Watching a baseball game at the old ballpark is great, but witnessing famous baseball players performing legendary moves and techniques at stadiums is often considered a better experience by many fans and enthusiasts. Not only is it fun to watch games in stadiums, but the sheer size of the venue will sometimes put you in awe at the number of people that it can accommodate, and the cheers of those people would feel like a roar.
Because of how fun it is to be at baseball stadiums, many fans would often watch more games at the venue instead of staying at home and watching the games on TV. But, not all stadiums are made equal, as there are the ones that are much better than the others. Here are the top baseball stadiums to visit.
Oracle Park (San Francisco, California)
The stadium that many consider as the best venue to watch baseball games for the MLB is Oracle Park, which is located in the China Basin area of San Francisco, California. It has been the home of the San Francisco Giants since 2000, which is also the year when it was opened.
The Giants had a lease of 66 years on the stadium, and the owners would have to pay about $1.2 million per year to the San Francisco Port Commission. It had a seating capacity of 40,800 when it was first opened, but in 2007, the capacity increased to 41,915. The Oracle Park is famous for having a beautiful view of the San Francisco Bay in front of the stands.
PNC Park (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
The second stadium on the list is PNC Park, a baseball park located on the North Shore section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. PNC Park was opened on March 31, 2001, which was right around the time when the 2001 MLB season started. This stadium has been home to the Pittsburgh Pirates since 2001, and the team’s previous home, Three Rivers Stadium, was demolished on February 11, 2001. PNC Park is notable for having limestone in the stadium’s façade, which makes it look much more appealing.
Fenway Park (Boston, Massachusetts)
There is arguably no stadium that is as iconic as Fenway Park, a baseball venue situated near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Fenway Park was first opened in 1912 and has been the home of the legendary MLB team, the Boston Red Sox, since the same year.
Fenway Park is the oldest active ballpark utilized for the MLB, although it is the fifth-smallest venue among MLB ballparks, as it can only accommodate about 37,300 people during a game. On March 7, 2012 (the year that Fenway Park celebrated its 100th anniversary), the park was officially and successfully added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Wrigley Field (Chicago, Illinois)
Besides Fenway Park, another old baseball park in the United States is Wrigley Field, which is located in Chicago, Illinois. Wrigley first opened in 1914 under the name “Weeghman Park,” and it has been the home of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was renamed as the Wrigley Field when William Wrigley Jr., owners of the Wrigley Company, acquired the Chicago Cubs in 1921, but the park was first named “Cubs Park” from 1920 to 1926 before the company changed the name once again to “Wrigley Field.” Interestingly, it was the second stadium that is named Wrigley Field, as there is another park with the same name in Los Angeles, California, but that LA stadium was demolished in 1969.
Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles, California)
Another iconic stadium used for MLB games is the Dodger Stadium, a ballpark built within Los Angeles, California. Dodger Stadium was opened in 1962, and even though it was built in the 60s, the Dodger Stadium is considered the third-oldest active baseball park after Fenway Park and Wrigley Field.
Aside from being the third-oldest, Dodger Stadium is also the largest baseball park by seat capacity, as it can accommodate about 56,000 people. The Dodger Stadium has been home to the Los Angeles Dodgers since 1962, and this venue is often referred to by fans and history of baseball equipment articles as the “pitcher’s ballpark” because of how well pitchers perform here. In fact, the stadium has a record of 13 no-hitters, and two of those are perfect games where a batter doesn’t reach any base.
Yankee Stadium (New York City, New York)
Similar to the Dodger Stadium, the Yankee Stadium in New York City, New York, is also named after the baseball team that currently resides at the ballpark, which is the legendary New York Yankees. Despite being the home of one of the oldest baseball teams in the United States, it wasn’t actually the first home of the said team.
The New York Yankees had several different homes throughout the years, including Oriole Park, Hilltop Park, Shea Stadium, Polo Grounds, and the original Yankee Stadium that was first opened in 1923 and has served as the Yankees’ home from 1923 to 2008 (with the exception of 1974 and 1975). However, the original Yankee Stadium was demolished in 2009 and was replaced by the second Yankee Stadium in the same year.
Guaranteed Rate Field (Chicago, Illinois)
In addition to Wrigley Field, there is another ballpark in Chicago called Guaranteed Rate Field, which is situated on the South Side of the city. While Wrigley Field is home to the Chicago Cubs, the Guaranteed Rate Field is home to the Chicago White Sox, a very popular team in the MLB.
The Guaranteed Rate Field was opened in 1991 under the name Comiskey Park. The stadium was then renamed US Cellular Field in 2003 when mobile network operating company US Cellular bought the naming rights of the stadium for $68 million. Then, the ballpark was renamed once again as the Guaranteed Rate Field when a private residential mortgage company called Guaranteed Rate bought the naming rights from US Cellular.
Those are the top baseball stadiums to visit or travel to if you want to have the best experience in watching baseball games. As evident in this article, most of these stadiums are home to very popular MLB teams, so it is expected that there will be a lot of fans watching a game with you.