A seat with a view -- our visitors' perspectives

Here are the parks that visitors to our site feel have the best views.  The most recent submissions are at the top:

I have to admit that I have not seen many of the parks listed on your "best views" page, particularly the ones that are on the west coast, or those that overlook the Rockies.  That being said, however, the absolute best view of any park I have seen belongs to the brand new PNC Park in Pittsburgh.  The river, the bridge over the river, and the skyline on the other side of the river make this an unparalleled vista.

Written by:  JBoba@FergusonPartners.com 

Your view page is terrific!  Although I have only been to about 20-25 major/minor league parks so far, here are my top five for views/overall experience.

1.  Wrigley Field, Chicago:  Tight, intimate and classic.  On a warm day in May or June, with the ivy growing on the outfield wall, there is no place better to "play hookie" from work.  All the cares of the world melt away.

2.  Jacobs Field, Cleveland:  Have been to Coors, Camden & New Comiskey, but this park tops the other new ones due to its urban setting & terrific fans (also scoring 12th row seats behind 1st base on a perfect day in August didn't hurt one bit!).  This park rose Cleveland from the ashes.

3.  Everett Muni, Everett, Washington: - nice mountain views and the people couldn't have been nicer across the board if they tried.  Harold the pig as a ball boy was a nice touch as are the terrific Aqua Sox uniforms/logo.

4.  Nat Bailey Stadium, Vancouver, BC:  Beautiful pine trees and a classic old stadium with great, loyal fans & old timers with a long history rooting for the Canadians.  It was sad the day I was there because the team would move to Sacramento the following year and a lot of loyal fans/employees were upset but helpless to stop it.  Not a lot of bells & whistles here, but a peaceful & beautiful setting.

5.  Coors, Denver:  I spent more time watching the sun set over leftfield than I did watching the game.  Unfortunately for the ball players, the sun can be blinding for the firstbaseman as it sets & one day someone sitting behind 1st is going to get beaned with a throw from short.  A beautiful park.

Written by:  awyrauch@ix.netcom.com 

There are five parks that come to my mind for great views...

1. Frontier Field - Rochester, NY. A great view of the city's skyline and behind the right field fence there is train tracks the freight trains pass on about twice a game.

2. Skydome - Toronto.  If you're sitting in just the right seat, you can see the CN Tower looming over the field. That is, of course, when the roof is open!

3. Reading Mun. Mem. Stadium - Reading, PA. the steel plants surrounding the stadium makes for a pretty urban backdrop.

4. Lackawanna County Stadium - Scranton-Moosic, PA. The stadium is cut out of a mountain. That's all I need to say.

The last stadium is not in the minor leagues, but it does deserve mention...

5. Doubleday Field - Cooperstown, NY. The nearby churchtops and houses over the outfield wall make for a nice backdrop.

1. Franklin Covey Stadium - Salt Lake Buzz, UT  - great view of Wasatch Mtns.

2. Lundquist Field - Ogden Raptors, UT - wonderful views of Wasatch Mtns and "skyline" of Ogden, a deadly combination for lover of views.

3. John O' Donnell Field - Quad City River Bandits, IA - For a river view, you can't beat John  O'Donnell (after all, this was the stadium that was submerged in water a few years back).  The graceful Centennial Bridge is absolutely a fabulous backdrop over the right field fences. Other nice river view stadiums - Waterfront Park in Trenton NJ, Joe Riley Stadium in Charleston, SC., Riverview Stadium in Clinton, IA.

4. Victory Field - Indianapolis Indians, IN - magnificent view of city of Indianapolis.  Has a major league feel to it  You can see the domes of the state capital, the parachute roof of the RCA Dome and a monstrous looking power plant all at the same time. A feast for the eyes.  Other nice city skyline view stadiums - Telus Field in Edmonton, Alberta; Frawley Stadium in Wilmington, DE; Multnomah County Stadium in Portland, OR; Durham Athletic Park in Durham, NC.

