ANGEL STADIUM

Angel Stadium is the new name of Anaheim Stadium, which used to be known as the Big A before it was heavily renovated between 1996-98.  Previously a multi-use facility, the stadium was changed to baseball-only when the Rams moved to St. Louis. Getting here from L.A. is a small pain as you have to battle I-5 traffic before spending $8 to get into the parking lot. But once out of the car, you should really appreciate what the Angels did with their renovation money.

View from the parking lot

The first thing I noticed was the colour of the stadium - a nice tan colour with a surface that is supposed to resemble adobe. Around the stadium are lots of lush plants which adds more colour to the scene. The Big A is still a landmark in the parking lot. As you walk around the the front of the stadium, you will notice the two large New Era caps - each one measuring 649.5, which is big enough to fit George Steinbrenner's ego. The main entrance is framed by 1 baseball on each side, supporting 3 bats that hold up the main sign.

You might be able to see the pink bricks of the ball diamond. 

At this point, if you look down, you will notice that there is a replica diamond made of brick. At each position, the Angels player who started at that position on opening day is listed on one brick. Pitchers are on the mound, shortstops are between second and third, etc. Very cool! Ironically, Glenallen Hill was the starting DH for the Angels in 2001 and his name is inscribed beside home plate, but he has already been cut. By the way, the team store is just inside this main entrance.

Can you imagine the helmet head you would get with this?

There are a number of seating options inside Angel Stadium. The club seats take up the lower level behind the plate, with the $35 Field MVP seats going from home plate to the bases. Along the lines are the field box seats which are only $22. The 200 section is also on the lower level, but most of the seats are covered by an overhang. There are TV's visible from these seats, but some of the fly balls will disappear from view.

Between the bases are Terrace MVP seats at $24 and down the lines is Terrace Box at $20. Club seating takes up the entire second deck, but tickets are available. The third deck is called the view deck and the seats here are pretty good, especially from the second or third row. The first row seats are blocked by the railing and can be a bit annoying. At $15 for the lower seats and $10 for upper seats, these may be the best value. Finally, the bleachers are $8 in right field and $7 in left field. The left field seats are in front of the bullpen so you can watch the pitchers warm up, but you are very far from the action.  

Before the game, you cannot move into the MVP seats without a ticket. But you can stand by the field down the lines, which is the best place to get autographs. You can walk entirely around the stadium - note that the main concourse which takes you around is actually the second floor - there is another concourse below this where the guest relations office is located. In center field, there is a rock and water feature that shoots fountains during lineup announcements and Angel home runs. Just behind this is a great picnic facility, as well as the Pepsi Perfect Game Pavilion, which contains your typical arrangement of baseball related games.

The fences include paintings of Angel heroes and newspaper headlines, while the scoreboard in right field is quite good, showing the lineup, pitch count, video, and stats for the batter. The electronic out-of-town scoreboard is also just above the right field fence. Just under the scoreboard are the retired numbers which include Nolan Ryan's 30, Rod Carew's 29, and Gene Autry's 26.

A couple of unique things - during the 7th inning stretch the ushers sing along and then toss peanuts into the crowd. The ushers are also dressed in old-time attire which is a great touch.

As for food, we tried the Chinese fast food known as Panda Express and found it to be the best eats in all of major-league baseball. #1 combo for $6.50 is a great deal. I realize that many people think that hot dogs and pretzels are the staples of a ballpark meal, but a spicy chicken and veggie dish really hits the spot as well. There is also the plaza food court on the outside walkway just behind third base. The food here looked pretty good too.

A rare sight is a bar on the upper deck. The top level of most ballparks is barren, but on the View Level of Angel Stadium there is the Broken Bat Bar and Brew - it serves up a good selection of draft beer, which beats the usual brown water you get from some places. 

Overall, I enjoyed this park - it has improved greatly from my previous visits. It is unique in many aspects, provides a nice open center field, has a good food variety, and very friendly staff. The seating is good - really the only thing I didn't like was the parking mess after the game. If you saw Anaheim Stadium and didn't like it, try Angel Stadium on - it is quite a good place to enjoy a game.