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| Capacity | Date Opened | Playing Surface | LF | LCF | CF | RCF | RF | First Hitter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,840 | April 11, 1997 | Grass | 335 | 385 | 402 | 370 | 325 | Darren Burton | |
Frontier Field is nestled inside Downtown Rochester right outside
of the city's "Inner Loop" expressway. The seating is continuous
much like a football stadium (no-upper deck). There isn't
really a bad seat in the park view-wise, although since the
foul territory decreases rapidly, some balls hit into the corners are
hard to see. Their scoreboard in left field is quite large
with a video and message board. The video board, however, is
of very poor quality and has low resolution compared to our
Fanovision. The atmosphere is very friendly and the ballpark
is very child oriented.On to food. The hotdogs are arguably the worst of all these ballpark. They are Zwiegles brand. Some interesting perks are the hottub in RCF and the Couch Potato Club in dead center which looks to be an extremely comfy, albeit terrible view seat. While there are no ads on the Outfield fences, there isn't another place that ads are not. It is painful to look at the chase board because it honestly serves no informational purpose. It is pure advertising top to bottom. The view of downtown Rochester from your seats is absolutely outstanding and the occasional train runs by alongside the inner loop. They actually have a real live organist, which is a MAJOR plus. The sound isn't bad either as they have speakers in the general seating area as opposed to some other ballparks. 
One of the most interesting facets of the Frontier Field
experience is their mascot, "Waste Man." Waste Man is this
giant black guy decked out in black with sunglasses and a red cape.
He runs across the field with the Red Wings Flag when introduced
and whenever an opposing team gets a runner on 1st base with
less than 2 outs he starts his rant. He bellows at the top of
his lungs "DUBBA DUBBA DUBBA DUBBA DUBBA DUBBA PLAAAAAAAY!"
It's quite humorous and recognized all the way to Buffalo! :)Tickets are $9.00, $7.50, and $5.00 because of New York state and Monroe County taxes. There are grass areas on the baselines to sit at and party decks in left field, but I'm not sure what charges apply. The Radio team is led by Joe Castellano. He is backed up by Joe Altobelli. They do a decent job and even have a post-game guest. Memorable Events Witnessed There:
BASEBALL MENTALITY: 6VIDEO UTILIZATION (SIGHT & SOUND): 5.5OVERALL PRODUCTION: 6.5SIGHT LINES: 8.0FIELD CONDITION: 7.5FOOD: 5.5FAN FRIENDLINESS: 8.5PARKING (Proximity and Price): 6.0Now, things that don't count:RADIO BROADCAST TEAM: 6.5CORPORATE BASTARDIZATION: 9.0REALLY FAT 1ST BASEMEN: 1 (Cal)FINAL SCORE: 11.47 out of 16.83 (Perfect Score)Numbers Retired: #25 Luke Easter - #36 Joe Altobelli - #8222 Morrie Silver | |||||||||
| Capacity | Date Opened | Playing Surface | LF | LCF | CF | RCF | RF | First Hitter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19,500 | April 14, 1988 | Grass | 325 | --- | --- | --- | 325 | Unknown | |
Dunn Tire Park is located in the center of
Downtown Buffalo near HSBC Arena and Interstate 190. The
stadium is uniquely arranged in that the seats wrap around
the right field foul pole and the bleachers are
beyond the right-field fence. Left field has no room for seats because
I-190 runs just beyond the left field wall. As a result there is
a large screen to catch home-run balls. The upper deck
is small by comparison and overhangs the lower deck by quite
a bit. This isn't enough to keep the mist out or that awful
Vinegary smell that I've chalked up to just being
"Buffalo Stench." Their scoreboard
and Video Display is in dead center field and it is Amazing!
It measures 20 feet by 40 feet and has stupendous resolution.
The sound system suffers because all of the main speakers are
out in centerfield, making it hard to hear sometimes.
The atmosphere is very baseball oriented as they often show old Bisons clips on the board and all of their championships are on the left field screen. Along the concourse are little facts, feats, and records held by past Bisons. They have a thing called the Kids' Zone beyond the centerfield fence. The only notable things about the food are the flurries that are large and a good value, and also Red Osier roast beef. Red Osier is important because they sponsor the pitch speed display in Left-Center field. 
There doesn't seem to be too many gimics involved in Bison
Baseball, they seem to be selling the game which is as it
should be.
There is an ad for Goya on the Outfield fence, imploring you
to "Hit a home run with Goya." I don't like this one bit.
But at least they don't make the boisterous claim of being
"Baseball City USA" as Rochester does. We know damn well
where Baseball City is...Montreal!
The view from your seats isn't great unless you're a fan of
concrete and a bank building that if it should topple, would
wipe out the entire ballpark.
