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Created by:
Jeff LeCrone
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Prince George's Stadium Team: Bowie Baysox |
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One of the criteria I always use for evaluating ballparks is location. Prince George's Stadium is tucked in a patch of woods behind a row of shopping centers. In some ways, this seems appropriate, as the place is kind of a "Wal-Mart" of a stadium: it's big, and it offers a variety of things, but it doesn't offer anything too terribly unique in the way of style. One of the first things that hits you when you walk into this park is it's size. The pictures of the seating bowl really don't do it justice. For a AA ballpark, this place is absolutely huge. You can get a better sense of the size in the "outfield panorama" shot on our video page. I had originally thought that Prince George's was a lot like Mercer County Waterfront Park in design, and it is, but I eventually discovered that it is even more like Dodd Stadium in Norwich. It is much bigger than those two parks, however, as it seats about 4,000 more people than either one of them. Unfortunately, however, about half of the seats are bench seating, giving the park just a bit of a cheaper feel than it might have otherwise had with more seats and fewer benches. The park, however, does have a lot of the features that make Waterfront and Dodd good parks. For example, the concourse is at the top of the seats, and there is a walkway between the two seating levels. This means that fans of ballpark "roaming" will have no problem enjoying the game from several different angles. This is a pretty good park to walk around in. Even the walkway in the middle of the stadium is built low enough so people can walk or stand without obstructing the view of those in the first row of the top level of seats. Like a lot of the new parks these days, there is a restaurant behind home plate on the luxury box level. Unfortunately, it was being rented for a private party the night I was there. When it is not being rented, however, fans can buy a ticket to enjoy a buffet meal at the restaurant and then move outside to a seat right in front of the eating establishment. Parents of small children will appreciate the children's area, complete with carousel and a large inflatable slide. The slide is in the shape a sinking ship, which seems a little macabre for a children's play area and a strange choice for a sports event, but the kids sure seem to enjoy it! You can see a video of how the carousel fits into the park by clicking here. 2005 Update: Since my first year of doing this (1999), I have discovered that similarity among stadiums is a common phenomenon. While there are unique designs out there (see, for example, the parks in Erie, Altoona, and Zebulon) the majority of the newer parks are built roughly using this template.
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