The End of the Tour, Pending Construction
When I originally started this series in 2015, I wrote a temporary ending after I had been to 27 parks. It only took me two more years to knock off the last eight parks over two short weekend trips and two longer road trips, and now I find myself with no more stadiums to conquer. I won't weep though, because if there's one thing that's certain it's that billionaire owners will try to get brand new parks subsidized on the taxpayer's dime. Most of the current parks are new, or sufficiently revered as to be nigh untouchable, but there are a few parks that are likely to be replaced in the somewhat near future.
1. Most certainly, the A's have announced a plan to build a new park to replace the admittedly old and outdated Oakland Coliseum. It's very tentatively slated to open in 2021 or so, but that's a very ambitious timeline for a park that hasn't even been approved yet and will likely face a lot of opposition. I'm sure the A's will have a new home by the end of the next decade, but I couldn't tell you if this new site is it or if it will even be in Oakland.
2. There are no clear plans to replace Tropicana Field, but the place is an embarrassment, the team draws poorly and it seems unlikely that this situation will last forever. If nothing else, the team will be used to blackmail cities to building new parks before getting a new home. On the other hand, they've been working on that new home for almost as long as the Rays have been in Tampa Bay, so maybe they won't go anywhere soon.
3. The Texas Rangers have opened discussions about building a park to replace Globe Life Park, which isn't even 25 years old yet. They want a dome, which would sure come in handy in the Texas heat, and I suspect they'll get it eventually. After all, the Braves got a new park even though Turner Field was more than adequate.
4. Speaking of more than adequate parks, as I write this the Diamondbacks are threatening a lawsuit because of "poor maintenance" of Chase Field. This seems like b.s. to me, but again, see what happened in Atlanta. If the Diamondbacks get a new park, I have to wonder how many of the other teams with poor post-1990 parks will decide to see if they can get one. Hopefully, none of them will succeed.
In any event, the tour is certainly complete for the next couple of years. My final rating are listed below, although I freely admit that if I went to them all again I might well rank them differently. However, based on these, I get these categories:
1-12: A must-see park. For baseball fans, it would be worth traveling to that city just to see the park.
13-26: A perfectly acceptable park. If you love baseball and are in the city, by all means check it out.
27-35: A subpar park. If you're a completist or your favorite team is playing there in the playoffs, go ahead, but you were warned.
Ok, so there are two other parks that I might attend. Olympic Stadium in Montreal was the long-time home of the Expos and is still operational for other events. Alas, none of those events are baseball; they don't even have a minor league team there. More locally, League Park in Cleveland is the original home of the Indians. It's now a park and a museum, and although I've driven past it I've never stopped to visit.
The other big baseball tourism thing I have to do is visit the Baseball Hall of Fame. I have scheduled this for November, but it's not really a stadium tour.
In any event, visiting stadiums drove a bunch of really great travel, particularly in the 2012-2017 time frame. I saw most of these parks in those six years, and visited friends or family on virtually every part of the tour. It was a great excuse to travel, and I'm kind of sad that's it's gone. I suppose I could try to see the A's in every park... then I would have 27 to go!
Park Rankings
RankParkTeamFirst Visit# Visits (at time of article)
1 AT&T ParkSan Francisco GiantsJuly 26, 20171
2 Marlins ParkMiami MarlinsMay 23, 20141
3 Wrigley FieldChicago CubsApril 23, 20042
4 PNC ParkPittsburgh PiratesSeptember 25, 20042
5 Jacobs FieldCleveland IndiansApril 17, 199963
6 Miller ParkMilwaukee BrewersApril 24, 20041
7 Camden YardsBaltimore OriolesJune 22, 20121
8 Kauffman StadiumKansas City RoyalsJune 9, 20131
9 Petco ParkSan Diego PadresApril 27, 20151
10 Fenway ParkBoston Red SoxJuly 1, 20161
11 Oakland ColiseumOakland AthleticsJuly 28, 20172
12 Dodger StadiumLos Angeles DodgersJuly 20, 20171
13 Yankee Stadium (original)New York YankeesJuly 28, 20061
14 Minute Maid ParkHouston AstrosMay 21, 20161
15 Chase FieldArizona DiamondbacksApril 25, 20151
16 Safeco FieldSeattle MarinersAugust 25, 20141
17 Coors FieldColorado RockiesApril 20, 20151
18 Comerica ParkDetroit TigersJuly 31, 20041
19 Target FieldMinnesota TwinsJuly 25, 20141
20 Turner FieldAtlanta BravesMay 5, 20071
21 Angel Stadium of AnaheimLos Angeles AngelsJuly 18, 20171
22 SunTrust ParkAtlanta BravesMay 6, 20171
23 Busch Stadium IIISt. Louis CardinalsAugust 8, 20131
24 Nationals ParkWashington NationalsJune 21, 20121
25 Citizens Bank ParkPhiladelphia PhilliesJune 23, 20121
26 Citi FieldNew York MetsJune 24, 20121
27 Globe Life ParkTexas RangersMay 27, 20161
28 Rogers CentreToronto Blue JaysMay 21, 20051
29 Cinergy FieldCincinnati RedsAugust 8, 19984
30 Yankee Stadium (sequel)New York YankeesJune 25, 20121
31 The MetrodomeMinnesota TwinsJune 22, 19923
32 Shea StadiumNew York MetsJuly 24, 20061
33 Great American Ball ParkCincinnati RedsMay 9, 20041
34 U.S. Cellular FieldChicago White SoxApril 25, 20041
35 Tropicana FieldTampa Bay RaysMay 21, 20141
Background: Prologue Memory Interlude
Original Series EndCompleted Tour End
1. Most certainly, the A's have announced a plan to build a new park to replace the admittedly old and outdated Oakland Coliseum. It's very tentatively slated to open in 2021 or so, but that's a very ambitious timeline for a park that hasn't even been approved yet and will likely face a lot of opposition. I'm sure the A's will have a new home by the end of the next decade, but I couldn't tell you if this new site is it or if it will even be in Oakland.
