Baseball’s oldest park, Boston’s Fenway, dates to 1912. The newest stadium, SunTrust Park in Atlanta, opened its doors just last year. That century-plus span of ballparks includes a wide range of architectural styles, from buildings that celebrate the past to buildings that, frankly, we wish were part of the past already. So let’s rank all 30 current MLB stadiums based solely on the buildings.
30
Oakland A’s: Oakland-Alameda Co. Coliseum
The A’s are on the hunt for a new home and the NFL’s Raiders already have one foot out the door as they prepare a move to Las Vegas A big reason for both of these facts is the coliseum, a multi-purpose mountain of concrete built in 1966. Oddly enough, it was this concrete block designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill that drew the A’s from Kansas City to Oakland in 1968. But today, the failing infrastructure (sewer water in the dugout, anyone?) lack of design charm, and general blandness land the stadium at the bottom of the list.
29
Chicago White Sox: Guaranteed Rate Field
Once called new Comiskey Park, the home of the White Sox was built in 1991, the no-man’s land of baseball architecture. It was a time when the era of concrete multipurpose venues was winding down but the retro ballpark craze had yet to heat up. Guaranteed Rate Field offers a cavernous, steep design. There’s little more than an arched façade to pay tribute to the nostalgia of old Comiskey, all without offering anything new or noteworthy.
28
Tampa Bay Rays: Tropicana Field
Opened in 1990, the Trop was not built entirely with baseball in mind, and you can tell. It’s most intriguing architectural feature is the fixed roof, which is currently the world’s largest cable-supported dome roof and the only fixed roof in MLB. The slant of the roof cut construction and cooling costs, but the look doesn’t do much to lessen the feeling that the Rays are playing in a warehouse. The catwalks that obstruct play and catch fly balls don’t help.
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27
Los Angeles Angels: Angel Stadium
Angel Stadium is a long story in renovation. It originally opened in 1966, making it one of the four oldest parks in MLB, but the venue as we know it was largely formed in 1998. That’s when the L.A. Rams left, so the architecture firm Populous came in to make the park more baseball-specific. The Imagineering folks at Walt Disney Corporation were brought in to create the Outfield Extravaganza, giving the stadium an internal focal point that doesn’t take away from its lack of structural interest.
26
Arizona Diamondbacks: Chase Field
If fans know anything abut the home of the Diamondbacks, it’s probably the outfield pool, which makes frequent appearances during games as a goofy stadium quirk. Unfortunately, Chase Field, designed by Ellerbe Becket with a retractable roof over the steel-heavy rectangular building, doesn’t have much else to offer in the way of architectural intrigue.
25
Washington Nationals: Nationals Park
The concrete, steel and glass structure design from Populous was inspired by the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art. The park was positioned so neighbors could see elements of the field and fans could look out to the Capitol and Washington Monument. The 2008-opened stadium includes a nod back to D.C.’s old Griffith Stadium with an odd right-angled jog in the right-center-field fence.
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24
Texas Rangers: Globe Life Park
When the Rangers needed a new stadium in the 1990s, HKS borrowed ideas from around the country, including a white façade reminiscent of Yankee Stadium and a right-field overhang paying tribute to Detroit, but infused them with brick and Texas granite. Oh, and there’s an office building. The 1994-opened stadium, called just The Ballpark at Arlington before someone bought the naming rights, brought business to Arlington by positioning a four-story office building directly into centerfield. The design helped create a focus and intimacy at the expansive park. While Globe Life Park is only about a quarter-century old, construction continues next door on Globe Life Field, the Rangers’ next home.
23
Cincinnati Reds: Great American Ball Park
One of the cleverest structural elements in Cincinnati comes in the form of a 35-foot-wide gap in the second and third decks of the riverside stadium. This space between home plate and third base frames a view of downtown Cincinnati. The Populous design, opened in 2003, lets the lower bowl of the 42,000-seat park wrap the entire venue, but slotted the stacked second and third decks to align with Sycamore Street for views. A handful of Crosley Field throwbacks — the analog clock, smokestacks, and the terrace outside the main entrance matching the grass slop in Crosley’s outfield — tie history into the design.
22
Miami Marlins: Marlins Park
Marlins Park is the target of routine derision, but much of the stems from the team’s play and management and the lack of an energized fan base. Give the stadium itself some credit. It opened in 2012 and you can forget finding brick, limestone, or green padding—the signature materials in ballpark design. Marlins Park goes quintessential Miami and is one of the first efforts at a modern baseball stadium that didn’t embrace retro features. There are six massive glass panels in the outfield, a retractable roof, and a Populous design that sets the stadium apart. At least give Marlins Park points for going a different direction.
