THE ORIGINAL GOAL - TO WATCH A GAME IN ALL 30 STADIUMS
In my early twenties I set out to complete a goal that I had heard others do - to see a baseball game in all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums. Summer by summer, I dedicated my paychecks to flights and tickets for games around the country, and slowly chipped away at the goal. I slept on couches, took buses, and stayed until the final out was made in each game. When it came down to the end I was taking long road trips across several states just to see one game at a time. I finished my goal in 2014 when, with tears in my eyes, I set foot in Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays. After all the miles and hot dogs and triple plays (I saw two) I had finished my goal. I was done.
AND THEN...
And then, years later, the Atlanta Braves, my favorite team, built a new stadium that opened in April 2017. It was time to continue the baseball tour and visit stadium 31. The new ballpark is called SunTrust Park.
STADIUMS RANKED
And if you're curious what my favorite stadiums are I ranked them on a few things:
Ambience
Fan experience
Food
Aesthetics.
Here's my ranked list:
1. AT&T Park (San Francisco Giants)
2. Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox)
3. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs)
4. PNC Field (Pittsburgh Pirates)
5. Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals)
6. Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles)
7. Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks)
8. Petco Field (San Diego Padres)
9. Great American Ball Park (Cincinnati Reds)
10. Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City Royals)
11. Target Field (Minnesota Twins)
12. Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles Dodgers)
13. SunTrust Park (Atlanta Braves)
14. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros)
15. Safeco Field (Seattle Mariners)
16. Nationals Park (Washington Nationals)
17. Progressive Field (Cleveland Indians)
18. Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers)
19. Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees)
20. Turner Field* (Atlanta Braves)
21. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies)
22. Rogers Centre (Toronto Blue Jays)
23. US Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox)
24. Tropicana Park (Tampa Bay Rays)
25. Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers)
26. Angel Stadium (Los Angeles Angels)
27. Globe Life Park in Arlington (Texas Rangers)
28. PNC Park (Philadelphia Phillies)
29. Citi Field (New York Mets)
30. Marlins Park (Florida Marlins)
31. O.co Coliseum (Oakland Athletics)
*No longer in use