2. There are no clear plans to replace Tropicana Field, but the place is an embarrassment, the team draws poorly and it seems unlikely that this situation will last forever. If nothing else, the team will be used to blackmail cities to building new parks before getting a new home. On the other hand, they've been working on that new home for almost as long as the Rays have been in Tampa Bay, so maybe they won't go anywhere soon.
3. The Texas Rangers have opened discussions about building a park to replace Globe Life Park, which isn't even 25 years old yet. They want a dome, which would sure come in handy in the Texas heat, and I suspect they'll get it eventually. After all, the Braves got a new park even though Turner Field was more than adequate.
4. Speaking of more than adequate parks, as I write this the Diamondbacks are threatening a lawsuit because of "poor maintenance" of Chase Field. This seems like b.s. to me, but again, see what happened in Atlanta. If the Diamondbacks get a new park, I have to wonder how many of the other teams with poor post-1990 parks will decide to see if they can get one. Hopefully, none of them will succeed.
In any event, the tour is certainly complete for the next couple of years. My final rating are listed below, although I freely admit that if I went to them all again I might well rank them differently. However, based on these, I get these categories:
1-12: A must-see park. For baseball fans, it would be worth traveling to that city just to see the park.
13-26: A perfectly acceptable park. If you love baseball and are in the city, by all means check it out.
27-35: A subpar park. If you're a completist or your favorite team is playing there in the playoffs, go ahead, but you were warned.
Ok, so there are two other parks that I might attend. Olympic Stadium in Montreal was the long-time home of the Expos and is still operational for other events. Alas, none of those events are baseball; they don't even have a minor league team there. More locally, League Park in Cleveland is the original home of the Indians. It's now a park and a museum, and although I've driven past it I've never stopped to visit.
The other big baseball tourism thing I have to do is visit the Baseball Hall of Fame. I have scheduled this for November, but it's not really a stadium tour.
In any event, visiting stadiums drove a bunch of really great travel, particularly in the 2012-2017 time frame. I saw most of these parks in those six years, and visited friends or family on virtually every part of the tour. It was a great excuse to travel, and I'm kind of sad that's it's gone. I suppose I could try to see the A's in every park... then I would have 27 to go!
Park Rankings
RankParkTeamFirst Visit# Visits (at time of article)
1 AT&T ParkSan Francisco GiantsJuly 26, 20171
2 Marlins ParkMiami MarlinsMay 23, 20141
3 Wrigley FieldChicago CubsApril 23, 20042
4 PNC ParkPittsburgh PiratesSeptember 25, 20042
5 Jacobs FieldCleveland IndiansApril 17, 199963
6 Miller ParkMilwaukee BrewersApril 24, 20041
7 Camden YardsBaltimore OriolesJune 22, 20121
8 Kauffman StadiumKansas City RoyalsJune 9, 20131
9 Petco ParkSan Diego PadresApril 27, 20151
10 Fenway ParkBoston Red SoxJuly 1, 20161
11 Oakland ColiseumOakland AthleticsJuly 28, 20172
12 Dodger StadiumLos Angeles DodgersJuly 20, 20171
13 Yankee Stadium (original)New York YankeesJuly 28, 20061
14 Minute Maid ParkHouston AstrosMay 21, 20161
15 Chase FieldArizona DiamondbacksApril 25, 20151
16 Safeco FieldSeattle MarinersAugust 25, 20141
17 Coors FieldColorado RockiesApril 20, 20151
18 Comerica ParkDetroit TigersJuly 31, 20041
19 Target FieldMinnesota TwinsJuly 25, 20141
20 Turner FieldAtlanta BravesMay 5, 20071
21 Angel Stadium of AnaheimLos Angeles AngelsJuly 18, 20171
22 SunTrust ParkAtlanta BravesMay 6, 20171
23 Busch Stadium IIISt. Louis CardinalsAugust 8, 20131
24 Nationals ParkWashington NationalsJune 21, 20121
25 Citizens Bank ParkPhiladelphia PhilliesJune 23, 20121
26 Citi FieldNew York MetsJune 24, 20121
27 Globe Life ParkTexas RangersMay 27, 20161
28 Rogers CentreToronto Blue JaysMay 21, 20051
29 Cinergy FieldCincinnati RedsAugust 8, 19984
30 Yankee Stadium (sequel)New York YankeesJune 25, 20121
31 The MetrodomeMinnesota TwinsJune 22, 19923
32 Shea StadiumNew York MetsJuly 24, 20061
33 Great American Ball ParkCincinnati RedsMay 9, 20041
34 U.S. Cellular FieldChicago White SoxApril 25, 20041
35 Tropicana FieldTampa Bay RaysMay 21, 20141
Background: Prologue Memory Interlude
Original Series EndCompleted Tour End