The trouble with doing a trip such as the one I planned via train is the nature of the rail system in the United States. Even though Western Europe, Japan, and China have elegant, efficient high speed rail systems and additional feeders that work well in concert, we’re still struggling in this country to get even one state moving in that direction. Part of the deterioration of the US rail system comes from neglect, another part comes from the populace feeling that until recently trains were largely a 19th century technology. Finally, there’s the feeling that for many types of travel, such as coast-to-coast flights, rail isn’t fast enough to compete. High speed rail in particular has a sweet spot of 400-500 miles max before it starts to lose out to planes in terms of time savings.

Even if high speed rail were to become a viable, time and cost-efficient alternative to air travel, something would be lost in the process. Right now, I’m on a 28-hour journey, half of it through West Texas. There’s no 3G coverage out here, and it’s easy to go an hour without seeing a building, let alone civilization. Yet I’m relaxed. The next stop is two hours away, where we’ll all have a chance to get off the train and stretch our legs. Onboard, there are no restrictive seat belts. The coach seats have 50 inches of leg room, so much that my short legs can barely reach the foot rest in front of me. There’s plenty of room to recline, and I can get up and move about the train as much as I like. I’ve spent much of the trip so far in the observation lounge car, where I’ve plugged all of my portable electronic devices at a booth and have gone to work. I got a snack down below and had a dining car immediately next door.

Last night, I met a gentleman who was looking at my ballpark pictures while I was working and decided to strike up a conversation. It turns out that he made it to AAA in the Cleveland organization before being called to serve in Korea, where he was in the Air Force. After his service ended, he decided against pursuing a major league career, instead choosing to start a family and settle down in Southern California. He admired how quickly I manipulated files on my machine, while I thanked him for his service and for giving a bit of his own history. I didn’t get chance to mention to him that the end of his baseball career may have coincided with the last World Series won by the Indians in 1954. Coincidence? Hmmm…

Perhaps trains are of a different age, where people weren’t in such a goddamn hurry. Riding a train certainly won’t make me turn my back on new technology. Yet it’s nice to know that there are still ways to travel in which the journey is appreciated every bit as much as the destination. That is the essence of train travel.

• 8/8. Game time- 1:10 PM
• Attendance: 27,856
• Conditions: 76 degrees, roof closed (97 degrees outside)
• Matchup: San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks
• Starting pitchers: Mat Latos vs. Dan Haren Joe Saunders
• Result: SD 10, ARI 1, W – Latos (12-5), L – Saunders (7-11)
• Ticket purchased: $16 bleacher ticket (Sec 140, Row 34, Seat 16; includes $1 gameday surcharge)
• Beer of choice: Leinenkugel Classic Amber, 12 oz. – $4
• Food: Fatburger with cheese – $6.75, Value corn dog – $1.50
• Travel cost: $3.50 for Valley Metro light rail/bus day pass, used on light rail from Tempe (30 min. ride)
• Other: $1.50 1L bottled water brought into park
• Total spent: $33.25

12 years into its life, Chase Field (formerly BankOne Ballpark or The “BOB”) has settled in like a comfortable old shoe. No longer is it considered a tremendous engineering marvel, now that the other retractable dome in Glendale has captured the region’s imagination. What appeared at first like strange affectations or quirks in the outfield dimensions have become familiar and not particularly offensive. Thousands upon thousands have ascended and descended the mountain range known as the upper deck, and lived to tell others that they did not, in fact, need sherpas.

Getting There

Regardless of how well the now red-clad snakes do on the field, the stadium is an institution, its massive, hangar-like steel roof visible for miles around the valley. A few years ago, Valley Metro opened a light rail line, linking Downtown Phoenix and some neighborhoods north to Tempe, ASU, and Mesa. Color me pleasantly surprised when I encountered very full trains in both directions, even the inbound train I took over 90 minutes prior to the first pitch. If you’re driving, cash lots run from $6 to $12 depending on how close you want to be. A garage on the opposite side of tracks south of the ballpark has a footbridge for direct access by suite holders.

Westbound trains drop fans off two blocks from the ballpark, whereas eastbound trains stop roughly at the location where the above picture was taken. This makes using the train a rather painless experience from those who live within a short, often dry-heat enduring walk, or those who may use a station-adjacent Park-n-Ride lot. One way fare is $1.75, $3.50 for an all day pass good on Valley Metro buses as well.