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21
Philadelphia Phillies: Citizens Bank Park
The most intriguing aspect of the 2004-opened building from Populous comes in the creation of a special space within the confines of the ballpark. The Ashburn Alley spans the entire outfield to entice fans to roam through the open space, which offers views of the tiered bullpens, access to Philly’s baseball history, as well as stores and restaurants and rooftop bleacher seats that harken to the 1920’s-era Shibe Park.
20
Houston Astros: Minute Maid Park
The Astros are yet another team that fled a cookie-cutter mega-venue (in this case, the Astrodome) for a retro-themed ballpark. But the quirks of 2000-built Minute Maid Park aren’t just arbitrary, but were solution to true site constraints.
The Crawford boxes in left field play well into the odd design. The lobby recreates the original Union Station near the site and the building features a retractable roof. You’ve got a mix of architectural and engineering personality.
19
Toronto Blue Jays: Rogers Centre
The plus: the first major retractable roof stadium to actually work, and foresight in locating the stadium downtown, which wouldn’t catch on as a trend until the wave of 90s retro ballparks. The negative: plenty of bland multi-purpose concrete design. The design could have been cooler, as Rod Robbie wanted something spectacular inside the building to match his 11,000-ton, four-panel roof that exposes 91 percent of seats. But the multi-purpose requirements of the owners restricted that potential.
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18
Detroit Tigers: Comerica Park
Opened in 2000, Detroit’s downtown steel, concrete, and brick ballpark from Populous offered the first new park for the city since Tiger Stadium opened in 1912. Comerica Park celebrated that change with carnival features throughout the park and views to downtown. The building also incorporates a fountain.
17
Milwaukee Brewers: Miller Park
The HKS design opened in 2001 with a fan-shaped retractable roof and giant glass curtain walls. The Milwaukee parks included fun small touches, such as a left-field foul pole that pierces the seating deck and a giant yellow slide for Bernie the Brewer. The brick exterior merges with the glass and steel for a retro design that doesn’t feel overly contrived.
16
New York Mets: Citi Field
Citi Field uses architecture to tie itself to the city’s baseball history, particularly the legacy of the National League teams that preceded the Mets in New York City (the Giants and the Dodgers). The ballpark mimics the design of the old-time Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Citi, which opened in 2009, uses a bridge motif throughout the brick venue for that historic feeling. But don’t worry, the Mets brought along their famous home run apple from Shea Stadium.
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15
Atlanta Braves: SunTrust Park
The newest park in MLB, opened in 2017, moved baseball out of downtown in Atlanta, reversing a decades-long trend of repositioning baseball downtown. The brick-laden design from Populous fits with the retro feel so many ballparks embrace, but the design of the stadium was determined as much by its orientation to The Battery development around the park as anything, with its look tying the structure to nearby restaurants, entertainment venues, and hotels.
14
Colorado Rockies: Coors Field
Coors Field opened in 1995 and has been evolving ever since, continually adding new features and amenities. The first baseball-specific venue for Denver is a black steel structure on the edge of downtown. The Populous recommendation was turned down to allow the building to seat 50,000 fans, and while the inside design has transformed with new party decks and restaurants, the exterior still embraces the decorative masonry at the entrance.
13
Cleveland Indians: Progressive Field
Populous designers get extra credit for the light-colored steel of Progressive Field, built to resemble the same bridges and structures that cross the Cuyahoga River. The light shade gives the stadium, opened in 1994, a natural feel in downtown Cleveland. To celebrate the elaborate steel structure, designers exposed 19 vertical light stands 218 feet above the playing field.
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12
Minnesota Twins: Target Field
Moving out of the Metrodome rejuvenated the Minnesota Twins, and moving into the Populous-designed Target Field in 2010 just punctuated that excitement. Using native limestone from nearby Kasota, Minnesota, Target Field meshes with the plazas and outdoor spaces of downtown Minneapolis. The design falls somewhere between retro and modern by embracing the busy downtown site and classic local design.
11
Seattle Mariners: Safeco Field
The house Ken Griffey Jr. built was designed by architecture and design firm NBBJ. Tucked next to a train depot, the stadium opened in 1999 and offers the only baseball park fitted with an umbrella. The 22-million-pound retractable roof at Safeco keeps the stadium open-air, even while closed. The use of steel atop and throughout the structure highlights the stadium’s ties to the neighboring Port of Seattle and industrial district of the city. Expect some lovely views of Puget Sound along the way.
Tim Newcomb
Tim Newcomb is a journalist based in the Pacific Northwest. He covers stadiums, sneakers, gear, infrastructure, and more for a variety of publications, including Popular Mechanics. His favorite interviews have included sit-downs with Roger Federer in Switzerland, Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, and Tinker Hatfield in Portland.
