FromThisSeat Blog

 

Welcome to the FromThisSeat Blog.

Here our editors will bring you plenty of news coverage on tickets, ballparks, stadiums and arenas as they pertain to the NFL, NHL, MLB and NBA.  If you have any questions or suggestions pertaining to the articles, feel free to 'Contact Us' via the navigation bar.

Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Home of the Anaheim Angels

Angel Stadium of Anaheim, home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, never receives a ton of publicity by Major League Baseball and it's fans. It's the fourth oldest ballpark in the MLB and has been renovated many times in an attempt to keep up with the rest of the league's updates. After visiting Dodger Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres, during the same week, it's safe to say Angel Stadium is the third best Major League ballpark in Southern California. However, that doesn't mean that it's not an excellent place to see a ball game. To us, Angel Stadium of Anaheim was the perfect suburban ballpark and offers an excellent bargain in the price of tickets.

Petco Park, Home of the San Diego Padres

Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres, was the second leg of our staff's trip to Southern California to see all three Major League ballparks in the region. We entered Petco Park and the beautiful city of San Diego with low expectations. The San Diego Padres are a small market baseball team on the West Coast that Major League Baseball rarely shines the limelight on unless they're making serious noise. Let's just say that we were blown away and can now see plain as day why the ballpark was able to secure the 2016 MLB All-Star game. 

Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California

Our staff was finally able to attend a Los Angeles Dodgers home game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California earlier this week. Of the 12 Major League ballparks our staff has visited, we haven't seen a more beautiful setting for a ballpark than Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles' Elysian Park neighborhood. Dodger Stadium is the largest ballpark in Major League Baseball, the third oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball (founded in 1962) and certainly has witnessed it's share of historic moments. 

Photo of Texas Rangers players meeting on the pitcher's mound at Globe Life Park in Arlington.

Image Credit: KA Sports Photos (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Texas Rangers organization is lobbying for the construction of a brand new stadium only 22 years after the opening of Globe Life Park in Arlington. It seems as if the Rangers are following the footsteps of the Atlanta Braves who will move into Suntrust Park next season after playing only 20 years at Turner Field. The motive? Well, there are a few.

Exterior photo of Everbank Field. Home of the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Image Credit: Excel23/Wikimedia

There is a lot of construction and commotion going on at Everbank Field these days, home of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. After Florida's two other NFL franchises announced their plans to revamp their home stadiums (the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers), owner Shad Khan and the Jaguars organization have decided to follow suit. 

Photo of the seats at U.S. Cellular Field. Home of the Chicago White Sox. 

 
Whether or not the upper deck seats at U.S. Cellular Field (now called Guaranteed Rate Field) are riddled with bullet holes is an urban legend that has circulated around the city of Chicago for two decades now. The ballpark is the home of Major League Baseball's Chicago White Sox and was formerly known as Comiskey Park II from 1991 to 2002. I was first told about the subject years ago when I roomed with a Chicago native in college.

Photo of the infield at Comerica Park. Home of the Detroit Tigers.

Image Credit: Dave Hogg (CC BY 2.0)

We've all heard the saying, "chicks dig the long ball". And that's a true statement. However, no matter your age or gender, there isn't a more exciting moment during a Major League Baseball game than seeing a home run launched into the outfield seats. Say what you will about Major League Baseball's "steroid era", during the 1990's and early 2000's but many of us kind of miss it. Nevertheless, there are a number of ballparks in Major League Baseball where fans can usually count on seeing at least one home run every single game. Here are the 7 Major League ballparks that give up the most home runs virtually every season.

Photo of the Gate B entrance to Raymond James Stadium. Home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Image Credit: Jennifer Snyder (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Raymond James Stadium doesn't make the headlines quite as often as say AT&T Stadium, Lambeau Field or Soldier Field. However, it's one of the best travel destinations for NFL fans during the winter months with it's warm climate and beautiful scenery. If you ask most NFL fans what they know about Raymond James Stadium, they'll say that it's the stadium with the pirate ship in the end zone. However, the stadium is currently undergoing a series of renovations that will hopefully allow the stadium to lure and host another Super Bowl. Raymond James Stadium previously hosted Super Bowl XXXV between the Baltimore Ravens and New York Giants and Super Bowl XLIII between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals

Photo of Nissan Stadium from the upper level seats before a Tennessee Titans game. 

