Viva El Birdos: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Sports blogs for fans, by fans.
Around SBN: Fedor vs Rogers Results and Live Coverage

SI Ballpark Rankings

Thought you Viva El Birdos readers would find this interesting:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/baseball/mlb/08/31/fvi/

I was surprised Busch Stadium rated so highly--above Fenway, Camden, and The Sacred Pile Of Bricks. I wasn't surprised because I think badly of Busch (quite the opposite as astute readers know), but because I'm so used to hearing about nothing but the old ballparks' "traditional" value, which I usually agree with (to a point). Anyhow, SI uses some weirdo criteria. Check it out for yourselves.

0 recs  |  Comment 4 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

Thanks for the list...
Note that it is ranking best VALUE, instead of best ball park.  I did a ranking once with some baseball friends scattered throughout the country and we considered the following:  History, getting there and out, ballpark concessions (with subpart of beer served), atmosphere outside the park (what there is to do around the park), stadium architecture and the wild card round where you recived three sentences to speak to your park nominee.  On these grounds, it broke down to a Wrigley vs Fenway discussion, with a  close third for Safeco Field.  We made a conscience decission NOT to include product on the field as a category.  

Looking at this list, and just the two parks I reviewed: Miller and Busch, I cannot believe that Busch lost the battle of the beer barons.  The abundance of cheap seats at Miller takes down the average ticket price by far.  Sixteen bucks to sit in the fourth ring at Busch is quite high, but then again supply and demand factors huge here.  The food I find to be a even split in terms of price with the CLEAR advantage to Busch in terms of selection (drooling on the keyboard right now for some Super Smokers Bar-B-Que), and have never ever priced souveniers except for the program and the scorecard.  (Moment aside, the best scorebard value is the Cubs scorecard which is 2 bucks and gets you the scouts look at the next four teams coming into Wrigely, pretty cool read.)  

What I find funny in the Miller review is the East coast mentality when it comes to parking.  SI lists 12 bucks at Miller as cheap.  Busch is ten, which granted is only two bucks cheaper, but if you are willing to walk three blocks you can get six dollar parking.  Also, if you are going alone or with just one other person, the Metro Link is a good option.  

by Brock20 on Sep 2, 2005 11:26 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

i think
it's a pretty fair assessment of Busch. Just like it said...nothing fancy or flashy, just a good time.

by cardsrul on Sep 2, 2005 1:27 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Clarification....
I'm disagreeing with SI's ranking of Miller number one and of it beating Busch on the battle of best value.  The place where Miller does trump Busch is average ticket price, and for that matter access to good tickets.  There is a reason that so many fans from middle of Illinois and throughout the Mid-West come to Miller rather than going down to Busch to see the Cards.  Frankly, they can get close to the field at Busch.  

I don't much care for the forced acitivities between innings which SI seems to rank high in their rating.  So what if a park gives away more free, corporate sponsored crap between innnings.  I think its an excuse to cover up the fact that the product on the field is weak.  

by Brock20 on Sep 3, 2005 2:46 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

agreed
"participatory" gimmicks at the ballpark usually equal losing team.
matty fred is a weblog.

by matty fred on Sep 6, 2005 9:17 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

Welcome to the Internet's #1 St. Louis Cardinals blog.
Start posting about the Cardinals »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Stl_ia_card_45_-_dark_small
Jeff Pearlman Thinks Of Hair Clumps When He Thinks Of The Thief McGwire
Black-spider-monkey_small
Losing my religion (w/ baseball)

Recent FanPosts

Small
40 Man Question..
Cathybachebay1_small
The current Busine$$ of Baseball...how long can it last?
Avatar_small
VEB CheBird T-Shirt for Sale - Red or Powder Blue, CLEARANCE
Stl_ia_card_45_-_dark_small
October Lore: One In A Million
St-louis-cardinals-script_small
A Team of Free Agents
St-louis-cardinals_small
Report: LaRussa Will Return
Small
Skip's Lament: The Curse of Too Many Decent Players
Stlcardinals4070_small
Closer Fail

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >


Managers

Jack_benny_small DanUpBaby

Editors

Bender1_small azruavatar

Adam1_small chuckb

Trigun_001_small the red baron