5. Cobb Field - Billings Mustangs, MT - The rimrocks here in Billings are a sight to see.  The airport is just right above the bluffs and you can see planes landing and taking off during the game. Other nice/unusual sights:  roller coaster in Blair County Stadium in Altoona; prison over rightfield walls in Dutchess Stadium (Hudson Valley Renegades); County Stadium in Milwaukee (watching the new Miller Park being built beyond the outfield walls)

6. Sec Taylor Stadium - Iowa Cubs, IA - With the golden domes of the state capitol off in the horizon and the Des Moines & Raccoon River just beyond the outfield fences, this place truly belongs in any top 10 list. Other nice city/river view stadiums:  Lawrence Dumont Stadium in Wichita; Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati (unfortunately, you have to go outside the stadium and across the river to see this one) and Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh (for this one, you have to go outside, across the river and take a elevated tram up a mountainside)

7. Alumni Field- Butte Copper Kings, MT - The best views of the Rockies are not in Denver, it's here in Butte.  You're not merely looking at the Rockies, you're in the Rockies. Other nice mountain views:  Salem Municipal in Salem, VA; Tucson Electric Park in Tucson AZ; Damaschke Field in Oneonta, NY; Coors Field in Denver, CO and Everett Muni in Everett, WA.

8. Al Lang Field - St. Petersburg Devil Rays, FL - Serene views of sailboats and yachts cruising Tampa Bay.  Harbor Park is also great, too, but wouldn't you rather look at colorful spinnakers than gray naval vessels? Regarding nice bay and ocean views stadium . . . can't wait till Pac Bell Park opens here in San Francisco!

9. Bowen Field - Bluefield Orioles, WV-VA - The stadium that straddles two states, talk about a stadium built into a side of a hill!  Just over the left field fences is a huge hill which you can't help but look into because the grandstand is extremely elevated.  The surrounding views of the Appalachian countryside isn't bad either.  Watt Powell (Charleston, WV) is another stadium with a giant hill over the outfield fences, but Bowen, to me, is more impressive. Other nice hillside views:  Kendrick Field in Helena, MT; Lackwanna County Stadium in Scranton, PA.

10. Veterans Stadium - Cedar Rapids, IA - Off in the distance beyond the left field fences is the small city of Cedar Rapids. But right down the first base line and right field are giant grain elevators.  Can anything be more representative of Midwestern baseball and Iowa?  Wonderful!  Other "appropriate regional" stadiums:  Smith Willis Stadium in Jackson, MS; Grayson Stadium in Savannah, GA; McCormick Field in Asheville, NC; Dodger Stadium in L.A. - Palm Trees off in the distance- what can be more Southern Cal?

Written by:  jlecrone@nb.net  

One of the more unique views offered by a ballpark is that of Blair County Ballpark, home of the Altoona (Pa.) Curve.  The outfield view doesn't feature a skyline, but it does feature the huge Skyliner roller coaster of neighboring Lakemont Park.  The coaster is so close to the field that it almost feels like a part of the stadium.  To heighten this feeling, the team's mascot will often hitch a ride on the coaster.  In addition to the Skyliner, the mountains of central Pennsylvania are also visible from the seats on the first base side.

I guess the Rocky Mountains are an easy Top Ten backdrop candidate, but the East Coast has some spectacular views as well:

1.  Reading PA Municipal Stadium -- when you look over the industrial area over the rightfield wall there's a very peaceful mountain setting
2.  Lackawana County Stadium -- set inside the mountain in Scranton -- actually Moosic, PA (see photo).  Go on fireworks night and watch them burn down the woods
3.  Riverside Stadium, Harrisburg PA
4.  Fenway Park, Boston
5.  Dodd Stadium, Norwich, CT
6.  Dutchess Stadium, Fishkill, NY
7.  Memorial Stadium, Baltimore (now retired)
8.  Frawley Stadium, Wilmington, DE
9.  Binghamton Municipal Stadium, Binghamton, NY

One of my favorites (and everybody's) seems to be Salem (Va.) Memorial Baseball Stadium, with the Blue Ridge in the background. For a closer mountain, there's Watt Powell Park (Charleston, W.Va.).  The field isn't exactly built into a mountain, but it's close.  Center field is dominated by a crag of sorts, making the park picturesque.  Another very scenic center field is Cobb Field (Billings, Mont.).

