After spending a day at Disneyland, we made the 10 minute drive over to Angel Stadium to catch baseball's wordiest team, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim go up against the Rangers.
Angel Stadium opened in 1964 as a baseball-only facility but was converted to a multi-purpose venue in 1980 when the L.A. Rams moved in. Once the Rams left town in 1998, a major renovation removed the upper level of seating from the outfield area. The most visible change was the installment of a rock facade/waterfall in centerfield. Apart from this though, there isn't a lot else that makes it feel like many of the modern stadiums.
Promotions:
We shrewdly planned our visit for one of the season's hottest promos: "Angel Merchandise Scratcher Night". Neither of us wound up a winner, which is probably just as well. What would we have done with a stuffed Rally Monkey in an Albert Pujols jersey anyway?
Grade: C+
Food:
Food options are easily the most disappointing thing about the stadium. All over the concourse are handy guides that tout a wide array of options. The stands that offered a very basic, limited menu of hot dogs, popcorn, nachos, etc., are numerous and had virtually no lines. Other locations with more intriguing offerings are much more sparse. In the mood for some disgustingly delightful Jack in the Box tacos? There's only 30 people ahead of you. After spending 45 minutes making laps around the concourse on 3 different levels to find something spot-hitting that didn't have a ridiculous line, we gave up and settled on one of the unexciting stands near our seats. We wound up with a generic hot dog, do-it-yourself nachos, and a couple Bud Lights.
Grade: D
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| If it looks good, prepare to miss a couple innings. |
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| A new low in the world of ballpark nachos. |
Overall Gameday Experience:
Maybe it was the long day beforehand at Disneyland, or maybe it's because taking sides between Albert Pujols's team vs. Josh Hamilton's team was a pointless exercise, but we were not too enthralled with our visit to Angel Stadium. Sadly, the highlight was probably the parking. A giant lot surrounds the stadium, which made it the most hassle-free thing about the evening. Everything else was average to not-so-great. The place isn't old enough to have any kind of nostalgic appeal, but in spite of the renovation, the concourse is still cramped and doesn't offer a view of the field. Apart from the frustration with the concessions, nothing else was particularly awful about it. Yet, nothing really stood out either. Witnessing a complete meltdown by the Rangers helped salvage the experience somewhat. Though, are there really any winners in that outcome?
Final grade: C-.
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| In spite of this picture, the lines sucked. We promise. |
