Why?
Well, at this moment I have the ESPN on and am watching the start of ’08 baseball season. The Braves are playing The Nationals in the Nationals brand spanking new park.
Now if you’ve really been paying attention, the season actually opened earlier this week when the Red Sox played the A’s in Japan. There is something very cool about that. Tonight though is the first night game of the season on the continental United States and tomorrow the Mets and Yankees will be playing their first games of the season.
I’m a big baseball fan.
Last year even though I am a tremendous Mets fan, I didn’t get to a single game. This year is the last year for Yankee stadium and Shea stadium so I’ll have to make it a point to at least get to one game in each park before they’re gone.
I have to start taking baseball trips again.
I got out of the habit of taking baseball trips over the last decade or so but, I have in the past enjoyed seeing quite a few major league parks and I can’t say I’ve ever had a bad time on one of those trips (at least not where the game is concerned).
These are stadiums I’ve been to that are no longer around!
Milwaukee County Stadium (locally known as just County Stadium) was a ballpark in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1953 to 2000. It was primarily used as a baseball stadium for the Milwaukee Braves and Brewers, but was also utilized for football games, ice skating, religious services, concerts and other large events. It was replaced by Miller Park. County Stadium was demolished on February 21, 2001.
The Olympic Stadium [1] (French: Stade olympique) is a stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics. It subsequently became the home of Montreal’s professional baseball and Canadian football teams. Since the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington, D.C. in 2004, the stadium has had no main tenant, and with a history of financial and structural problems, is largely seen as a white elephant.
Philadelphia Veterans Stadium (informally called “The Vet”) was a professional sports facility located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It housed the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League from 1971 through 2002 and the National League’s Philadelphia Phillies from 1971 through 2003. The final game ever played at the stadium was on September 28, 2003. The ultimate end came when the 33-year old stadium was imploded on March 21, 2004.
Busch Memorial Stadium, or Busch Stadium was the home of the St. Louis Cardinals National League baseball team from May 12, 1966 to October 19, 2005. It opened four days after the last game was played in their old home, Sportsman’s Park (which had also been known since 1953 as Busch Stadium). The stadium was destroyed by wrecking ball in late 2005, and part of its former footprint is used by its replacement stadium of the same name.
Jack Murphy Stadium, is a multiple-use stadium in San Diego, California. It is the current home of the San Diego Chargers of the NFL and of the San Diego State University Aztecs college football team. It hosts the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl and the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl college football games every December. Until 2003, it served as the home of the San Diego Padres in baseball’s National League. lso in 1997, the facility was renamed QUALCOMM Stadium after QUALCOMM Corporation paid $18 million for the naming rights. The naming rights will belong to QUALCOMM until 2017.
Candlestick, after its original as well as future name of Candlestick Park, and sometimes just simply The Stick) is an outdoor sports and entertainment stadium located in San Francisco, California. On September 28, 2004, a new naming rights deal was signed with Monster Cable, a maker of cables for electronic equipment, and the stadium was renamed Monster Park.
The Kingdome was an indoor sports and entertainment arena owned and operated by King County, Washington. The Kingdome was demolished by implosion on March 26, 2000 and the footprint is now occupied by Qwest Field.
Riverfront Stadium, later known as Cinergy Field, (1970-2002) was the home of the Cincinnati Reds National League baseball team and the Cincinnati Bengals National Football League team. The stadium was demolished by implosion on December 29, 2002. Video clips of its demolition were featured in the music video for the song MakeDamnSure by Taking Back Sunday.
Comiskey Park (35th Street & Shields Avenue, Chicago, Illinois) was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series (one of which was played by the Chicago Cubs due to lack of seating at Wrigley Field) and more than 6,000 major league games. Comiskey Park was demolished in 1991, a process that started from behind the right field corner, and took all summer. The last portion to come down was the center field bleachers and the “exploding” scoreboard.
That’s 9 whole trips I have to take all over again! In the meantime, these are the stadiums that I’ve visited that are still in use:
Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a ballpark located in Baltimore, Maryland, which was completed in 1992 to replace the aging Memorial Stadium. It is the home field of the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball. It was the first of the “retro” major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early 2000s, and remains one of the most highly praised.
Fenway Park is the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club. The park, the oldest of all current Major League Baseball stadiums, opened in 1912. Fenway hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 1946, 1961, and 1999, and has played host to ten World Series.
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales. It was also the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League from 1921-1970. It was also called Cubs Park from 1920 to 1926 before finally being renamed for then Cubs team owner and chewing gum industrialist William Wrigley Jr..
Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium (formerly Royals Stadium) is a Major League Baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri, and home to the Kansas City Royals of the American League. Together with Arrowhead Stadium, home of the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs, it is a part of the Truman Sports Complex.
Angel Stadium of Anaheim (originally Anaheim Stadium and later Edison International Field of Anaheim) is a ballpark located in Anaheim, California. It is the home ballpark to Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the American League, and was previously home to the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams (now St. Louis Rams). The stadium is often referred to by its unofficial nickname The Big A.
Dodger Stadium is a large outdoor ballpark in Los Angeles, California at Chávez Ravine. It is located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles. Dodger Stadium was privately financed at a cost of $23 million in 1962.
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium, is an American ballpark in New York City. It is the longtime home of the New York Metropolitans Major League Baseball club, and one of the oldest ballparks in the National League, serving as home of the Mets for 44 years. It is located in the Flushing section of the borough of Queens.
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium in New York City that is the home of the New York Yankees, a Major League baseball team. Located at East 161st Street and River Avenue in The Bronx, it has hosted Yankees home games since 1923 and has a capacity of 57,545. It was formerly the home of the New York Giants football team, and once hosted dozens of boxing's most famous fights.
Commonly referred to as The Oakland Coliseum, or simply The Coliseum. It was formerly known as Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and Network Associates Coliseum.
And to think, Yankee and Shea stadium will be off that list after this year! That will bring my total to 11 stadiums that are no longer in use and only 7 active stadiums. If that isn’t a good excuse to travel, I don’t know what is!
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