I've got a new favorite MLB ballpark!

[oruacat2]

Move over PNC Park (Pittsburgh), there's a new sheriff in town!
Miller Park in Milwaukee (home of the Brewers) is an awesome stadium in terrific baseball town. Wow! You architect nerds would love it, too. It's a convertible stadium, with a roof that can open or close depending on the weather, and an outfield that can be enclosed on cold days with massive sliding panels. Really fun is the strictly enforced "scalpers' row" outside the stadium - definitely improves the odds of scoring a great ticket at a reasonable price. I hung-out for an hour before gametime and watched the scalpers/buyers/sellers do their thing, trying to figure out my "in", and I saw 5-6 different pairs of bicycle cops keeping a close watch on the goings-on. I ultimately bought my ticket ($36.50 face value, just to the 1B side of homeplate, 2nd level) for a cool $20 from a guy who, quote, "loves screwing-over these scalpers". Not bad for a sellout (CC Sabathia pitched, and it was JJ Hardy bobblehead day). To payback the fine city of Milwaukee for their hospitality, and to appease the weather-gods, I gave my Hardy bobblehead to some guy with a son at home who was unable to attend. Had to get that Good Deed finished before the end-of-the-month. Left in the 8th with the score tied 2-2, mainly to beat traffic because I had no idea how to find my hotel from the ballpark, but I shouldn't have worried - it was an easy 5 minute drive away, right downtown. Really, the only minor imperfection in the whole Miller Park baseball experience was that it wasn't my beloved Reds playing the bad guys - but hell, that's just an excuse to come back at a later date.

And the women! My god, man, the women!
They're all of German/Scandanavian descent, with fair hair and skin, with a plethora of braided pigtails (which I adore), curvacious bodies, and a love for beers, brats, and baseball. It's a sports fan's heaven-on-earth. lol I spent Friday night in Madison watching the Packers' game with a friendly hippie couple and three smokin' hot UW coeds who BTW really knew their football. Unfortunately, the more beer I consumed, the more that southern twang came out, and I inadvertantly started dropping "y'alls" on them all night, which brought on all sorts of derision and wisecracks. No worries, I gave as well as I got. lol Great town though - it's nice to see a college town with such a high concentration of bars/restaurants on a downtown "strip". Just LOADS of people out walking from bar to bar -really had a great time, and the Spotted Cow local brew was divine.

KD

[yitbos]

ive heard that place is amazing....had a friend go up there when we converted a bunch of banks to ours, he went in...had a few beers...loved the atmosphere.

[gerntz]

Thanks, cause I think PNC is really cool.

[oruacat2]

Not sure how I forgot to mention this tidbit - they TAILGATE like we do at football games! I've never seen pro-baseball fans tailgate like this. Sure, you see the occasional grill and everyone sneaks a "cheap" beer or two before going into the stadium, but this was full-fledged tailgating - grills everywhere, frisbees, cornhole tourneys, sunbathers, you name it.

Like a fool, I left early and missed JJ Hardy's game-winning walkoff hit in the bottom the 12th. I probably could've sold that damn bobblehead after that. lol

KD

[oruacat2]

Thanks, cause I think PNC is really cool.

I was surprised how much I liked PNC.
When you don't count the surrounding scenery and concentrate only on the baseball and the park itself, PNC and Miller beat a lot of the more celebrated "big name" stadiums hands-down. Wrigley is all hype - terrific carnival-like atmosphere outside the stadium (Wrigleyville) but the building itself is a dump. Candlestick and later PacBell are ho-hum, but it's tough to beat that view of San Francisco and her Bay - same for Coors Field and the Rocky Mountains. PNC is a "sleeper", but still, they're a Steelers town. Milwaukee is baseball-centric, and it shows.

You should roadtrip, gerntz, and I'll go with you.
Then we'll pen a book about our experiences....kind of a "fish out of water" buddy adventure. lol

KD

[Jody Porter]

I was surprised how much I liked PNC.
When you don't count the surrounding scenery and concentrate only on the baseball and the park itself, PNC and Miller beat a lot of the more celebrated "big name" stadiums hands-down. Wrigley is all hype - terrific carnival-like atmosphere outside the stadium (Wrigleyville) but the building itself is a dump. Candlestick and later PacBell are ho-hum, but it's tough to beat that view of San Francisco and her Bay - same for Coors Field and the Rocky Mountains. PNC is a "sleeper", but still, they're a Steelers town. Milwaukee is baseball-centric, and it shows.

You should roadtrip, gerntz, and I'll go with you.
Then we'll pen a book about our experiences....kind of a "fish out of water" buddy adventure. lol

KD

Disclaimer: Near life-long Cubs fan here, so Wrigley is, purely homeristically, the best ballpark....ever. :icon_smile:

That said, my biggest gripe with Wrigley is that there is hardly an unobstructed view anywhere above the lowest levels. Seems as if every seat will have a beam blocking your view of at least some part of the action. (Worst for me was one time I couldn't see the batter. :mad:)

My favorite that I've attended so far (besides Wrigley :cool:) is Coors Field. I'm sure most of that has to do with the view you mention, but it's hard to discount that as part of the whole baseball viewing experience.

[oruacat2]

As a life-long Reds fan, my goal is to take a weedwhacker to that outfield wall some day.

KD

[Sir Richard F. Burton]

The new stadium in Washington for the Nationals is really nice. No corporate name yet and with their record it may be a while before they get a corporate sponsored name.

[gerntz]

I was surprised how much I liked PNC.
When you don't count the surrounding scenery and concentrate only on the baseball and the park itself, PNC and Miller beat a lot of the more celebrated "big name" stadiums hands-down. Wrigley is all hype - terrific carnival-like atmosphere outside the stadium (Wrigleyville) but the building itself is a dump. Candlestick and later PacBell are ho-hum, but it's tough to beat that view of San Francisco and her Bay - same for Coors Field and the Rocky Mountains. PNC is a "sleeper", but still, they're a Steelers town. Milwaukee is baseball-centric, and it shows.

You should roadtrip, gerntz, and I'll go with you.
Then we'll pen a book about our experiences....kind of a "fish out of water" buddy adventure. lol

KD

The only thing better is if Levi & SRFB came too.