Touch 'Em All

This was ballpark #7 for my wife and me. Following is the list of all active ballparks that we’ve visited at the time of this writing:

1 — Baltimore Orioles (1992; date unknown)
2 — Philadelphia Phillies (2004; date unknown)
3 — Pittsburgh Pirates (July 30, 2022)
4 — Atlanta Braves (May 28, 2023)
5 — Miami Marlins (July 7, 2023)
6 — Washington Nationals (August 19, 2023)
7 — Chicago White Sox (September 1, 2023)

We had an awesome day in the Millennium Park / River Walk area of Chicago today. Since the subway was within a few blocks of our hotel, we decided to take the red line to the game. It was a quick 15-minute ride that dropped us off within a 5-minute walk to the ballpark.

The majority of people approaching from the train station entered the stadium using a pedestrian bridge that connects across West 35th street from an entertainment building that contains a sports apparel store and a dining venue. We didn’t explore this building, opting instead to continue walking around the exterior perimeter of the stadium. 

The exterior of the ballpark consists of a beige, exposed aggregate, precast concrete base that is crowned by the black steel upper deck. The main entrance is flanked by a series of arches that converge at a simple tower element emblazoned with the team logo, and the words “Home of the Chicago White Sox”. The plaza outside of this main entrance was an active spot with live music and the bustle of fans arriving at the game. As you walk away from the main entrance, however, the exterior gets less impressive. It’s basically just a series of ramps to get fans to and from the upper deck.

The neighborhood around the stadium wasn’t much to write home about. The stadium and its parking lots seemed like the only things around. Therefore, there’s not much entertainment value before or after the game. Despite all the negatives I’ve heard, the area around the ballpark felt plenty safe.

Entering this park was a bit odd. After entering the gate, we expected to enter the main concourse like all the other ballparks we’ve been to. However, the main concourse here is a level above the street. After a brief moment of confusion, we found the escalator and made our way up to the main concourse.

The main concourse felt dark and compressed due to low ceiling heights. Knowing that this stadium was built in 1991, I was pleasantly surprised that it was an open concourse with unobstructed views to the playing field. I also noticed that the concourse was a bit narrow, which led me to believe that it could feel congested when the park is full.

The concourse does wrap the entire stadium, allowing one to walk all the way around without interruption. I didn’t see a lot of special features as I walked around. The outfield plaza had some statues of past players and an elevated picnic area in center field, but aside from that it was pretty straight forward.

After hearing comments from previous visitors to the contrary, I was pleasantly surprised that ballpark security let me explore all levels of the stadium. I had a lower-level ticket but was allowed up to the 500 level to grab some photos. There’s a pretty cool view back to the Chicago skyline from the top of the left field ramp.

A cool hidden feature to check out while you’re at Guaranteed Rate Field is a climate-controlled bar called the “Kraft Kave” located below the right field bleachers. It is right behind the visitor’s bullpen and gives visitors a unique perspective of the park.

This stadium does not boast a scenic backdrop. In fact, it feels like they go out of their way to block your view out of the stadium. The outfield view consists of three scoreboards and a handful of billboards. The primary & largest scoreboard is in center field. It’s a nice display with a crystal-clear picture and tons of in-game information.

The fans we interacted with were cool. We chatted with a few people around us. Granted, we didn’t pose a threat as Phillies fans watching a Tigers – White Sox game. We did see some friendly banter back-and-forth between Tigers & White Sox fans, but nothing out of hand. Towards the end of the game there was some commotion when some fans tried to hold up a “sell the team” banner. Security took it from them pretty forcefully.

The highlight of the night for me was getting to see future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera play one last time.

Overall, this ballpark is pretty nondescript. It’s not in an exciting neighborhood, the exterior is kind of bland, there aren’t a lot of special features, and there’s no signature view. We had a great time, but we anticipate that Guaranteed Rate Field will fall towards the back end of our rankings when all is said and done.

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