Dr. Pepper Ballpark

Some of the best decisions are made 6 innings into a Thirsty Thursday, like the one that took us and some friends to Frisco to see the local nine take on the Roughriders and grab an In-N-Out burger or two.  Luckily, we brought rain with us from Tulsa, so we didn't have to take in another ballgame in 105 degree heat.

We walked over from our hotel in time to check out the digs and catch a little pregame action.  One positive about Dr. Pepper Ballpark is there are an abundance of hotels within walking distance.  Unlike the Astrodome, you'd actually want to stay in all of these. 

Ben Paulsen on far left

Unsurprisingly, we were the only 4 in the entire park sporting Drillers gear.  Drillers 1B Ben Paulsen noticed us loitering along the railing, and we chatted him up about their 6 hour bus ride from Midland the night before.  Apparently it brought him a little good karma later on as he smacked a long homer to right.

The architecture of the ballpark is makes it easy to see why it has been named one of the top Minor League venues, even if it does make you feel like you're at the Kentucky Derby.

Should I order a Bud Light or a mint julep?

Promotions: 
Free Roughriders hats w/ the purchase of a family pack of tickets.  Also, there were Roughriders pitchers stationed at the main entrances for pictures and autographs pregame.  Grade: B+.

Concessions: 
The selection was standard fare.  As far as adult beverages go, they had a fairly good selection of beer including Shiner and St. Arnold's.  On the negative side, prices were high.  A 16 oz premium draft goes for a Drayton-like $7.50.  In true Dallas fashion, another negative was there were many "exclusive" lines that were only available to those with upgraded or special tickets.  Grade: C.

Overall gameday experience:
Dr. Pepper Ballpark has the highest seating capacity (10,600) of any in the Texas League, and it certainly feels like it once inside.  A large foul territory results in the seats feeling like they are fairly far from the field.
Fans are able to catch games from balconies at the Embassy Suites Hotel out beyond centerfield.

They did feature the single best between inning entertainment we've seen in a long time.  Three pairs of dads and babies lined up along the baseline.  Each took a turn giving their baby a hit off of a bottle of lemon juice, and the crowd got to vote for the best resulting face.  Good times.  The field features a pool in right field that can be rented for groups of up to 25.  In fact, there was a stunning number of exclusive patio areas that could be rented out to groups, which left fewer individual tickets for sale.





Frisco's giant furry groundhog mascot, Deuce, left a lot to be desired.  You can probably guess how long it took for a crude comment to be made about his name (not actually by me).  Amazingly, Deuce clothing is for sale in their gift shop in kids and ADULT sizes.



Anyone walking out with this needs their Man Card revoked immediately

Having some good friends, Sheri and Tim, along for the trip helped in boosting the overall experience.  Grade: B-.