Note: I am finishing my 2015 Summer of Baseball stadium reviews over the next month or so. I have five left, including the one below. I also have a review I am planning for something else. so this should take us into March and closer to the start of the 2016 season!
This past summer, I made a trip to the West Coast for the first time. Specifically, I was in Seattle for some geocaching adventures. However, I knew I needed to hit at least one baseball game while I was out there.
Everett is a nice little place to watch a game.
Unfortunately, the Mariners weren’t in town. I did get a stadium tour (though I didn’t get a stamp in my Passport, as I feel I need to actually see a game to earn that stamp), but I still needed to watch a game somewhere. Most of the teams that were within driving distance weren’t home during the time I was there, which was disappointing. I did have a small window with one team, the short-season Single A Everett AquaSox, and I took advantage of that window to see a game.
Even better was that it was the final night in Seattle, so it was nice to drive up to grab a few caches and then settle in to watch a game.
Anyway, we got to the area a tad early and figured we’d walk around and do some geocaching. Our first stop was the main office for the team to get some tickets. We had a good chat in there with some of the workers who, as it turns out, had worked for some teams on the East coast in the past, including some in our area. That was pretty cool. With seats in hand, we ventured out and walked around the neighborhood to find a few caches.
We entered the stadium pretty early to walk around and such. There were a few downers — such as no Passport stamp. There was supposed to be one (I had messaged the creator of the program), but it wasn’t to be found. They told me it was in one spot and it turns out they were stamping with something that wasn’t the right stamp. So I left there — my only trip to the west — without a stamp. Disappointing.
The food choices were decent. I didn’t see anything that was a “must” have for the spot, like a signature dish. The hot dogs were decent. The popcorn was OK. The prices weren’t awful. One odd thing? The other person with me went down around the fifth inning to grab something. The concession stand was out of hot dogs and sausages. In the fifth inning. At a baseball game.
No stamp made me sad.
No hot dogs.
That seemed really odd to me, so the ratings below reflect that.
The souvenir stand was small, but decent. There were several good options and it was open to walk around inside, so that was nice.
The people I spoke with here were extremely friendly and cordial. That’s always a bonus. Here’s reality — you’re working baseball — so it should be fun. The workers I spoke with seemed to genuinely enjoy their jobs, so that’s good.
Parking was pretty good, but we were there early enough to get street parking. I didn’t see the big parking lot they use. But it didn’t seem too crazy, that’s for sure. I think there was some free and some charged parking.
The stadium itself was quite interesting. The layout wasn’t traditional with how the wall in the outfield was, but I liked that. The viewing areas were solid. We sat up in the stadium, so didn’t have an issue with watching the game.
Overall, it was a pretty good experience. It wasn’t too far from the hotel we were at, so that made it nicer. I am glad I got to see a game on the other side of the country, though I was disappointed about the lack of a stamp. Hopefully they get one this year and know where it is so others who participate in the program can do so without issue!
Park Notes:
Everett Memorial Stadium
Everett, Washington
Home of the Everett AquaSox (Short-season A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners)
Visited on: August 17, 2015
Opponent: Spokane Indians (Short-season A affiliate of the Texas Rangers)
Ratings (out of 10)
- Stadium: 7/10
- Concessions: 6.5/10
- Parking: 8/10
- Ambiance: 7/10
- Friendliness: 8/10
I am continuing the Summer of Baseball from 2014 and hope to blog about each new stadium I visit in 2015. Ones visited in the past can be viewed linked up in the 2014 version.
Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!