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I'll do Wrigley Field, I'm sure a lot of people can add to this. Driving There: Oh, you want to actually get to Wrigley Field? Well don't drive because traffic will suck. Wrigley is about 3 miles east of the Kennedy (I-90/94) Expressway and 1/2 a mile west of Lake Shore Drive. If you're getting off the Kennedy, I advise taking Irving Park. Addison is a parking lot for miles from the Kennedy to the ballpark, Irving Park is at least two lanes each way so that eases things. From LSD, get off at Belmont and sit in a lot of traffic. There is very little official parking. You will likely need to park in a random lot along Addison or Clark St, parking generally runs $40, also make sure it is an "easy-out" lot. Some people will let you park in their home garages, you'll see them standing along the street with cardboard signs. Never done it, but this is probably a good option if you plan to only go to the game and then leave. There is also a remote parking lot at Devry at Belmont and Campbell, with a shuttle to the game. This shuttle doesn't run for that long after the game and you will have to wait in line with the other people after the game. If you can, take public transportation. Public Transportation: Luckily, the CTA Red Line stops 1 block away from Wrigley. Unluckily, this will be jammed with other Cubs fans and commuters angry that they have to share their already crowded ride home with said Cubs fans. Another alternative is to take the Brown Line, and get off at Belmont, or Southport stops and walk a little further. There are Belmont, Addison and Irving Park buses running east/west. I advise not taking Addison because it will be packed and will also have to deal with the lovely Addison traffic. North/South take Clark, Halsted, or Ashland. Tickets: Now that the Cubs really suck, you can actually get tickets at the ballpark before the game. There are also a lot of brokers (legal scalpers) outside Wrigley that you can also buy tickets from. Some have actual storefronts or trailers a block away from the park. Inside the stadium, the outfield is almost all bleachers except in right field. Bleacher tickets are general admission, so if you want to sit up front get there when the gates open, two hours before game time. If the Cubs get good again, or if they're playing the White Sox or Cardinals, then make sure to get there at least an hour before game time to make sure you get a seat. If you show up late and the bleachers are packed, you will stand. Also make sure someone stays to save your seats during the game. Wrigley has notorious columns blocking your view. In the 200 section these generally start in row 6 (it goes further back when you get into the outfield), so try not to get something in row 7 or 8 right along the aisle because you could end up with a column directly in front of you. Upper deck the columns are in the first row of the 500's. Pricing wise, the Cubs are pretty expensive. Cheapest are $20 to sit in the 500's in the outfield, $100+ to sit behind home plate. Bleachers are $45, personally I like the Upper Box tickets for $40, you're guaranteed a good view, without a stupidly high cost. Try not to sit past row 20 in the 200's, the upper deck starts towering over you, cutting off your view of the outfield and scoreboard. Food: Food isn't great at Wrigley. They have the standby hotdogs, pretzels, etc. In the middle of the upper deck is a pretty good food area, with dogs, pizza, sausages and better beer. The field level seats have various concession stands ringing the stadium, so take your pick. Lots of vendors will come around, beer vendors will sell Bud and Old Style (get Old Style). "Better" beers can be had at some select stands around the stadium. I don't find it to be worth it to make the trip. Not sure what beer prices are this year, last year I think it was $7 or $7.50 for a 16 oz Old Style. Other: Seeing the Cubs, especially right now, is more about the before and after the game. Wrigleyville is stocked with bars and restaurants immediately outside the stadium. I prefer Goose Island along Clark St. for food and beer. It's a brewpub that will have beers only available there. Fan favorites are Cubby Bear, Bernies, and Murphy's Bleachers. If you don't particularly care about your beer or food, then just pick a place and go, although I think Slugger's is particularly lovely. Other than that, enjoy seeing a game in one of the few old-time ballparks. Bird in a Blender fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Apr 20, 2013 |
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Apr 20, 2013 00:17
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| # ¿ Apr 16, 2024 21:29 |
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Yeah, I try to do my eating before the game. If you are running short on time, I suggest Bacci's Pizza because you can get a giant slice of pizza, and a pop for like $6. Plus, you can be in and out of there in about 10 minutes, if you eat quickly, so it works if you're in a hurry. The pizza isn't great, but it's acceptable, cheap, and quick. I try to hit a few new parks every year, and I'm down to 9 teams I haven't seen at home. Trying to get to a Mets game later this year, so someone post about Citi Field please. I just went to Petco last weekend, I thought it was a good stadium, and had some unique features to it. Got a fish taco, it was alright, the veggie dog was actually good for ballpark standards.
