Baseball is America's game ... right? Well, that's what it used to be. Now, at least in the case of John O'Donnell Stadium, it's about the attractions and the beer nights.
I used to love going to see the River Bandits play. The stadium was a little old, but there was plenty of seating and it was fun. We'd get some popcorn and ice-cream without breaking the bank. I agree, the stadium needed to be rebuilt and updated. I was excited when they reopened with the new stadium. It was new and pretty. The one thing that was surprising was the amount of box seats as compared to the general admission seating. At that time, the berm seating was bigger. There were spots behind the right and left field for people to sit in the grass.
As time went on, the owners kept adding more and more attractions. There was the tiki bar behind left field, the hot tub, the kids zone, the beer nights, the Ferris wheel, and now, the amusement rides. On top of all this, the prices of food and drinks have gone up to astronomical prices. A 12 oz cup of Whitey's ice-cream is now $5 when my two sisters and I used to be able to all get our own for less than $10. A trip to the ball game now will cost about $20-30 for one person, and that's if you're doing ticket, popcorn, drink, and ice-cream.
The new additions to the ballpark this year are 2 amusement rides. There is now a double-decker carousel and a drop and twist ride. This is in addition to the Ferris wheel. Their claim with the rides is that all the proceeds goes to a charity. I'm all about helping out local charities. My issue is that because they felt that people need to spend more money on rides, the prices for the food and drinks went up.
When I go to a baseball game, I go because I want to watch the game. I would much rather drive an hour away to go to a small town baseball game where the stadium's focus is around the game than go to one here in town where the stadium's focus is on anything but the game. My issue is that the ballpark is so focused on making more money that they are forgetting about the reason for going. I've ridden the Ferris wheel once. That was enough for me. If I'm going to spend money on a baseball game, I'm going to spend my time watching the game, not going on rides. I would go to an amusement park if I wanted to ride rides.
What are your thoughts? Should baseball stadiums go back to focusing on the game?
well said and so true.
ReplyDeleteThanks Grandma. Dad has been wanting me to write a post about all the changes at the stadium for a while.
DeleteI agree! I go to watch the game. Plus, everyone should be paying attention to the game for safety reasons. Keeping your eye on the ball is good advice for spectators as well as players. And it'd be nice to make it family-affordable.
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