Image Credit: Jason Nelms (CC BY 2.0)

Nissan Stadium, (formerly named LP Field) and the current home of the Tennessee Titans, is currently replacing all 70,000 of the venue's seats as well as the stadium's expansion joints.  When Nissan Stadium inherited the stadium's naming rights in 2015, the ramps, lights and signage were all colored red to reflect Nissan's colors. The change was also an effort to refresh and brighten up the stadium. Many different NFL fan bases in previous years had complained that the stadium was bland and boring and many couldn't disagree with that statement. 

Photo of the outfield bleachers at Yankee Stadium. 

Image Credit: Benjamin Kabak (CC BY-ND 2.0)

There are more than 100 professional stadiums and arenas in the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL. Out of all of those stadiums are a few seating areas that offer sports fans a more memorable experience than any other. After all, why do we attend ball games? To have fun, cheer on our favorite teams and forget about the stresses of everyday life. Here are five of the most iconic seating areas in professional sports. 

Photo of a Calgary Flames fan drinking beer at Scotiabank Saddledome during a Calgary Flames game. 
 
There is great myth and legend surrounding the infamous "Heroin Beer" served during Calgary Flames games at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Although the stadium serves ordinary draft beers such as Molson, Rickard's, Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors Light, etc, Calgary Flames fans suggest that the draft beer has higher alcohol content than in other NHL arenas. In fact, the myth became so popular that the Toronto Sun decided to test the beer at a local laboratory in an effort to debunk the myth. What they found out was that the alcohol content was 4.9%, which is standard for the beers served on draft at the arena.  

Old school photo of the Toronto Maple Leafs vs. the Boston Bruins.

The Original Six are the six hockey teams that comprised the National Hockey League during the league’s earliest days. Although many of these teams were organized before the 1942-1943 NHL season, the Great Depression and World Wars interfered with professional hockey during that time period. The Original Six would play each other exclusively for 25 years from 1942 to 1967 until the NHL expanded to 12 teams. Few hockey fans know that there were many teams that did not make the modern area of hockey, including the Montreal Maroons, St. Louis Eagles and Pittsburgh Pirates. 

So who are the Original Six NHL teams? Documenting their complete history would be long and exhausting but here we go.

Photo of New York Giants fans tailgating outdoors. 

Image Credit: Ben Vardi

If your goal is to visit all 31 NFL stadiums, know that it's going to take some time to accomplish this feat. As you know, NFL games are only played on Sundays and Mondays and sometimes Thursdays. Heck, now we've even got the NFL forfeiting some of their home games to London, England and Toronto, Canada. Visiting all 30 ballparks in Major League Baseball is much easier to accomplish since baseball games are played seven days a week.

When planning a road trip to an NFL city, here are the factors you need to consider ahead of time.

  • What is your budget?
  • Transportation. Will you get there by plane, train or automobile?
  • Lodging. What hotel will you stay at and for how many nights?
  • Dining. Which of the tourist dining spots do you want to visit and for what meal?
  • Parking. Have you purchased your parking yet?
  • Will you be tailgating? Have you purchased your tailgating pass yet? 

This list is not just comprised of the top 5 best NFL stadiums to visit. In order to make this list, an NFL city had to offer much more than just football. Which NFL cities have the best tourist spots, dining and history in order to give fans the best NFL road trip possible. Here are five NFL road trips that you and your friends just have to make.

Photo of Arizona Cardinals fans tailgating outside of University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. 

Image Credit: Sam Renaut (CC BY-SA 2.0)

NFL fans are only guaranteed ten days each NFL season to see their hometown team. That is unless, you want to travel, which we definitely encourage you to do. Two of those ten homes games are preseason games which suck and are difficult to get excited for. That leaves only eight guaranteed days per year to seriously celebrate a football Sunday with your favorite team. How do we make the most of those eight days? One word; tailgating. You would be very naive to think that all NFL tailgates are the same and equally as good. Some NFL fans just know how to cook, drink and party a little better than others. 

