Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks)

Phoenix

   

  

Ballpark Assessment

Category Score (0 to 10)					TOTAL (0 to 50)
Location	Atmosphere	Food	Exterior Architecture	Interior Architecture
7	6	3	4	6	26

Chase Field let me down.  Although the stadium is easily accesible by Phoenix's lovely Valley Metro light rail system at 3rd & Jefferson or 3rd & Washington (depending on which direction you are coming from), Chase Field was fantastically unimpressive.  For one, the interior of the park was kept at an uncomfortable 82 degrees with the roof closed (no wind).  Granted, the weather in Phoenix on gameday could only be described as HOT, 115 degrees of HOT!  However, I have to imagine that Phoenix sees its fair share of 115+ degree days so that is no excuse.  I am sure the 10 people that got to enjoy the pool in the outfield were comfortable while the remaining 23K people were trying to stay cool by fanning themselves with $5 programs.

The food options were limited to say the least (burgers, hot dogs, fries and ice cream).

Game Comments (courtesy of MLB.com)

Game Date: July 2, 2010

Attendance: 23,155

Weather: 82 degrees F, roof closed

Length of Game: 3 hours, 15 minutes
Final Score: Arizona Diamondbacks 12, Los Angeles Dodgers 5

The D-backs plated three in each of the first three innings, enough to secure a win over the Dodgers for interim skipper Kirk Gibson in his first game at the helm. Chris Young drove in five runs for Arizona.

Stories from the Road
My trip to Phoenix to catch the Arizona Diamondbacks game can be summed up in 1 word: HOT!  When I landed in Phoenix on Friday morning, the temperature had hit 115 degrees, and, regrettably, would stay above 100 through most of my stay in the desert.

After checking into the hotel, catching a 30 minute run in the exercise room and determining that there was nothing to do in Phoenix, I ventured out into the heat to find my way to Tempe, AZ, which is a city right next to Phoenix that is home to Arizona State University.  If I wasn't going to find anything interesting to do in Phoenix, I thought I would give Tempe a shot.  Unfortunately, no luck there either.  Granted, it was the summer, school was out of session and a lot of bars and restaurants seemed to be closed, but I was expecting some sort of liveliness.  Oh well.

Note: Even the cab driver from the airport lamented about how dull and uninteresting the Phoenix area was.  Why are people moving to this city in droves?

The excitement didn't pick up until I woke up at 4:00am to hop on a greyhound bus from Phoenix to LA.  Somehow, I ended up being the very last person on the bus, which I had the pleasure of sitting next to the toilet all the way in the back for the 7 hour bus ride.  At each stop the bus driver spoke spanish before he spoke English.