As some of you may have noticed (or not), the Farm Authority Reports were handled by John and Scott for the latter part of last week (thanks guys). The reason? I embarked on a baseball road trip with my buddy, Dave, from Garfield Ridge. We spent Wednesday through Sunday travelling from Milwaukee to Chicago back to Washington DC, catching five games in five days. I got to see the Phillies lose to the Brewers at Miller Park, the Nats beat the Cubs at Wrigley, the White Sox take the first game of the Cross Town Rivalry at U.S. Cellular, and then back to RFK for the third game of the Battle of the Beltways.
It was interesting to see each ballpark as well as how the gameday experience varied from location to location. There were some good aspects and bad ones I took from each location and I wanted to try and capture them as a “Do’s/Don’ts” list for the new ballpark in DC.
Wednesday May 17 at Miller Park: The Brewers know how to present an overall enjoyable game experience. I would compare it best to how a minor league team keeps the patron involved in the game (especially the children). Some highlights:
- I witnessed the two seminal experience associated with the Brewers, the sausage race (the Italian won) and Bernie the Brewer slide. Both are kitschy but are so clearly identifiable with Milwaukee baseball that they become a necessary part of the experience. I’m not saying the Nationals need to contrive some sort of on the field race, but they need to work on crafting something unique to Washington DC. Additionally, the Bernie the Brewer slide after a home team HR really gets the casual fan into the game.
- The thing that jumped out at me most dramatically was how inclusive the ballpark was to younger fans. Some examples:
- A child is named honorary bat boy/girl and they are given the responsibility of placing the rosin bag on the mound.
- A child is given the chance to yell “Play Ball” at the beginning of the game
- In the third inning, they allowed a child to announce the Brewers players as they came to bat
- It wasn’t just limited to kids. The Brewers had, for lack of a better term, an in-game hostess who wandered the ballpark talking with fans, facilitating the obligatory trivia contest, and delivering in-game highlights.
- They have synergy with one of their sponsors, a wireless provider, where they allow fans to text messages to the scoreboard. It’s nothing spectacular, just another reason to keep the fans engaged.
- This is going to be a trend in all three but the cost to get a birthday celebrated at Miller Park … $20 (as opposed to $100 at RFK) … $20 is worth the cost to wish a happy birthday. I understand that the Nats proceeds go to the Washington Nationals Foundation, but I’d guess they would get more requests if the payment was more reasonable
To the hardcore baseball fan, those things may be irrelevant, but a major league team needs to cater to all fans in order to be successful.
Thursday May 18 at Wrigley Field: This is an unfair comparison to any other major league ballpark (save Fenway Park). Wrigley is a unique experience unto itself. Walking along Clark and Addison Streets and Waveland and Sheffield Avenues encapsule the old time feel of a neighborhood ballpark. You can definitely tell the ballpark was built when people were smaller, the seats are narrow and packed tightly together both on the sifes and in front.
- I was fortunate enough to see what makes Wrigley the Friendly Confines … for the Cubs. The Nationals hit four home runs, and each and every one were quickly thrown back by the fans in the bleachers.
- “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” is owned by the Cubs. I’ve been to over half of the major league ballparks and no one is even close to Wrigley in how they embrace the seven inning stretch. You get sucked into it even as a fan of the opponent (though no root, root, rooting for the Cubbies). This is an area Stan Kasten needs to work on, there has to be something unique about a game in Washington. Something that makes it stand out from the other teams.
- Old Style beer … that’s some nasty stuff (sorry Chicagoans) but it’s a must at Wrigley
- $25 for scoreboard messages
Like I mentioned, it’s impossible for any ballpark to duplicate the experience of Wrigley Field (hence the reason Wrigley is so popular to baseball fans).
Friday May 19 at U.S. Cellular: Most people know the story. This was the last ballpark built before the retro trend became hip. It’s got the cookie cutter feel to it, though they’ve made some adjustments to the OF to give it a Eutaw Street kind of feel. I was there for the first Cubs/White Sox interleague game and the stadium was hopping. The problem I had was twofold.
- First since the game was so popular, the only seats I could get were in the upper bowl which feel miles and miles away from the field. The steep climb up the stairs to the seats was enough to re-trigger Tony Blanco’s vertigo. Why the steep climb? Stacked luxury boxes. Let’s hope the Nationals new ballpark reconsiders this idea because it makes the upper deck feel like it’s in a different zip code.
- Second, since the game was so popular and given the issues Chicago has had in the past with security, no one from the 500 level (upper bowl) was permitted on any other level. At any time. Even before the game. It’s disappointing that the fear of security issues prevented people from wandering the concourses (including the OF pavillion) prior to the game. It was like the White Sox didn’t want my money. Their loss.
- Every food pavillion in the 500 level was named after a notable White Sox player. It’s a little thing but it helps tie the team to their past for the new fan.
- $46 for a scoreboard message
I would hope the Nationals use this as the example of what not to do with the new ballpark. The game experience was a blast. Watching the rivalry from an unbiased perspective was fantastic and one can only hope the Nats will soon have a rivalry with such fervor. Also, the excitement still there after the 2005 World Series win also made it enjoyable. It was the actual physical experience of the ballpark that left me cold (both literally and figuratively).
Let’s hope that the Lerners and Stan Kasten can put together a new ballpark that will accentuate the postives that other teams do, minimize the missteps of existing ballparks, and establish uniqueness in a manner that will make fans want to come to the ballpark.