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Apr 20, 2013 04:09
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Most of those renovations are happening around Wrigley, not to the actual park itself. So it will be a dump, surrounded by a new glitzy hotel and parking garage!
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Apr 20, 2013 19:40
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Dominus Vobiscum posted:Could someone do a writeup on US Cellular Field? I'm thinking of going down for one of the games against the Rays next weekend, and I've never been before. I'm used to seeing baseball at the Trop, so crappy stadiums don't really bother me. I'm going to a Sox game tomorrow. Although I could probably do the write-up from memory since I've been there a dozen times, if no one else does one by Wednesday, I'll do one since it'll be fresh in my mind.
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Apr 22, 2013 18:09
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Was there a reason they added Taft, and why Taft of all presidents if you're going to add one?
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Apr 22, 2013 19:56
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Well, my game tonight got postponed, so I'll just do the writeup for US Cellular Field now. About the Park: First off, almost no one in Chicago actually calls it US Cellular Field, probably because that is a terrible name to say in full. I think only those obligated to say it, such as broadcasters and journalists say that name. I still refer to it as Comiskey, some say Sox Park, and also The Cell. I'm going to refer to it as Comiskey from here on out to stay consistent, but The Cell can be an apt name because there's a whole lot of gray concrete here. Comiskey was opened in 1991 and was unfortunately built right before the retro look for new parks came in to style. This means the park can look rather bland, with lots of the aforementioned concrete. The biggest distinguishing factor about the park is the scoreboard and the fireworks. The Sox light off fireworks, and the pinwheels above the scoreboard light up anytime a Sox player hits a homerun, they also routinely do fireworks nights on weekend night games. These features were started at the old Comiskey Park back in the 70's. There are some water fountains for kids to play in during the warmer days in a couple locations in the park. I'll go more into seating and concessions later. Getting There: If you want to drive, which a lot of fans do, then you have a few options. First, Comiskey has tons of parking, which makes it the polar opposite of Wrigley. There are lots on the north and south sides of the park, and at ITT, which is on the east side of the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94). Coming from the north, you'll get off at 31st street and head south. Coming from the south you need to get off at Pershing. You can prepay for parking and get a pass with your tickets. If you didn't do this you can still pay cash, but if the game is near sold out, I would head to the ITT lots first, since a lot of the ones right next to the park get reserved with prepay passes. Some people do tailgate before games, but I never have. Driving out after the game can take a little bit, but since Comiskey is right next to the expressway, it's not too bad. Public Transportation wise, the Red Line will drop you off right next to the park at the 35th-Sox stop. The only problem is that on May 19th, the CTA is going to close the Red Line from Cermak south to the end of the line for reconstruction, so this won't be an option. There will be shuttles, but I doubt they'll be worth your time. Good news is that the Green Line runs just a couple blocks away, so that is your next best option. I've only taken the Red Line so I'll talk to that experience. It's usually not too crowded before games, but there will be a long long line to get on right after, so plan accordingly. Tickets: Tickets are pretty easy to come by to see the White Sox. Even last year I went to a game in September, with the Sox in first place, and Comiskey was maybe half full. The Sox are pretty notorious for not being able to attract fans. First, if it can be avoided, do not sit in the upper deck. It is extremely high up, and really steep. These are not good seats except for maybe the first 10 rows or so, where you aren't so high in the air. The Sox actually removed some rows off the top because of fan complaints it was that bad. Pricing wise, the Sox are slightly above average. It's about $75-90 to sit near the dugouts, $45-$50 for 100 level seats further out. Outfield and upper deck seats are $20-$30. Stubhub is a good resource right now, you can probably find better seats for below face value. Outfield seats aren't bad, there's a lot of space out there, and you get a decent view. Concessions: Can't say that Comiskey will blow you away with their food or beer. Standard hot dogs, burgers, brats and polish can be had around the stadium. I can't remember much in the way of craft beer. Bud and Miller are available from vendors walking around. Like the stadium itself, I don't think there's anything special here. Other: There is a fan deck in the outfield, never been up there, but I think you can get better beer here, while standing to watch the game. There is the Stadium Club out in right field. You need special tickets to get in, but it's a good place to get some food and drinks before the game. There's a bar that I believe is open to anyone before and after the game. Comiskey is pretty much the exact opposite of Wrigley in a lot of ways. There are very very few places to go around the park. The Sox built the Bacardi Club along 35th street a couple years ago, after that you need to walk at least a 1/2 mile to get to any bar or restaurant. Most people just leave right after the game. The neighborhood surrounding Comiskey is not the greatest, but it's a lot better than what it used to be. If you're determined to go to a local place after the game, I'd guess try for Schaller's Pump.
