A mallpark is any park with more features designed to sell you #### than designed to enhance or encourage the watching of a baseball game. Virtually every park built since 1992 is a mallpark

I agree with this definition to some extent, though one caveat would be that many features of previous parks detracted from the watching of baseball, and discouraged you from watching it. The Ballpark in Arlington is an infinitely better place to watch baseball than Arlington Stadium, even if it also has infinitely more features designed to sell you ####.

There are a lot of concession stands and souvenir stands at contemporary "mallparks," but heck, hot dogs and pennants and crap were part of the experience BITGOD too. They've just expanded, not really taken over.

The newer and odder thing I notice more and more is the creation of spaces where you can't see the field. Ashburn Alley in Philly has elements of that. The Rangers, this season, put a new sports bar in center field, at an impossible distance from the game and no real view of it, and also enclosed the CF concourse with a structure (the "Budweiser Bowtie") so that you can sit outdoors with food/drink and watch the game on a big-screen TV (that sits directly behind a statue of Nolan Ryan), but you have no view at all of the field. At this point, one asks why you don't go to a sports bar for free instead, but management will tell you, they're competing with sports bars, so they have to rival that experience.

I agree with this definition to some extent, though one caveat would be that many features of previous parks detracted from the watching of baseball, and discouraged you from watching it. The Ballpark in Arlington is an infinitely better place to watch baseball than Arlington Stadium, even if it also has infinitely more features designed to sell you ####.

Agreed. Turner Field is a mallpark. Turner Field is better by factors than Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

The newer and odder thing I notice more and more is the creation of spaces where you can't see the field. Ashburn Alley in Philly has elements of that.

The Ted has this in droves. There's an entire run under the stadium, where walkways and concessions used to be in older stadiums, that's nothing but pitching machines, and "see how hard you can throw the ball" and various other "things for kids to do if kids don't want to watch baseball." There's also the (very good) Braves museum down there. But that's what makes a mallpark a mallpark. If you have an entire section of things to do *other than watch a baseball game...*

douchehoses

This is my first encounter with this term. It's actually pretty descriptive.

And f### the Cardinals, by the way.

A mallpark is any park with more features designed to sell you #### than designed to enhance or encourage the watching of a baseball game. Virtually every park built since 1992 is a mallpark.

Absolutely the stupidest definition in the world of anything. For example Busch stadium is more or less the same features as the previous Busch stadium, it just looks nicer. It's more open so that large crowds can move around, it has concessions just like the other park, it has a store, just like the other park, but unlike the other park, it's larger, not new, just better designed.

This is my first encounter with this term. It's actually pretty descriptive.

I prefer douche nozzles, personally, but you know, aesthetics. They're like STDs. You only share them with the ones you really love.

There's an entire run under the stadium, where walkways and concessions used to be in older stadiums, that's nothing but pitching machines, and "see how hard you can throw the ball"

Interesting. The Ballpark had several of those items till this past winter. They had "hit the Wiffle Ball out of the Wiffle Park" contests and such. But for 2012 they eliminated all the kiddie activities in favor of more sports bars. I guess if your kids complain there are ample opportunities to drink more heavily.

Dude. I'm a Braves fan. Who said anything about "fun?"


Point taken! I lived in the periphery of Braves fandom for about five years. Anecdotally, they really didn't seem to be having much fun. There was just something sort of off about it all.

my brother is a braves fan. if you knew my brother, if you knew anything about my family, you'd understand the above quotes.