Sports - The Enquirer - August 29, 1999

A BALLPARK COMPARISON - 1

• Denver - Baltimore • Arlington - Phoenix • Seattle - Atlanta


• SIGNATURE FEATURE

PERFECT FIT: Everything about Coors Field in its natural bowl setting — including the specially designed lights, the huge analog clock at the main entrance and the brickwork that's better than even Camden — is a perfect fit for “LoDo,” the former warehouse district known as “Lower Downtown.”

INTERACTIVE WAREHOUSE: The former B&O railroad warehouse, completed in 1905, is as much as part of the ballpark as the bleacher seats. It houses restaurants, offices and shops, serves as the backdrop for game-day festivities and epitomizes the much-imitated “retro” ballpark.


• FOR THE FANS

THEATER IN THE ROUND: Nothing does more to enhance the “ballpark as a communal gathering spot” than Coors' first-level concourse, wide-open to the field, 360 degrees around. It gives baseball it's rightful status — front and center.

HISTORICAL FEEL: Orioles Park is more than “retro” — it's a time machine. Green steel, red brick, black iron gates, cobblestone along the perimeter and the out-of-town scoreboard built into the right field wall all take fans back 70 years. The upper decks are close to the field, providing close-to-the-action seats.


• NON-BASEBALL ACTIVITIES

SCENIC SUNSETS: View of Rocky Mountains in left field (and sunsets that come with it) can be spectacular, but the view is limited to the upper deck along first base and right field. Food and beer in brew pub is good, but the local cuisine — buffalo meat, Rocky Mountain oysters — is hard to find.

FOOD, SHOPPING AND SOUVENIRS: Fans flow into Eutaw Street, running between the warehouse and the right field bleachers, for pregame festivities — beer, barbecue and souvenirs. Even if the Orioles aren't in the hunt, which is the case this year, Eutaw makes the ballpark worth coming to.


• COMMUNITY IMPACT

BOOMTOWN: Before the Rockies located in “LoDo,” the neighborhood had begun to transform itself by converting the old warehouses into restaurants, art galleries and lofts. When the announcement came, the revitalization took off. Today, cranes loom, office buildings rise. Without the park, it wouldn't have happened.

MODEL FOR CINCINNATI: Camden Yards to Baltimore is what the new Reds ballpark should be to Cincinnati: One great place to visit among many, that enhances all. The ballpark helped resurrect a once-dilapidated side of town, but it's not the Gold Coast.


• FINANCIAL IMPACT ON FRANCHISE

BIG FAN BASE: The Rockies say they wish they had designed a spot like Atlanta's “Scout's Alley” (a diversionary fun zone) to generate additional income. But the Rockies continue to be among the leaders in average annual attendance, the lifeblood of small- and mid-market teams.

A MONEY MACHINE: By February the Orioles had sold 3 million tickets, so it hardly matters that today they're 15 games out of first. The 72 suites — innovative in their day but rather ordinary-looking now — boast a waiting list of 50.


• REDS SHOULD COPY

OUTSIDE BALLPARK IMPORTANT: The Reds must encourage development around the ballpark, rather than creating an empire within four walls. Why? A ballpark can help make a franchise recession-proof. Places like Coors and Camden — and yes, Wrigley and Fenway — are places to go even when the team is bad.

SCALPER'S PARADISE: The bustle of Eutaw Street. The smoke and aroma of Boog's Bar-B-Q. And the fresh-cut french fries with salt and vinegar. Camden Yards engages each of the five senses. Also worth copying: the “scalp-free zone,” where people with extra tickets can sell them legally, at face value, to baseball-hungry fans.

A Search for the Perfect Ballpark
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