Stadium Report Cards: Five County Stadium

Team: Carolina Mudcats
Location: Zebulon, NC
League: Southern League(North)
Built: 1991, renovated 2000
Capacity: 6,500
My event: Regular season game, vs Chattanooga Lookouts

1. Outdoor Design
From what I saw, there wasn't much of one. It was just kinda normal.
6/10

2. Indoor Design

I've never seen this, and there's a good view of it. The upperdeck is tall, and is directly above the lower deck. The lower deck was about 6 rows, and then broke into the concourse. I thought that was really neat. The outfield wall was pretty cool too.
8/10

3. Prices
The cheap general admission tickets were just 5 dollars, but the food prices were pretty high for what the quality was.
6/10

4. Food
So, I HAD to get a catfish sandwich there. The thing is, it was small and kinda meh.
4/5

5. Staff
The guy doing the peanuts was pretty cool I guess just interacting with the crowd. But nothing else stood out to me.
6/10

6. Cleanliness
It was clean from everything I saw. So theres a plus.
8/10

7. Parking
Parking wasn't free but it was a pretty big lot that was easy to get in and out of.
8/10

8. AtmosphereI thought that it was pretty dull, AND THEN

A fight broke out. After that, it was actually really into it. It helped that they were winning.
7/10

9. Playing Surface.
As you can see, nice pattern and pretty well done. But the infield was kinda chalky near the grass.
6/10

10. Scoreboard

I thought it was pretty cool. there was ads all over, and big.
7/10

I went inside in like 2006, just to go to the gift shop to get some swag. Then it looked really awesome. Now that I've been to it, idk I thought it'd be better. 65/100, but still thought it'd be around a 74.

Stadium Report Cards: Durham Bulls Athletic Park

Team: Durham Bulls
Location: Durham, NC
League: International League(South)
Built: 1995
Capacity: 10,000
My event: Regular season game, vs Indianapolis Indians

1. Outdoor Design

Just a simple brick layout, then had places like above.
7/10

2. Indoor Design

Beautiful. 2 modern office buildings located in the outfield really brought it together. But there was still other things. The "blue monster" is a tall wall in left field, then a playground, lawn seating, and a bar just made it epic.
9/10

3. Prices
It was alright. Simple seats under 10 dollars, and a discount that day for students.
8/10

4. Food
Ballpark food, ballpark food everywhere.
6/10

5. Staff
They were pretty nice. They let us roam without any objections. One offered to take My dad, and I's picture.
8/10

6. Cleanliness
It was really clean, I thought. There were trashcans, and recycling cans at every section opening.
7/10

7. Parking
We parked in a parking building behind the left field building, but if we didn't leave in the 8th getting off the third floor would be terrible.
6/10

8. AtmosphereIt really was great, I thought it was better than the Rays. The thing is, there wasn't any announcer or fun noises that got me into the whole thing. It could've been a 5!
8/10

9. Playing Surface.
See below for the surface, it was nice.
9/10

10. Scoreboard

It's there in the middle of the "blue monster" It's pretty basic, nothing special though.
6/10

I gave Durham Bulls Athletic Park a healthy 74. It was deffinatly the best park I visited on the trip. I wasn't expecting much, just because I've never been inside before. But it really was nice. I'd go if you're up there and like baseball.

Stadium Report Cards: NewBridge Bank Park

I just got back today, and here is just one of the couple posts to share!


Team: Greensboro Grasshoppers
Location: Greensboro, NC
League: South Atlantic League(Northern)
Built: 2005
Capacity: 7,499
My event: Regular season game, vs Hickory Crawdads

1. Outdoor Design

A simple brick layout all the way around, but nothing crazy.
6/10

2. Indoor Design

It was kind of simple, and a lot like the park in Clearwater. There was a bar in the left field corner, and also a berm. A playground was located in right field. Also the view was nice.
7/10

3. Prices
Pretty basic, cheap to get in for certain seats. The night we went, hot dogs and drinks were just a dollar. That happens every Monday
8/10

4. Food
Simple ballpark food, nothing crazy.
6/10

5. Staff
Staff was pretty cool and nice. The guy that ran the games defiantly got the crowd into it.
6/10

6. Cleanliness
No complaints, pretty clean as a whole.
7/10

7. Parking
The parking was really close. There were entrances and exits right there. It was easy to get out once the Grasshoppers lost.
8/10

