PHOENIX - CHASE FIELD

Chase Field is actually shaped like an airplane hangar - long and rectangular, with a roof that opens in the middle. From the outside it is difficult to imagine a ballpark lies inside, but it does. It is a good park, with great seats, mostly between the foul poles, and lots of interesting things to keep you occupied if baseball isn't your thing. The sight lines are very good and all seats point toward home plate, there's a good variety of seat prices from $70 all the way down to $1, and the roof opening and closing is an event in its own right.

Chase Field (previously named Bank One Ballpark) is located in downtown Phoenix on Jefferson St at 4th St. There is plenty of reasonable parking, including the Collier Garage on Washington between 2nd and 3rd St which had $5 event parking. On the  weekend, the garage was free to enter in the morning so if you are seeing a night game on Saturday, you can park there in the morning and spend the afternoon touring downtown. It is also easy to get out and home as the park is located next to I-17.  We didn't see much public transit around the ballpark, which suggests that most people drive there. Make sure to pick up your food on the street outside before going in - it is much cheaper and you can bring it in.

The main ticket office is located on Jefferson, but you need to walk a little bit - it is behind the High Tops restaurant. If you are looking for the $1 tickets which are sold only on game day, go to the ticket window at the east end of the ballpark along Jefferson - gate K. The cheap seats are actually pretty decent and are sold two hours prior to game time. 

Doors open two hours before game time and you can walk anywhere at that time. Autographs are best sought along the foul lines in the outfield - the dugouts are actually a bit difficult to get close to.  For those of you hoping to get a baseball, stand in either the left or right field stands during batting practice - there will be a few balls hit out, but make sure you have your glove. Try to walk around the concourse - there are lots of interesting exhibits, including a few from Japan.

Jim Marshall's 1964 Chunichi Dragons Uniform

There are a number of different ticket prices - the most expensive being $70 for lower box seats in the infield. These are not really worth it, better to go for the $26 seats that are in the upper half of the lower deck between the bases. If you are going to sit in the upper deck, you might as well get the $1 seats - it really isn't much better towards the infield where the seats are $6, $9, $13 as you move towards home plate. The lower seats in the upper deck are $17.

In the outfield, there are no upper deck seats but there are $11 bleacher. If you are going with a family, you may want to try the picnic area for $11/seat. Located behind the fences, the picnic area lets you enjoy a meal that you bring from home while sitting at a picnic table. Finally, there is Friday's Front Row Sports Grill which lets you enjoy a restaurant meal while watching the game. But at $240 for a table for 4, it is probably better to leave this one for the company expense account. 

Which brings us to the food - I enjoyed Fielder's Choice fresh fruits as a change from the usual ballpark fare. We also tried their salad but that was a bit stale. Otherwise there seemed to be normal dogs and stuff, which were pretty normal. There are lots of concession stands and waiting times were not long at all.

The park was built for the Diamondbacks, completed in 1998. It also has a retractable roof which takes only 4 minutes to open or close. Before every game the roof is closed which cools down the field and seating area. If the weather permits, the roof can be opened before the game, or sometimes even during the game. 

Finally, for those of you with time, there is a tour offered at 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on days when there is a night game (when there is no game, there are additional tours at 1:30 and 3:00 pm).  The tour costs $6/person and is recommended only on non-game days as the game-day tour doesn't allow you to see the locker rooms. 

Before the game, try to visit Baxter's Den along the concourse behind center field - good displays of baseball memorabilia from each major league team, as well as a nice history of the Diamondback franchise. For the kids, there is a play area where they can enter a batting cage. 

Finally, if you are not going to drink alcohol, sign up for the designated driver program - you will get a free soda which is better than nothing. In fact, if you buy the $1 ticket, sign up for the free soda, and bring food from outside, you can enjoy a major league game for only $5.

Bank One's Scoreboard