee. Again this would even enable you to use the baggage service if there was a day game in Milwaukee before heading out somewhere after.

PARKING
Is very cheap at the ballpark-usually a $10 charge—the overflow lots are quite confusing with the connecting streets—so make sure you take note of where you are in relation to the entrance gates.

HOTELS

If you are staying in MilwaukeeI highly recommend bidding on hotels at www.priceline.com You can get a hotel room by bidding $25-30 per night. I have used this 3 times already in trips. Most likely they will wind up putting you into the SUPER 8 NEARB---or the EXTENDED STAY AMERICA HOTEL-both are in Wauwatosa within 6 miles of the park. www.super8.com , www.extendedstayamerica.com they both cost roughly $60 for the night by themselves. The SUPER 8 has a continental breakfas---and a communal internet computer—the EXTENDED STAY is a good option for chasers with young families—as they feature kitchenette sets with actual dishes, pots and pans---and a full fridge.
If you are staying near the airport for a quick getaway in the morning I recommend the MOTEL 6 AT THE AIRPORT—for $45 per night, www.motel6.com . Also remember that at Motel 6’s you can check in at 12pm and you don’t need a credit card---this is very convenient for that ballpark chaser-to keep all of their credit limit intact for future purchases.

FOOD
Miller Park has so many forms of sausages and hot dogs—it is one of those parks you must eat at the park.

INTANGIBLES

I will tell you right now that ‘MILLER PARK’ have the best ballpark staff in the majors today. The first time I was in the park was in April of 2007 to watch a series between the Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Angels. Milwaukee agreed to help Cleveland out because of the massive snow storms in that opening week. The entire staff showed up and pulled off accommodations for 20,000 fans a day in the most unusual circumstances. I was happy to buy ground level tickets for $10 each. In 3 or 4 cases I have interacted with the staff—and they were the most pleasant staff when it came to the verification process of my “GUINESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORD CLAIM’ Many ushers even gave me their home phone numbe----and were willing to write letters on my behalf as witnesses to me making the first pitch on two different occasions.
I give big kudos to the Park too because not only is tailgating not banned on the grounds it is encouraged—heck they give away a free bar fridge to the best tailgate party every game. You rock Milwaukee!

TICKETS

BALLPARK CHASER SPECIAL—Buy the tickets in BERNIE’S DUGOUT SECTION for $9 and then walk the concourse throughout the game—tickets are almost always sold out but the ticket agents-outside before game time-ahem—are not to expensive if you can’t get them from Ticketmaster.

DOUBLE HEADER MATCHES

Part of the SOX/CUBS mix that are viable options for these teams when one is a day game and night game---much easier for MILWAUKEE to be the second leg of the trip with traffic and with AMTRAK schedule. If you are okay with missing 20-30 minutes of a sox or cubs game you can watch a Milwaukee game first and catch the 5:45 pm train to arrive at Chicago Union Station at 7:14-from there you 15-20 minutes away from either team.

THESE TEAMS YOU CAN DOUBLE UP WITH MILWAUKEE WITH THE EASTERN TEAM BEING THE EARLY GAME

NEW YORK METS—12:10 PM STARTS THERE IS A FLIGHT LEAVING LGA AT 5:06 PM THAT ARRIVES IN MKE AT 6:45

CLEVELAND INDIANS
DETROIT TIGERS
TORONTO BLUE JAYS

BALLPARK CHASER SPECIAL----COMBINING MINNESOTA TWINS WITH THOSE 12:10 PM THURSDAY MATINEES WITH A 5:15 DELTA FLIGHT TO MKE THAT ARRIVES AT 6:27 AND ONLY COSTS $60-100—EASIER TO MAKE WITH SECURITY GATE AT LIMBERGH TERMINAL IN MINNY.

YOU CAN COLLECT A PARTIAL GAME - or MAYBE MISS 1 OR 2 INN) WITH CARDS AT BUSCH STADIUM DURING WEEK IF MILWAUKEE MATINEE—AIRTRAN FLIGHT LEAVES AT 5:39 AT MKE AND ARRIVES IN STLOUIS AT 6:53—ONLY $93 DOLLARS