The ballpark is laid out in Phoenix’s grid from west to east, with the field orientation facing north. Satellite and overhead photos with the roof closed give the appearance of a rectangular football stadium, not a ballpark. Only a nub sticking out on the south face gives a hint at how a baseball grandstand is shoehorned in there. Fans enter on either the west or east face from large, landscaped plazas. The west side has sports bar called Sliders across the plaza. A recording booth for sports radio station KTAR-620 AM is attached. A dozen or more ticket windows are set up in the southeast corner. Throughout my short journey, I did not see or encounter a ticket scalper, though I must admit I wasn’t actively looking for one.

Ticketing

I sidled up to the ticket window with my eye on one of the cheaper seats. The offerings were plentiful:

• Outfield Reserved (Upper Deck LF/RF corners): $9
• Bullpen Reserved (Lower Deck LF/RF corners): $15
• Bleachers (Lower Deck LF/RF outfield): $15
• Infield Reserve (Upper Deck infield/baselines): $15

As an Oakland bleacher bum, I couldn’t help but get a reasonably priced, $15 bleacher ticket (Sec 140, Row 34, Seat 16). The bleachers are aluminum benches with backs and upholders. Riser depth is the same as the regular seats, making it easy to run between the bleachers and the regular seat sections. I was not pleased to see that the D-backs charge an additional $1 gameday service fee on top of the published price, bringing my ticket cost to $16. It’s still better than dealing with Ticketmaster or Tickets.com, at least for games that are definitely not expected to be sellouts. In hindsight, I probably should’ve gotten the $9 ticket since it was so easy to move around.

From where I sat, I initially had a serious glare problem from the combination of lights and clerestory windows in the roof. It took a few innings to properly adjust so that I could pick up ball flight. It’s not a problem that would seriously affect outfielders.

Concessions

Food offerings at Chase Field are middling with little variety. A Fatburger stand is behind the LF bleachers. All burgers are cooked to order with your choice of toppings, just like the restaurant. The 1/3-lb. burger was $6.75 and was pretty close to what a Fatburger in a restaurant would taste like. Regular ballpark fare rules otherwise, with $5 D-back Dogs and $3.75 sodas, all Pepsi stuff. There’s also a value menu at most stands, consisting of a $1.50 hot dog/corn dog, $1.50 small popcorn, or $1.50 milk or small soda. That’s an excellent deal, and worthy of a thumbs up.

Beer has three pricing tiers. Just about every stand that offers draft beer has a $4, 12-ounce beer on hand, which is usually Coors Light. For $9 a large is offered, in which case a better beer such as Blue Moon Belgian White (also a Molson Coors product) is available. For more discriminating beer lovers, most of the beer stands also have 22-ounce bottles of Fat Tire and Sierra Nevada on hand for $10.50. I choose to get beer from the Leinenkugel stand, just around the corner from Fatburger. Leinenkugel, or “Leinie” to those in the know, is owned by SAB Miller and makes different kinds of craft lager beers. I got the $4 classic leinie, an amber by name and while not as interesting or flavorful as notable craft brew amber ales, is more than a step above the usual Big Three swill. Note: Maricopa County is looking to sell countywide pouring rights to the highest bidder.

Circulation

For some strange reason, only one set of escalators were built at Chase Field, at the West main entrance. Since fans have to exit the air conditioned confines to use the escalator, it doesn’t get heavy use. Ramps and stairs are well marked but also well concealed. Fans enter in on the Main Concourse, with the field 25 feet below MC. The Upper Concourse is over 46 feet above the MC. The MC and UC sandwich the Press Level (lower mezzanine) and the the Insight Diamond Level (upper mezzanine). Interestingly, two sets of elevators in LF and RF are available to the general public. The location of a large play area in the upper deck translates to a mall-like scene where tons of families use the LF elevators heavily. In right field, where there is an unadorned plaza, the elevators are only lightly used. Other elevators elsewhere in the stadium are intended for accessibility uses and are clearly marked as such.

Concourses are the stadium average 30 feet wide, though unlike the Coliseum they don’t include the transitional areas for fans entering or leaving the seating sections, as well as the wheelchair rows. That makes the whole place feel much less cramped, leaving plenty of room for alternative uses, best exemplified by the following picture:

Do you really need to ask what the girl was singing? “Love Story” by Taylor Swift, of course.

While I went through the seating bowl taking pictures, the ushers were extremely friendly and courteous. After the game started, they stayed the same – and not a single one checked for a ticket. I didn’t have time to do a significant seat upgrade, but I was able to get down to the lower boxes around the infield in the 5th inning. By that time the Pads had gotten a big inning thanks to some D-backs defensive miscues, prompting some fans to leave. It also helps that there is no cordoned off field level club area.