8. Atmosphere
The guy that did the little games with the crowd got everyone into the game. It was a lot of fun to go to and watch the games.
7/10

9. Playing Surface.
Real nice checker pattern, and the infield was sweet.
7/10

10. Scoreboard

I thought it was clean and good for a minor league park. It was pretty funny cause they'd try to get into the other player's head's. When a Cradads player's name was Jared, BAM Jared from Subway would be their picture. They also got a player named west(Adam West), and the last name Prince(Prince, obviously.
8/10

70/100 is a good score. Right in the middle. I have a few more posts to make!

Fun News

I'm going on a little road trip this weekend, so no new posts.

HOW EVA. I'm visiting 3+ baseball games at new parks. I have my camera! See you followers later.

COMMENT

Dubai Sports City

Or, otherwise known as the coolest thing ever.


One day in Dubai, they got bored and decided to build the coolest thing ever. A 50 million square foot development named Dubai Sports City. The area will have a cricket stadium, an athletics stadium, field hockey fields, indoor stadium, and an 18 hole golf course designed by Earnie Els. On top of that, a huge mall, and apartments. Here is a model.


But, just watch the video. It is mind blowing.

Silver State Arena

In Las Vegas, there are plans down to build a new arena to maybe draw a sports team there. The project is called the Silver State Arena, and would be located where the closed Wet 'n' Wild is. What they're saying is that it would bring 10,000 new jobs to Nevada which would help a lot. The stadium would be 844,306 square feet, and would hold up to 23,014 for basketball games. Here is an aerial view of the model.

Some teams that could possibly move there are the Sacramento Kings, or maybe a hockey team down on their luck. The Kings' had the second lowest attendance in the NBA last season, and the owners of the team own a hotel in Las Vegas already. Several years ago, the NBA's All-Star Game was hosted at the UNLV basketball arena. I think that if this does get built, some team would be loured there. Plus, the video board is 360 degrees.

Thoughts? I think it'd be very cool. Here is the site for the plans.

Stadium Report Cards: Rogers Centre

Our good friend Bmac recently went up to Toronto for vacation. I saw he posted some pics at a Jays game. So I asked if he wanted to do a report card on the Rogers Centre


Team: Toronto Blue Jays
Location: Toronto, ON
League: Major League Baseball(AL)
Built: 1989
Capacity: 49,539
My event: Regular season game, vs Boston Red Sox

1. Outdoor Design

It has a modern look to it, but does not fit in with the way most ballparks do. The roof looks cool when it is open, but kind of awkward when it is closed. It looks really cool next to the CN Tower.
6/10

2. Indoor Design

Other than the hotel and scoreboard in center field, nothing really stands out. It is all just circular patterned seating. Also, the roof design does not look too great from inside.
5/10

3. Prices
Everything is a little more expensive in Toronto to begin with. The Rogers Centre is no exception. Most of the souvenirs, for example, were about $3-4 more than most of the other MLB Stadiums I have been to.
5/10

4. Food
The food selection was very good. They had the regular ballpark classics, as well some more interesting stuff. The Muddy York Market and Roundhouse Carvery and Bar were pretty unique for a baseball stadium. They both had some interesting food.
8/10

5. Staff
There were no issues, and everyone was very nice. Nobody really went out of their way to help you though, compared to other stadiums.
6/10

6. Cleanliness
Everything was extremely well-kept and clean. The entire city was, and the Rogers Centre looked great.
10/10

7. Parking
We didn’t need to park, as we walked from our hotel. Most people around the stadium were also walking to the game. I didn’t see any parking garages nearby, though.
4/10

8. Atmosphere
On the one hand, there was not a whole lot of support for the Jays until towards the end of the game. It wasn’t exactly a dead atmosphere though. Everyone was in a good mood, too, even though the Blue Jays lost.
6/10

9. Playing Surface.
It looked great for being indoors. It was just panels of grass though.
6/10

10. Scoreboard

The Rogers Centre scoreboard is pretty good. It is a great size, and has very good quality. The graphics were nice.
9/10

65/100 sounds about right.

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