Of course, Jacobs Field (Cleveland) and Yankee Stadium (Bronx, N.Y.) are known for looking out onto a skyline (in Yankee Stadium's case, it's dominated by the Bronx County Courthouse), but I liked the view from Sec Taylor Stadium (Des Moines, Iowa), which includes the Hawkeye State's capitol dome.  And one can never forget the Citgo sign from Fenway Park (Boston).

It looks like my list has a lot of the same places you've picked, but here they are anyway:

1) John O'Donnell Stadium, Davenport, Iowa (third base grandstand, last couple of rows).  The Mississippi River flows by just a few yards beyond the rightfield fence, and watching the boats, barges, and casinos can be hypnotic.  Add the graceful arches of the Centennial Bridge spanning    the river right next to the first base side of the stadium, and you really have one of the most beautiful settings in baseball.

2)  Franklin Covey Field, Salt Lake City (first base side).  A gorgeous view of the Wasatch Mountains right over the outfield fence.

3)  Victory Field, Indianapolis.  Since the seating area is sunken beneath ground level, this stadium offers a terrific, unobstructed view of the downtown skyline over the outfield fence.  What I assume is some kind of huge power plant looming ominously beyond the first base side makes the view from the seats even more interesting.

4)  Wrigley Field, Chicago.  For a big-league park with a real sense of place, you can't beat Wrigley.  When you look out over the stadium walls, you see houses, trees, and small businesses -- not acres of asphalt or interstate highways.  It's the perfect fit of ballpark and neighborhood.

5)  Tucson Electric Park, Tucson (especially the first base side).  Great views of the mountains to the north of the city, and while I was there, one of the most beautiful sunsets I've seen (due, unfortunately to wildfires in the area).

6)   Sec Taylor Stadium, Des Moines.  Des Moines is the Capital of Iowa, and the state Capital building sits prominently on a hill beyond the outfield fence.  When the setting sun catches it, it glows gold.

7)  Watt Powell Park, Charleston, West Virginia.  A sizable, steep hill rises behind the fence, covered with trees.  At the base of the hill, within sight of the grandstands, runs a railroad track, with long freight trains rumbling by during the game.

8)  Veterans Memorial Stadium, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  I may be somewhat biased (I have season tickets here), but this ballpark's setting is so perfectly suited to its Midwestern location that it deserves mention. Over the left field wall is the modest Cedar Rapids skyline (just three or four moderately tall buildings, but then again, this is Iowa), while right across the street beyond right field is a grain elevator.

9)  McCormick Field, Asheville, NC.  The stadium is nestled up against a lush, tree-and-plant-covered hill.  Sure, they're just trees, but it's still a very peaceful and beautiful setting.  In addition, the whole city, set up in the mountains, is quite pretty also.

10) Damaschke Field, Oneonta, NY.  Nothing spectacular about the view over the fence -- just wide expanses of green, rolling hills.  If this wasn't enough, the ballpark's geographical setting (about a half-hour from Cooperstown) certainly adds to the appeal.

And while we're at it, how about the three worst?

1)  The Ballpark at Arlington.  It's set in the middle of an enormous parking lot, but you can't even tell due to the ugly office building that faces the outfield.  Architecturally, this place is a nightmare.

2)  Cardinal Stadium, Louisville.  The huge bleachers (used only for University of Louisville football games and very rarely for overflow baseball crowds) sit empty behind the right field fence, while all you see over the left side is mostly the vast parking lot. The artificial turf playing field doesn't help things much.

3)  Tinker Field, Orlando.  The Citrus Bowl, an absolutely huge football stadium, looms very ominously right beyond the right field wall, dwarfing everything around it.  I don't know exactly     why, but its presence there made me really nervous.

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