Alas, I didn’t stay long. I came not to merely check out the stadium, but to also hike to the top. Chase Field is notorious for its expansive upper deck, which has a minimum of 32 rows and maxes out at 40 in certain locations. If that isn’t bad enough, the pitch (rise) of the seating rows is at least 21 inches, making it the steepest of any ballpark west of the Mississippi. (The Coliseum has only 17 rows in the upper deck, with a pitch of 17-18 inches.)

I noticed that a couple dozen people were hanging out in the upper reaches, so I figured it was time to reach the summit. I made my way to the top, where I was congratulated by a young family. It’s the top row where fans have access to windows looking out on the metro area. Unfortunately, the views aren’t particularly exciting from the east side. From the west side, you can get a good look at Downtown Phoenix. Strangely, the seats behind the plate feel somewhat isolated from the rest of the ballpark as the ceiling is lower. If you’re willing to deal with the climb, it’s a cheap way to go at $15 ($9 in the outfield).

Other observations

• The sound system is extremely echo-prone. I’d been here before when the roof was open and noticed the same thing.
• The scoreboard, upon the second or third AB for each batter, displays a “back of the baseball card” show of stats. No advanced stats or peripherals, however.
• Overhangs are modest, 12 rows over the lower deck for the club level, and 6 rows over the club level for the upper deck.
• When the park opened, I really hated the Buck Showalter-influenced field dimensions. I realized sometime later that Jerry Colangelo was just trying to squeeze as much revenue out of the outfield as possible.
• The park is due for some upgrades in the next decade, including a new field level club and better growing lights for the oft-brownish field. The scoreboards were revamped some time ago and need nothing.

Wrap-up

Yes, it’s a dome. Can’t get around it. But you also can’t get around sweltering heat, even if it’s dry heat. MLB and Colangelo were smart to get the ballpark built in time for the 1998 season, instead of having the D-backs play at a beefed up Phoenix Muni or some other spring training facility. The fans like it, the amenities are good, and the transit and parking convenience make it one of the better urban ballparks in the nation. No, the upper deck can’t be fixed. So far, MLB has stood firm in its stance to keep the All Star Game at Chase Field in 2011, despite boycott threats over SB 1070 (which has had an injunction neuter the most controversial parts for now). Small changes may be in the offing if/when All Star Weekend happens, though it probably won’t be much to enhance the fan experience. Until then, Chase Field remains perfectly serviceable and pleasant for snakes and Phoenix MLB fans, and that’s something that would’ve been considered inconceivable 30 years ago.

It all started as a favor to my younger brother. He will be matriculating at that bastion of academic excellence known as Arizona State University, and he asked me to help him move down there. Since I was going to be out of town for a spell, I figured it’d be worth finding out how long I could string out the trip as an extended ballpark journey. I had been looking at other windows to do it, including early and mid-September. In the end, a trip starting in early August made the most sense in terms of flexibility and scheduling.

Unlike the trip I had taken to the East Coast two years ago, this one will have a different mode of transport for most of the duration: train. I’d been longing to take a long train trip for several years now, and the cost and hassle of either driving thousands of miles or coming in and out of airports everyday was not particularly compelling, so I looked to the rails as an alternative. Amtrak has a series of rail passes which can work well for such a trip. I purchased an 8 segment/15 day pass for $389 with no additional taxes or fees (thanks, government subsidized passenger rail). I’ve made partial reservations on some trains and will soon lock in the rest, though I know I can easily make changes prior to and during the trip. The journey is compressed enough that it’ll require a single one-way plane trip from Dallas to Kansas City, but beyond that everything’s ground-bound and quite leisurely. Train travel is something I recommend to everyone looking for a change of pace. It’s not perfect, but you may find it suits you with some planning.

Enough background. Here’s the itinerary.

The downside of this two-week stretch is that I’ll barely miss the A’s at Minnesota on August 13-15, but I’m trying to make up for that by checking out the Kane County Cougars on August 16. I’d like to check out young lefty Ian Krol while I’m there, but from the looks of things I’ll be catching a game a couple of days before or after his scheduled starts.

In total, I’ll be going to 12 sporting events, including 8 MLB games, 3 MiLB games, and 1 exhibition NFL game. Interspersed in the trip will be several ballpark and stadium tours, plus visits to other venues such as the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City.

I haven’t decided what the posting frequency will be for the trip, whether it’ll be per event or per day. I’ll try to do a local “trial run” prior to the trip. What do you think of the trip? Do you have any suggestions for places to eat, watering holes, etc? Drop ’em in the comments.