A couple weeks ago, the Indy Star released some pics of some of the sightlines in the Indianapolis Colts’ new home, the Lucas Oil Stadium.
About 200 of them aren’t that great … and not because they’re a quarter-mile from the field - you try to see around those pillars right there. The Colts have said that they won’t sell those seats, which begs the question, why bother putting the seats there in the first place.
Obstructed view seats have become rarer thanks to new-fangled stadia without support beams. But there’s still some really bad seats around Major League Baseball. Let’s take a look at some of the worst seats in baseball.
Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs
When the stadium is the oldest in the National League, you’re gonna have some seats that modern architecture would be ashamed of. Especially when there’s something like 60 pillars holding up the upper deck and the roof.
You know the saying “Good Seats are still available at Wrigley Field?” These are the seats they’re talking about. I’ve had one of these seats before. I didn’t sit there - there were better seats in standing room. No wonder 10-year old kids drink beer at Wrigley.
Petco Park, San Diego Padres
Try seeing the the Pads swing and miss from this section.
I think that sign translates to ”abandon all hope of seeing home plate, sucker.” Actually, it says “Be aware of objects leaving the field of play” … which you wouldn’t have to worry about sitting behind that giantic wall.
The Padres don’t actually sell those seats.
Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox
When that guy outside Fenway Park offers to scalp you a great lower deck view in Section 20, Row 10, Seats 1 and 2 … don’t buy the tickets.
The oldest ballpark in baseball has some really crappy seats. Just another reason to watch on TV.
Not to mention the hawks that try to kill you at Fenway.
Minute Maid Park, Houston Astros
These ought to be really cheap seats.
No really, you don’t need to see half the infield.
Shea Stadium, New York Mets
It’s one thing for the foul pole to be in your sightline, but this is just ridiculous.
That has got to be the worst seat in all of baseball. In the loge boxes at Shea Stadium, the foul pole is actually IN the Loge Boxes.
Mind you, that seat comes with a built-in object a Mets fan can bang his head against when the Mets blow the NL East lead. So it’s not all bad.
Wanna know why they’re tearing the crap-hole known as Shea down? There’s one reason. Is it the same in left field? If so, there’s two reasons.
AT&T Park, San Francisco Giants
This time … it’s not a beam, wall, or pole blocking the view of home plate. It’s just the cameraman.
At least you can’t see Barry Zito miss the strike zone. And there’s a nice view of the Bay.
Entries (RSS)
August 2nd, 2008 at 4:13 pm
[...] Home Run Derby has the sad-hilarious (sadlarious?) pictures of some of the worst seats in America’s major league ballparks. [...]
August 6th, 2008 at 10:36 am
Ever been to the Metrodome? I think every seat in the building qualifies.
August 6th, 2008 at 10:39 am
I think Wrigley holds the record for the most “Obstructed View” seats on the planet. Unless you are in the bleachers seems like there is always something in your way.
August 6th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Kent -
Nothing compared to the horrific seats at the old Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.
August 6th, 2008 at 11:16 am
I agree with that seat at Pac Bell, or SBC, or AT&T Park, or whatever the hell it is. I’m a die hard Giants fan, but there’s actually a worse seat in the park.
It’s in left field behind this monstrosity of a Chevron car.
http://goingdowntown.mlblogs.com/archives/2006/08/
The Giants say they don’t sell those seats because it’s actually takes up about 2 rows of viewing. People get standing room only and sit there anyway.
I think where the parks supposedly don’t sell seats, they should put a beer stand so the fans near by wouldn’t have to travel so damn far.
August 6th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Old Tiger Stadium had so many of these seats they started mounting television screens on metal support beams
August 6th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Andrew -
Wrigley has those too.