The Bisons have two mascots. One named Buster. Buster is like dressing a ballplayer for the game and cramming a bull head on him. Their more lovable mascot is "Chip" which is a sick joke in my opinion, but we digress. Chip's number is "1/2" and he sports quite a bit of the fruits of Carlos Castillo, otherwise known as lard. Tickets are $9.50, $7.50, and $4.75 because of New York state and Erie County taxes. They have a restaurant on the 2nd floor in Rightfield called Pettibones grill which is neat because it has a serving patio rather than a totally enclosed restaurant. They also have a picnic ground that lies on field level behind the right-center field fence below the bleachers. The fence is transparent in that area. Their radio announcer is Jim Rosenhaus who is accompanied by "The Duke." They are a slightly better tandem than Castellano and Altobelli. They receive an entire point over the Rochester bunch because they aired a few of my comments about my "second favorite" city. Memorable Events Witnessed There:
BASEBALL MENTALITY: 7.5VIDEO UTILIZATION (SIGHT & SOUND): 9.0OVERALL PRODUCTION: 8.5SIGHT LINES: 6.5FIELD CONDITION: 7.0FOOD: 6.0FAN FRIENDLINESS: 7.0PARKING (Proximity and Price): 7.5Now, things that don't count:RADIO BROADCAST TEAM: 7.5CORPORATE BASTARDIZATION: 6.0REALLY FAT 1ST BASEMEN: 0REALLY OLD, WASHED UP RIGHT FIELDERS: 1 (Whiten)FINAL SCORE: 12.31 out of 16.83 (Perfect Score)Numbers Retired: #25 Luke Easter - #6 Ollie Carnegie | |||||||||
| Capacity | Date Opened | Playing Surface | LF | LCF | CF | RCF | RF | First Hitter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| --,--- | April 3, 1997 | Astroturf | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | Alex Diaz | |
P&C Stadium is located in the North Side of Syracuse near
Onondaga Lake and the Carousel Mall The seating is quite
interesting. The lower deck has decent site lines due to
the curling feature that Frontier Field's seats have down
the foul lines. The Luxury Boxes are 2 stories tall directly
behind the plate which makes the Upper Deck discontinuous.
There is a 3rd base line Skydeck and a 1st Base line Skydeck.
The good thing about the Skydeck is that there are personal
seats, but the tickets are general admission and they are
only $4.00 An odd aspect of this park is that the stadium has no
real "back" to it. The concourse area is in the same "room"
as the playing surface, meaning that a foul ball could potentially
strike a program salesman in the back of the head and
murder him. It wouldn't be totally unjustified since the
guy doesn't shut up all game long. Their scoreboard is
in left field is quite large
with a video and message board just like Frontier field. It
is also like Frontier field in the fact that is sucks.
I'd say it's even worse. I think they have 16 colors on it
tops and the resolution is that of a Lite-Brite. One plus
is on the right-center field fence, they have an out-of-town
scoreboard. Also on that fence is an ad for the Turning Stone
Casino, go figure.On to food. The sausages are really good. Prices are the standard rip-off of all Baseball venues. The "perks" at this park are endless, if you like being bombarded by the voice that sends chills down my spine, that of Skychiefs PA announcer Dave Perkins who sounds like Barney on Speed. They do at least 15 giveaways per night, brought to you by their shameless list of sponsors, including a free car wash for the "dirtiest car in the lot." It's safe to say I didn't win that one, but I think Manny Barrios might have. They throw plungers into toilets, babies off of balconies, and there are at least ten of those "check page 75 for your magic number and win a free enema kit from P&C Supermarkets," or something to that effect. The ads in the joint are plentiful and the backdrop is god-awful. Twisted trees and urban blight are all that greet the occasional glance beyond the outfield walls, not to mention the endless trains that move past the left-field bullpen on their way to the Syracuse regional transportation mega-center. The sound is the crown jewel in this place as it is almost inaudible, with the exception of the bass line. This obscene tower of speakers hides behind the batter's eye 30 feet behind the center field fence and all 10,000+ are expected to be able to hear its messages clearly. Fat Chance. It must be brutal playing centerfield, I'd imagine that Vernon Wells has permanent hearing damage as a result of patrolling Center for the 'Chiefs. Most people are familiar with the fun organ piece played at ballgames that sounds very Italian. They turn it into a ghetto anthem to the point where are you hear is (BOOM BOOM BOOM) and Vernon Wells develops kidney damage. At least they have Cesar Izturis at Shortstop who isn't old enough to drink... One of the most ridiculous aspects of a visit to P&C is "Scooch." He is their mascot. I don't know what the hell it is. Of course, I don't know what the hell the Grump is either, so they don't lose on that. We like to call the Syracuse mascot "Spooge," go figure. Tickets are $7.00 and $4.00 and only $275 for the Season! I'm not sure how that's possible. Perhaps they are ducking the Onondaga County taxes, or else they are subsidized, like cheese, or butter. That would explain the announcer. The Radio team is listed as being Ted DeLuca and Steve Hyder. I know Ted is on the show, but I thought the lead man was Bob something. Perhaps Bob Frapples? They have an excellent show and they love to poke fun at people, especially Matt Guiliano. Memorable Events Witnessed There:
BASEBALL MENTALITY: 5.5VIDEO UTILIZATION (SIGHT & SOUND): 4.5OVERALL PRODUCTION: 5.5SIGHT LINES: 7.5FIELD CONDITION: 8.5FOOD: 6.5FAN FRIENDLINESS: 6.0PARKING (Proximity and Price): 7.0Now, things that don't count:RADIO BROADCAST TEAM: 8.5CORPORATE BASTARDIZATION: 8.5REALLY FAT 1ST BASEMEN: 0BLEACH BLONDE 1ST BASEMEN: 1 (Witt)PA ANNOUNCERS UNDER 12 YEARS OLD: 1FINAL SCORE: 10.90 out of 16.83 (Perfect Score)Numbers Retired: #9 Hank Sauer | |||||||||