We wanted to put together a list of the five best NFL stadiums for game day tailgating and here they are. Enjoy!

Photo of the Wrigleyville rooftops adjacent to Wrigley Field.

Admit it. There's nothing like watching America's favorite pastime during the most relaxed and warmest months of the calendar year. And to top it all off - baseball is played and showcased on TV seven days a week.  While it's a true joy to take your kids to the ballpark and let them chase home run balls, beg for autographs during batting practice and gasp at the sight of their favorite players, sometimes the adults need to have a little fun on game day too. 

Major League Baseball cities have become great at giving baseball fans a complete game day experience by strategically building small communities outside of ballparks around the country. These communities often offer a variety of hotel, dining, shopping and sight seeing options that gives baseball fans a reason to come back all summer. We wanted to take the time and shine a spotlight on what we believe to be the five best neighborhoods in Major League Baseball. Enjoy!

Exterior photo of Old Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York. 

Old Yankee Stadium was one of the most storied stadiums in all of professional sports. Personally, I find it disappointing that the Yankees organization didn't preserve the ballpark the way the Boston Red Sox have done with Fenway Park and the Chicago Cubs have done with Wrigley Field. The venue was home to the Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and 1976 to 2008. During the 1974 and 1975 seasons, the stadium was temporarily closed so that new renovations could be completed. During that time period, the Yankees amassed 26 of their 27 World Series titles, the most in Major League Baseball. Yankee Stadium was also home to the New York Giants (football team) from 1956 to 1974. 

Aerial photo of Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California.

Candlestick Park was the longtime home of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers and Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants. The stadium was built in the beautiful Bayview Heights neighborhood of San Francisco on Candlestick Point. The location often gave the stadium strong wind gusts which sometimes halted the flow of the game. The Giants played there from 1960-2000 while the 49ers called it home from 1971-2013. A staggering 8 NFC Championship games were played at Candlestick Park, the very first was "The Catch", a game winning touchdown pass from Joe Montana to Dwight Clark. 

Aerial photo of Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Civic Arena was the home arena to the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins from 1967-2010. Also called Mellon Arena or "The Igloo", the Penguins won three Stanley Cup championship while playing there (1991, 1993, 2008). The venue was also the first stadium with a retractable roof in professional sports. However, the roof was permanently shut during the 2001 season. 

Black and white exterior photo of Chicago Stadium. 

Chicago Stadium was the historic home to the NBA's Chicago Bulls from 1967-1994 and the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks from 1929 to 1994. Chicago Stadium was also nicknamed the "Madhouse on Madison" due to the crowd noise, some say it was the loudest arena in professional sports at the time. The noise levels were so high because of the structure of the building with it's tight seats and boxed in design. The old Barton organ that played throughout games was also situated at upper center court and many speculate this contributed to the crowd noise. Many Chicago sports fans can confirm that the United Center, current home of the Bulls and Blackhawks, is no where near as loud as the Chicago Stadium. 

Aerial photo of Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Veterans Stadium was the long time home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles and Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies. The stadium was located on the current site of all three of Philadelphia's stadiums and arenas; the South Philadelphia Sports Complex off of Broad Street. With 65,000 seats, Veterans Stadium was built in the typical cookie-cutter design of the era. Both the Eagles and the Phillies called "The Vet" home from 1971 to 2003. The final Eagles home game at Veterans Stadium was played on January 19th, 2003 when the Eagles hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The final Phillies home game was played on September 28th, 2003 when the Phillies hosted the Atlanta Braves. 

Aerial photo of Cleveland Municipal Stadium. 

Cleveland professional sports teams have been the butt of jokes for many years. Cleveland Municipal Stadium, former home of the NFL's Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Indians, was no different. The stadium was often dubbed the "Mistake by the Lake" by fans of other cities' teams. The Browns called Cleveland Municipal Stadium home from 1946 to 1955. The Indians played there from 1932 to 1993. The stadium's capacity fluctuated between 75,000 and 80,000 seats which is why Cleveland Indians home games felt so empty.