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Apr 23, 2013 22:45
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angrygodofjebus posted:I'd like to add to this US Cellular Field post: Thanks for the additional stuff, I was going to post more because I realized I forgot a bunch of stuff I was going to say, but you covered almost all of it. The one other thing I was going to mention is that if you go to the north parking lot, you can find the home plate from Old Comiskey Park. I forget exactly where it's at, but I think it's just a little north of 35th Street, and towards the east end of the lot. I absolutely hate the rule that if you have Upper Deck seats you can't even get to the field level, not even to just look around. That is part of the reason I hate Upper Deck also, but I didn't realize they were that cheap. Schrute Nation posted:I'm planning on going later in May and looking at the bleacher seats. One question: do those have backs to the seats? I couldn't image that they didn't and I don't want to assume. I sat in the outfield last year, and I'm pretty sure there were backs to the seats. I was in center field, but I can't remember if the left field seats are true bleachers are not. Bird in a Blender fucked around with this message at 12:32 on Apr 24, 2013 |
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Apr 24, 2013 12:30
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Dominus Vobiscum posted:Thanks, Meltathon and angrygodofjebus. Is it worth it to walk to the Green Line after the game for shorter lines leaving the stadium? I've never actually went to the Green Line after a game, so I'm not sure. I doubt you will get harassed about a Rays jersey, but there can always be a couple assholes. I've gone to a game with an Indians fan before, and she didn't catch any flak.
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Apr 24, 2013 14:40
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Boxman posted:Out of curiosity, are first pitch/rush tickets a thing that is unique to Busch? $11.20 gets you two tickets...somewhere in the stadium. It's random, and you don't know until you've literally gone through the gate. This is really cool, and I want the Cubs and Sox to do this. I would go to a lot more games if it cost less than $6 a ticket and I might get lucky with a good seat.
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Apr 24, 2013 16:41
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Someone with the Reds needs to settle down and pick one mascot. They have three different mascots right now, and that just ain't right.
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May 3, 2013 17:16
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Stalin is good at getting rid of other mascots. Also, two mascots is ok if they're married, I don't want these mascots living in sin, or some weird Odd Couple thing going on. Edit: You can tell that Mr. and Mrs. Redlegs are embarrassed of monster thing here. 
Bird in a Blender fucked around with this message at 18:53 on May 3, 2013 |
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May 3, 2013 18:49
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A mascot specifically for the home crowd to jeer, boo and throw poo poo at? Amazing, loving amazing. Somebody throw on a hot dog suit and go run around Wrigley, I need someone to absorb some abuse over the lovely Cubs.
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May 3, 2013 21:55
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Went to NYC earlier this week for vacation, and saw a Mets game at Citi Field. I didn't walk around as much as I normally do, but it seemed like a decent park. Had a good view in the 300 section. I am simply amazed at how much corporate sponsorship they crammed into one stadium though. I was at Citi Field, sitting in the Ceasers Box (as in the casino), looking out into right field at both the Pepsi Porch, and the Mo's Zone (Modell's Sporting Goods). Not to mention all of the advertising along the outfield wall, scoreboard, etc.
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Jul 5, 2013 14:24
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Glad you enjoyed it. I do really like the 400 section seats, even if they are a little bit of a walk up the ramps. If I remember right, the Cubs used to put like 39k or even 40k for their games back in 2003-2008. I'm not really sure what the exact maximum capacity is. 32k is probably above average for this year, but they always inflate those numbers anyway.
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Aug 7, 2013 22:12
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I went there in April, my girlfriend really liked the pork tacos. Concession lines got really really long come the fourth inning or so. They had a lot of stands closed so everyone was funneled to the open ones. I'd recommend any concession buying is done early on. I sat on the 1st base side in the outfield. It was a pretty good view, and we had a good view of the dancing marlin statue. Prices for tickets were more than I expected for a team that usually struggles to get people, but the game had decent attendance.
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Jun 18, 2014 17:25
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R.D. Mangles posted:Trip Report: Marlins Stadium I went to a bunch of baseball games by myself for a couple years and I'd always keep score. It's almost the only way for me to enjoy the game when you're by yourself since you have no one to talk to. Getting drunk and keeping score rules, until the aforementioned pitching changes, then you give up and try and get one more beer before last call.
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Jun 19, 2014 15:20
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| # ¿ Apr 16, 2024 21:29 |
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SirPhoebos posted:Speaking of Wrigley, the renovations are going forward, so now's the last chance to see it before it joins the 21st century. They added an electronic board in right field this year anyway, so it's just joining the 21st century even more so now. What you'll actually be missing is decent views of the neighborhood, which these new boards will block.
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Jul 11, 2014 20:33
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