| After several years of financial haggling and construction delays, the city of Winston-Salem finally opened their new ballpark in 2010. Not that there was anything terribly wrong with their old home, Ernie Shore Field, but BB&T Ballpark is a clean, modern ballpark which allows the city to keep up with all the other North Carolina cities which have also built new minor league stadiums. BB&T Ballpark is located just to the south of the downtown and replaces a blighted neighborhood. Most of the fans park on the outfield side of the ballpark, so the team wisely decided to make the main entrance in center field. Parking seems limited for non-season ticket holders, but apparently there is enough as I haven’t heard any major complaints about this. One problem with the parking, though, is that because of how the ballpark is situated, they must climb a fairly steep hill after the game to get back to their cars. Even with the main entrance in the outfield, the façade of the ballpark is still attractive with its red brick. Inside, the ballpark is very spacious and the view of the city skyline provides a nice setting. Typical of most newer minor league ballparks, there is a full 360 degree concourse which allows fans plenty of places to roam around if they get bored. The concourse around the infield, which features several concession stands as well the pressbox, feels a bit tight in places, especially since the ceilings are not very high. Along the outfield concourse, there is a play area for kids (which features the same carousel that was at Ernie Shore Field) as well as a tiki bar for the adults. As of 2012, the park was still not 100% complete. The ticket offices as well as the team store were housed in temporary trailers near the main entrance in the outfield. Apparently a large building is supposed to be erected in right field at some point, which will feature permanent ticket offices and a larger team store. The Dash do a nice job of showing off the history of baseball in Winston-Salem as there are pictures and plaques along the concourse of famous alumni and significant baseball events in the city. Concessions here are only average at best, especially for a new ballpark. They offer several different types of hot dogs, a sub shop, and a few different varieties of fries (including garlic), but there was no BBQ to be found. Prices seemed high and the quality was lacking. They didn’t even have dipping sauce for the chicken tenders ! The atmosphere was also not to my liking, but part of that could have been due to the fact that I went to a weekday day game when the crowd was made up mostly of kids. The team has an on-field DJ (JJ) who came out every half inning to conduct some sort of contest. Fortunately they don’t go too overboard with their sound effects. There was also a mascot, Bolt, who was wondering around, though I’m not sure what he was supposed to be. BB&T Ballpark represents a new beginning for baseball in Winston-Salem and so far the fans have taken a liking to it. It certainly has everything that a modern ballpark needs, but for me, it was a bit unmemorable. Other than the view of the city skyline, there just isn’t much here that sets it apart from other new ballparks.
|