August 6th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Take a look at those “pole” seats at Fenway again. Lean a little to your left or right and you have a great view - and a rather close one. I’ll gladly take those seats.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Where did you find the Minute Maid picture? I’ve got a mini-season ticket package near that section but don’t recall seeing anything like that. The next time I go, I’m going to do a little recon. There are plenty of bad seats at Minute Maid that aren’t as obstructed. The upper level is so steep, if anyone in the first fews rows in front of you leans forward the slighted bit, no more infield. Also, those stupid outfield Crawford Boxes that everyone tries to sit in are horrible. All you can see is the infield.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I can see that seat as a perfect photo-op for the next “Big Johnson” t-shirt.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
[...] Home Run Derby has a posting today that shows some of the worst seats in various ballparks throughout the league. [...]
August 6th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
the seat in left field at shea, i believe the foul pole actually touches the seat when its down. at least in right field there is a bit of room in front of it. and i would gladly take that seat if the mets were in the world series (yes i know, im a funny guy)
August 6th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
I would like to respond to TIM IN PGH’s comment about the Fenway seats
All you have to do is lean a little to your right or left!! If you have ever been to Fenway you would know there is no room to “lean” unless you want to sit on the lap of the guy next to you. You have “pole” seats all around the park. Now i love Fenway but if you want to sit in the seats pictured (unless you are season ticket holder) you are going to pay three times the price. Thats at least $80-120ish depending on who they are playing. Thats for one “pole” seat, enough to sit in luxury at many other parks. Thats not counting 40-$50 to park and add in another 50 for beer and food. That pole seat has now cost you a small fortune. Believe me its not worth it, i have sat there when the tickets were cheap and it wasn’t even worth it then. Of course back then not every game was sold out and you could always move to another seat…
August 6th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
@ Mario…where are you parking that it costs $40-50? IN the players parking area maybe it is that much. You can park a short walk (under 10 minutes to the park for $20 or cheaper) on the Kenmore side of the bridge or if you get really lucky park on the street for a couple $ in quarters until the meter stops counting at 8pm. As for the tickets, I HAVE sat in a couple of those seats, mostly along the 1B side (never sat in obs. view on 3B or home tho) and they cost me $60 apiece, took my dad and bro, luckily for them the pole only obstructed my view of home. You make a valid point but exaggerating prices to drive home that point isn’t a fair representation of going to a game in fenway. Go Sox!
August 6th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Jon,
The problem with Street parking at fenway is that half of the zones are tow away zones, I have found that out the hard way, Several times. ALSO the parking garage near (I wanna say) gate C is like 35-40 dollars to park depending on when you go. These are the reasons I strictly ride the T to games.
August 6th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
How could you forget the Uecker seats at Miller Park? I think they’re the only team that embraces their poor seats.
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20020707&slug=seam07
August 6th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Those seats at Fenway do NOT cost 80-120 clams unless you’re buying them from a reseller. They’re $50, sometimes even less, and if you’re wise you know how to get around being stuck in them the whole game. It’s what happens in parks that aren’t modern… You get those support beams all over the place and unfortunately, they cannot mark every seat that is obstructed as obstructed because of their ticketing policies.. and there’d just be way too few seats NOT marked obstructed throughout the grandstand. The even more tricky thing is when resellers - even the ‘reputable’ ones such as Ace Tickets or StubHub (ugh) or whatever - accept tickets that have the obstruction notice removed from them. It’s misleading and frequently happens to fans who buy their tickets from well outside the Boston area as most newcomers to Fenway have very little way of knowing their seats are going to be obstructed by a big fat pole.
Worse than the pole? Sit in a seat obstructed by ‘walkway traffic’ during a day game. People refuse to sit down/get out of the aisle, no matter how hard security goes after them. You get spilled on and tripped over… Those are the real worst seats!
August 7th, 2008 at 11:00 am
[...] beans compared with the problems in Fenway. In an amusing piece, Home Run Derby takes a look at some of the worst seats in the house. It sure must be nice to sit right behind the foul pole in Shea Stadium. Literally. (Hat tip to [...]
August 7th, 2008 at 11:16 am
I think the Engineers need to refocus on this problem professionally and have them sit in those seats that the consumer has to sit in.