Baseball parks story

[Ritterskoop]

Just went online. It will be in print on Sunday.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/0 ... zXnuKhdXE0

[MarkBarrett]

Just went online. It will be in print on Sunday.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/0 ... zXnuKhdXE0

Good stuff and well done. I shared the link at the J! Board for baseball fans there to enjoy.

[kayrharris]

Very nice!

kay

[mrkelley23]

Great article, Skoop. May I assume you're planning a trip to Cobb County, Georgia in another couple years?

[ne1410s]

Skoop, that was a fun read. Thanks.

[Ritterskoop]

Great article, Skoop. May I assume you're planning a trip to Cobb County, Georgia in another couple years?

Probably, just because it's so close. On the other hand, I don't care for the way the team extracted two new stadiums out of Atlanta in only a few decades.

This year's goal is the South Atlantic League: 14 teams that are a good bit more spread out than I first realized. But there are several combos (Charleston/Savannah, Rome/Augusta Ga., like that), and five of them are close enough to Charlotte that we can see a game and come home that same night.

[BackInTex]

Great job!

Was your Minute Maid Park (or was it Enron Field then?) visit when we had dinner here?

[Ritterskoop]

Great job!

Was your Minute Maid Park (or was it Enron Field then?) visit when we had dinner here?

I think that was for a Panthers-Texans game, maybe '05 or '06. We were in the early-04 Super Bowl and it was after that.

I visited Houston and Dallas two summers ago for this quest.

[littlebeast13]

Nice story, and I was happy to be a very small part of the adventure....

lb13

[silverscreenselect]

Probably, just because it's so close. On the other hand, I don't care for the way the team extracted two new stadiums out of Atlanta in only a few decades.

There were two completely different jurisdictions involved here, and Cobb County is not Atlanta, although technically, the stadium, which is in unincorporated Cobb County but not the Atlanta city limits, will have an Atlanta mailing address, as does my current office location.

The team had legitimate grievances with the city, which did nothing in 20 years to make the area around the ball park a more pleasant experience, such as the vicinity of stadiums like Camden Yards. There's no readily available rapid transit or any dining or other entertainment venues one could walk to from the stadium (unlike the Georgia Dome). The stadium is good for only one thing, driving there, parking, attending the game, and leaving.

To their credit, the team didn't try to get in a bidding war between the two jurisdictions; they just went to a location that's going to be more readily accessible and more enjoyable for the majority of their fans.

[littlebeast13]

The stadium is good for only one thing, driving there, parking, attending the game, and leaving.

That's four things.... but that still sounds like a full night to me. And this setup doesn't seem to bother the Royals....

lb13

[TheConfessor]

There's no readily available rapid transit or any dining or other entertainment venues one could walk to from the stadium (unlike the Georgia Dome).

Those amenities apparently aren't enough to save the perfectly good Georgia Dome from its planned demolition in the near future.

[elwoodblues]

I am jealous of you as I'm sure many baseball fans are. Great article.

[Vandal]

Well done, Skoop!

I'm only slightly

Spoiler

extremely

jealous.

[Ritterskoop]

I caught some flak for not mentioning PNC in Pittsburgh. I did not explain that my attention that day was nearly all captured by a resident Bored Buddy who turned out to be way more interesting in person than on-Bored. Picky baseball readers seem not to be the sorts who would get that.

[SportsFan68]

Great job, Skoop!

Let me know when you want to catch another game at Mile High.

[Snaxx]

Great article, congrats!

I've been to most of the stadiums but am missing a few ... I checked the list over the weekend and came up with Oakland, the new Minnesota, Kansas City, Arizona and the new Houston and Miami.

I noticed that the Charlotte Knights have just moved uptown. The one time I was around Charlotte during baseball season a few years ago, the Knights were in South Carolina and I think they were not home either.

[Ritterskoop]

Great article, congrats!

I've been to most of the stadiums but am missing a few ... I checked the list over the weekend and came up with Oakland, the new Minnesota, Kansas City, Arizona and the new Houston and Miami.

I noticed that the Charlotte Knights have just moved uptown. The one time I was around Charlotte during baseball season a few years ago, the Knights were in South Carolina and I think they were not home either.

I didn't count new stadiums - if they built one after I visited, I had already marked off that team.

Yes, the Knights are back in Charlotte after 20-odd years in another state. I am among 14 people in a group with 4 season tickets. Anyone who needs some good seats on the third-base line, let me know - we paid just over half the walk-up rate.