Stadium Journey recently reviewed 761(!) different stadium “experiences” and ranked their Top 100. This should come as no surprise to anybody in Birdland, but Oriole Park at Camden Yards came in as Number 1 overall.
#1 Baltimore Orioles, Oriole Park at Camden Yards
The current Oriole Park at Camden Yards, opened in 1992, is a trendsetter in Major League Baseball. Prior to its opening, the landscape of professional baseball was littered with boring, multipurpose bowl stadiums. Now nearly every team in the league has a great baseball stadium. Out are lackluster parks and in are fan friendly stadiums designed for the optimum fan experience. If Baltimore had built a standard, boring facility, baseball may not look and feel the way it does now.
In recent years, other, newer stadiums have passed OPACY in many similar lists. Places such as PNC Park in Pittsburgh and AT&T Park in San Francisco have make their own marks on the stadium experience landscape.
However, the one that kicked off the retro stadium revolution, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, still holds up.
[Related: My Top 5 Baseball Stadiums]
Now, if only we could get another All-Star Game here…
For those Baltimore fans who also cheer for the football team in town, this list from Stadium Journey gives another reason to be proud. Of all the NFL stadiums they reviewed, M&T Bank Stadium came in at #1 (14 overall).
#14 Baltimore Ravens, M&T Bank Stadium
The Baltimore Ravens handle the operations of their franchise outstandingly well and M&T Bank Stadium displays that effort with pride. The fans who attend games at M&T Bank Stadium will always have a memorable game day experience and get good value. The newly spent renovations and additions have made the purple colors and signage seem consistent, and scream out RAVENS at all points.
If they thought the game day experience in 2016 was good, they should have taken it in back in the day. When Ray Lewis and that 2000’s Ravens defense was at their height, the goosebumps that the M&T Bank Stadium crowd generated on the arms of every fan in attendance were legendary. Nowadays…eh. But hey, that’s just me. If Scout.com wants to name The Bank #1 in football? I’m all for it.
Check out the entire list on Scout.com. Which stadiums have you experienced?
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Places on the list I’ve been to:
#1 – Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles)
#3 – Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals)
#12 – PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates)
#14 – M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore Ravens)
#36 – Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox)
#49 – Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (Navy Midshipmen Football)
#79 – Coors Field (Colorado Rockies)
#87 – Giant Center (Hershey Bears)
#91 – Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs)