Sometimes, the small details of something make more of an impression on me than the overall picture. In this picture, take a look at the bottom part of the columns to the left. I was impressed with the face brick and steel finish to the columns. A classy touch that looks much better than the basic bare concrete, and lends a bit of warmth to the concourse.
I noticed a few other little things like this at SBC- some that just added to the look of the park, and others added to the function and comfort of the park. Some are just fun.
The view into the park from behind the right-field fence from outside the park is one of the more well known features of SBC. Above the right-field fence, there is a drink rail at the outside of the concourse that allows people to relax and enjoy the view of McCovey Cove outside the park.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Sunday, November 07, 2004
No Wind = Warm at SBC
Mark Twain once said "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."? Every summer evening, the wind blows the famous fog through the Golden Gate to cover the city and the bay with a cool mist. It makes the nights great for sleeping with the window cracked open, but it isn't the best weather for watching baseball.
The designers of SBC Park did all they could to keep the fans as warm as possible during those notorious San francisco nights. They modeled the wind, and various configurations to come up with one that kept the wind off of fans. I can personally vouch that they succeeded, though I suffered from an unintended consequence of the design, I believe.
Note the glass panels at the steps going up to the reserved seats. These panels help to screen the wind, keeping it from blowing onto the fans in the boxes below. The panels behind the first few rows of seats accomplish the same thing.
Of course, in September, things start warming up in the Bay Area, and days in the 90's aren't uncommon. During my afternoon at the park, it was 89 degrees, and thanks to the wonderful design of the park, there was no wind or breeze to cool off the fans sitting behind the plate. It was HOT!
SBC: People Will Come
During my four summers in the San Francisco Area, I went to quite a few Oakland A's games, 10-15 a season. I lived in the East Bay, so it was convenient, and with a military discount, it was cheap, too. I did, however, make it a point to head across the bay at least once a season to Candlestick Park to see the Giants and National League baseball.
I'm amazed that the Giants drew as well as they did, because Candlestick was a complete and absolute dump! It made Veterans Stadium in Philly and the other "concrete donuts" look good. It was cold, cavernous, and uninviting, and that was for a day game! The famous San Francisco marine layer fog made summer nights damp and frigid. The only ballpark where people wore parkas to night games, in JULY! It was in a terrible neighborhood, far from anything but the freeway. I learned that San Francisco fans loved their Giants. If they had a decent ballpark, who knows how they would fill it?
Well, the Giants built a gem along the bay, only farther north, close to downtown in the South-of- Market neighborhood. It is everything that Candlestick wasn't, warm, intimate, and a real destination. They built a great ballpark for San Francisco, and the people came.
One neat feature of the park is the baseball quotes that are scattered throughout, including this one from "Field of Dreams" that is most appropriate. I can hear James Earl Jones' voice booming down the concourse. "People will come, Ray, they will most definitely come."
I'm amazed that the Giants drew as well as they did, because Candlestick was a complete and absolute dump! It made Veterans Stadium in Philly and the other "concrete donuts" look good. It was cold, cavernous, and uninviting, and that was for a day game! The famous San Francisco marine layer fog made summer nights damp and frigid. The only ballpark where people wore parkas to night games, in JULY! It was in a terrible neighborhood, far from anything but the freeway. I learned that San Francisco fans loved their Giants. If they had a decent ballpark, who knows how they would fill it?
Well, the Giants built a gem along the bay, only farther north, close to downtown in the South-of- Market neighborhood. It is everything that Candlestick wasn't, warm, intimate, and a real destination. They built a great ballpark for San Francisco, and the people came.
One neat feature of the park is the baseball quotes that are scattered throughout, including this one from "Field of Dreams" that is most appropriate. I can hear James Earl Jones' voice booming down the concourse. "People will come, Ray, they will most definitely come."
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
This Year's Baseball Trip
Every year I try to take a major trip where the main purpose is to see ballgames, preferably at parks I haven't seen before. Somehow I find the vacation time to squeeze this in with visits to family, and winter ski trips. Sometimes I drive to minor league parks, sometimes I fly somewhere and see the parks in that area.
This Labor Day I found myself in Northern California for the first time in almost ten years. I lived in the San Francisco Bay area for four years at the end of the '80s, and became an A's fan. It was a lot of fun watching the great Bash Brothers teams come together and eventually dominate. It was also great to be back in the middle of some of the most dramatic and beautiful urban scenery in the world.
I did three games in three days- San Francisco on Saturday, San Diego on Sunday, and Oakland Monday night. I "commuted" down and back to San Diego the same day on Southwest Airlines. Staying in Downtown Oakland, I was able to take public transit to each ballgame.
I did discover after I arrived in California that if I had switched my Giants and Padres games, I could have seen both Tony Gwynn's number retirement, and Randy Johnson's start against the Giants. I did get to watch Barry Zito snap off some curveballs in a losing effort against the Red Sox, and had two fantastic day games before that.
The quick impressions from the trip? I fell in love with SBC Park, really enjoyed Petco Park, and while I mourned the defacing of a nice ballpark with the monstrosity called Mount Davis, everything else about the Oakland baseball experience was just as I remembered from fifteen years ago. More to follow!
This Labor Day I found myself in Northern California for the first time in almost ten years. I lived in the San Francisco Bay area for four years at the end of the '80s, and became an A's fan. It was a lot of fun watching the great Bash Brothers teams come together and eventually dominate. It was also great to be back in the middle of some of the most dramatic and beautiful urban scenery in the world.
I did three games in three days- San Francisco on Saturday, San Diego on Sunday, and Oakland Monday night. I "commuted" down and back to San Diego the same day on Southwest Airlines. Staying in Downtown Oakland, I was able to take public transit to each ballgame.
I did discover after I arrived in California that if I had switched my Giants and Padres games, I could have seen both Tony Gwynn's number retirement, and Randy Johnson's start against the Giants. I did get to watch Barry Zito snap off some curveballs in a losing effort against the Red Sox, and had two fantastic day games before that.
The quick impressions from the trip? I fell in love with SBC Park, really enjoyed Petco Park, and while I mourned the defacing of a nice ballpark with the monstrosity called Mount Davis, everything else about the Oakland baseball experience was just as I remembered from fifteen years ago. More to follow!
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