Author's Blog

 January 7, 2009

Northwest Stadiums - Follow Up


More on the fans at Civic Stadium and a "Best of" list.


Monday, August 11, 2008

The very next morning after my visit to Eugene’s Civic Stadium, I had additional proof of just how enthusiastic Eugene is about their ballpark, and just how helpful they were with this project.  Waiting in my Inbox was 28 pictures taken by Dave Musgrove who is a photographer when he is not an usher at Civic Stadium.  One of those photos is displayed here. 

So how could I not visit 10 stadiums and not put together a best of list?  Here is may best of the Northwest:

Best field – Tacoma’s Cheney Stadium.  I should give this to Safeco Field, but the groundskeeper at Tacoma have a much tougher job considering there is no roof to fend off the rain.  Honorable mention:  Seattle’s Safeco Field.

Best food – Keizer’s Volcanoes Stadium.  Not only does the food have great names (Lava Dog, Volcano Burger), but a lot of thought went into the offerings.  Most of it is definitely not your typical ballpark faire.  Honorable mention – Spokane’s Avista Stadium.

Best fans – Eugene’s Civic Stadium.  In love with their city, in love with their classic ballpark, Eugene fans are also big fans of baseball.  Honorable mention – Spokane’s Avista Stadium.

Best use of $65 million – The roof at Seattle’s Safeco Field (to keep out the rain).

Best use of $1.3 million – the sunshade at Pasco’s Gesa Stadium (to keep out the sun).

Best all around experience – Portland’s PGE Park.  A classic park in a unique urban setting with good local support outweigh artificial turf (which is understandable given the climate and sunken location) and limited food options (which is disappointing considering the variety of good eats in Portland).  Honorable mention – Spokane’s Avista Stadium.


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