| If you want to experience the typical minor league atmosphere in the
typical minor league ballpark, there is no place better to visit than
Northeast Delta Dental Stadium where you will definitely find both. While many fans
who only frequent their hometown park may enjoy this, for someone like
myself who visits many ballparks each year, there is nothing to distinguish
this park from numerous other new parks built since 2000. This is not to
say Northeast Delta Dental Stadium is a bad place to see a game, but just that there
is nothing memorable about it. The setting, located on the Merrimack
River, would lead one to believe it is scenic, but that is not the case
since the ballpark faces away from the river and not one seat is within view of the it. Because of the proximity to
downtown, parking is limited around the park. The closest lots charge an
outrageous $10 fee. Fortunately there is plenty of free on-street parking which
can be found if you don't mind a 5 or 10 minute walk. The ballpark itself
has a rather cheap feel to it since the seating structure is made of metal
instead of poured concrete, similar to Brockton's Campanelli Stadium. As
mentioned previously, the design is the usual among new parks - a concourse
that overlooks the field with luxury boxes stacked on top. The seats here
are all of the green fold down variety, except for the one bleacher section
in right field. Foul territory is pretty small, so most of the seats are
close to the action. But some of the seats in the outfield are not angled
enough toward the infield. A large picnic area is located behind the left
field fence. One negative about the design is the lack of a wrap around
concourse. Despite having the room to have one, the concourse does not
continue past the foul poles. A large video board in located in center
field, but strangely there is no dedicated board for the linescore. Did
they just forget they needed one ? Apparently, as a manual scoreboard was added in the left field wall for the '07 season which displays the linescore. Concessions have improved in the 2nd year as additional menu items have been added. There is no a good selection of items including italian sausages, clam chowder, fish platters, chili, and BBQ sandwiches. But the quality and prices are just average. In fact, I still maintain that concessions were better (and cheaper) at Gill Stadium, where the
Fisher Cats played in 2004. The atmosphere at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, while
not overly loud or distracting, is filled with shameless promotions. The
team conducts an on field game between every half inning that is just
another way to get a sponsor's name on the scoreboard. There is no
creativity or imagination put into these promotions. Northeast Delta Dental Stadium
is a nice enough new park, but everything about it feels "done before".
I'm just not sure it is a huge improvement from Gill Stadium, which was
quirky, had some character, and was a good place to see a game. The new
ballpark will surely draw fans in for years to come (which is the most
important thing), but I just wish more thought was put into the design and
atmosphere.
|
