Coors Field

Since our move from Houston, we have been attempting to catch up with the Astros on the road and simultaneously mark more stadiums off of our list.  Sure, this year's squad is a lock to be picking first overall next June, but the allure of some Rocky Moutain air in the midst of a brutal summer was too tempting to pass up.



Home plate entrance

 As with many of the modern MLB stadiums, Coors Field is located downtown, so there are a wide array of hotels to choose from.  We had an easy walk to the park from ours. 

Promotions:
For the game we attended, there wasn't anything going on in regard to promotions.  Like most MLB teams, they give away bobbleheads, t-shirts, and other fairly generic swag throughout the season.  Although not really a promotion, fans can buy general admission tickets out in "the Rockpile" beyond the fence in dead center for just $4.  Grade: C+

The Rockpile

Concessions:
Coors Field has quite an overwhelming selection when it comes to food.  Unbelievably, the accomapnying prices are not excessively high either.  We took a lap around the concourse on the lower level to get a complete look at our bevy of options.  All the ballpark favorites are here, but Coors also features some more unique options, including egg rolls, burritos, pistachos, and wood-fire pizzas.  It was also fun to see a couple of old favorites from the Astrodome, soft serve ice cream and churros.  Since Colorado is big on their breweries, there are a multitude of local beers available.  We ended up going for a pretzel roll (pretty much what it sounds like), some loaded tater tots and a slice of the wood-fire pizza.  Coors Field is a place where you don't feel compelled to grab a meal before the game. Grade: A+



Our pretzel roll's dousing in cinnamon



Looked better in person





Overall gameday experience:

The Rockies moved into Coors Field two years after coming into the league as an expansion team for the beginning of the 1995 season.  The park still feels very modern in spite of being in operation for its 17th year.  Seats along the first base side of the staduim offer a view of the Rocky Mountains off in the distance.  A purple row of seats runs along the entire upper level marking the mile high point of the stadium.  The area past the outfield fence in right are the bullpens filled with evergreens, where bored relievers occasionally hide from one another. 

The purple row

The bullpen forest

In center, there's a fountain that goes off for each Rockie home run.



A frequent sight with the Astros in town



Around us, the fans were actually watching the game, grumbling about another subpar start from pitcher Aaron Cook and expressing their general disappointment with a sub .500 team that had high hopes coming into the season.  Their mascot, Dinger, is a purple dinosaur.  During the stadium's construction, a triceratops skull was unearthed, hence the dinosaur theme.  Maybe it's the dreadful assortment of the minor league mascots we've seen this summer, but he gets a passing grade from us.

All in all, Coors provided a great setting to catch a game.  Final grade: A.