| Pacific Bell Park is the new home of The San Francisco Giants and the newest jewel in the city's landscape.After repeated failures at the ballot box to construct a replacement for aging Candlestick Park, Giants ownership, combined with charter season ticket holders, were able to pull together this privately financed ballpark, the first one in the country since Dodger Stadium. Located at China Basin, in the South Beach area, beautiful new Pac Bell Park is a state-of-the-art modern facility that looks a hundred years old. It includes all the modern conveniences, while incorporating many nostalgic older features, such as a brick exterior, a "small" seating capacity of 40,800; seating that is remarkably close to the field; pristine views of the bay on two sides, and stunning city views on the other sides. This stadium is in the mold of other fine "retro" ballparks such as Camden Yards, Coors Field, and Jacobs Field. A variety of food is sold at the park, plus lots of good old-fashioned beer, hot dogs, and peanuts.This stadium is extremely accessible from all parts of the city, and the Bay Area, without the need to drive. The new F-line streetcar, and many other MUNI lines stop right in front of the stadium. Pac Bell Park is also an easy walk to downtown hotels, and all BART stations. The CALTRAIN station is only one block away. Bicycle parking is provided and even rollerbladers are encouraged to attend. Another feature new to the city is the opportunity for fans to walk and to enjoy the multitude of bars and restaurants inhabiting the ever growing South of Market area, before and after a game. The ballpark is kid friendly and includes a mini ballpark inside, where kids can play wiffle-ball, plus a sliding area. The entire park is non-smoking.The only negatives so far are the high prices - bring your VISA card and lots of cash - and the hard to get tickets. Five hundred bleacher seats are sold in a lottery at the ballpark for that day's game. The bleachers are very close, cheap, and present an excellent view of the field. This Park has many unusual and deliberately "quirky" dimensions such as a very short right field foul line (307 feet), where left-handed hitters can pull the ball up and over the wall, and into the bay to waiting sailboats. Giants' slugger Barry Bonds was the first batter to perform this feat. Right center field, however, juts out to a cavernous 420 feet where doubles will become triples. Another interesting feature of the park is a ground level viewing area, outside the park, which is free to all passersby, which is on the right center field fence. Those strolling around the area can check out an inning or two for free while enjoying the local ambience. |
