U.S. CELLULAR FIELD

U.S. CELLULAR FIELD

U.S.Cellular Field - Exterior - Chicago White Sox

TITLE

TEAM ::: CHICAGO WHITE SOX
LOCATION ::: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
MY FIRST GAME ::: JULY 5, 2005
OPPONENT ::: TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS
MY MLB STADIUM RANK ::: 18 OF 41

FORMERLY KNOWN AS ::: COMISKEY PARK

Southpaw greeting the fans - U.S. Cellular Field

SouthPaw dancing on Easter Sunday - U.S. Cellular

RATINGS

BALLFIELD ::: A
SCOREBOARD ::: A+
FOOD ::: A
FACILITIES ::: A
MASCOT ::: B (yes, the White Sox have a mascot)

FROM LEFT FIELD

MY TAKE ON THE PARK

A chilly April Sunday in Chicago - U.S. Cellular

THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO LOOK AT US CELLULAR FIELD. ONE IS BY COMPARING IT TO WRIGLEY AND FROM THERE IT IS NO COMPARISON.
THE SECOND IS TO LOOK AT WHERE THEY CAME FROM AND WELL, WHEN YOU LEAVE A "REAL" HISTORIC BALLPARK IT IS KIND OF DIFFICULT TO MOVE INTO A NEW "OLD TIME" PARK SO FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE, THIS PLACE IS GOOD.

THE THIRD IS TO LOOK AT WHERE THE SOX THREATENED TO MOVE IN THE LATE '80s. THAT WAS ST. PETERSBURG AND COMPARED TO THE CURRENT TROPICANA FIELD, US CELLUAR FIELD
IS GREAT.

OK, GREAT IS A LITTLE MUCH BUT REALLY, THIS PLACE GETS A BAD RAP. IT IS A PRETTY GOOD PLACE TO SEE A GAME.

FROM RF

Looking back to the Right field Foul Pole

FROM THE GAME PERSPECTIVE, THIS PLACE IS ONE THING; ENERGY! IT ALL
BEGINS WHEN THE SOX TAKE THE FIELD TO A LIVE VERSION OF AC/DC's
"THUNDERSTRUCK" ... THE WHOLE SONG IS PLAYED. AT THE END FIREWORKS ARE SHOT FROM THE BACK OF THE SCOREBOARD, NOT ONE OR TWO BUT A SERIES OF VERY LOUD BOOMS AND BRIGHT BURSTS OF LIGHT TO LET THE FANS KNOW THE GAME IS
ABOUT TO BEGIN.

DURING THE GAME THE ORGANIST, NANCY FAUST, WHO HAS BEEN WITH THE WHITE SOX FOR I BELIEVE OVER 20 YEARS, PLAYS LITTLE SONGS ABOUT THE OPPOSING TEAM, SHE MAKES THE NEW PLACE AS MUCH FUN AS THE OLD.

THE SCOREBOARD IS INFORMATIVE, KEEPING THE LINE UPS ON ALL GAME AND UPDATING THE SCORING. THE REAL TREAT THOUGH IS A WHITE SOX HOME RUN, JUST LIKE THE OLD PLACE, THIS SCOREBOARD HAS THE PINWHEELS AND LIGHTS AND OF COURSE, THE FIREWORKS.

U. S. Cellular's Scoreboard - A Classic

THE FOOD HERE IS REAL GOOD AND THE PRICES AREN'T THAT BAD. JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING IS OFFERED HERE FROM STANDARD HOT DOGS TO DUNKIN DONUTS COFFEE, THE SAUSAGE SANDWICHES ARE REAL GOOD AS WELL.

THE KNOCKS I'VE HEARD ABOUT THE PLACE ALL START WITH THE STEEP UPPER DECK, FROM WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD 12 ROWS OF THE UPPER DECK WERE REMOVED MAKING THE TOP OF THE STADIUM LOWER, I WENT TO THE TOP ROW AND IT IS PRETTY HIGH, BUT I THINK IT IS BETTER TO HAVE 50,000 SEATS AND A HIGH UPPER DECK THAN 45,000 SEATS AND HIGHER TICKET PRICES.

FROM HOME PLATE

US CELLULAR FIELD,SOMEHOW I LIKE THAT BETTER THAN COMISKY PARK. COMISKY WAS A CLASSIC PLACE IN A REAL TOUGH NEIGHBORHOOD AND IT SURVIVED FOR A VERY LONG TIME. THE NEW PLACE IS SURVIVING IN THE SAME NEIGHBORHOOD BUT I DON'T THINK WILL EVER BE CALLED CLASSIC. THAT BEING SAID, IT REALLY IS A BETTER THAN OK PLACE TO SEE A GAME. DUE TO A PROMOTION, I WAS ABLE TO GET IN FOR $7 BUT I WAS
LIMITED TO THE 500 SECTION. IF THE 500 SECTION IS ANY INDICATION THOUGH, THE PLACE HAS A SPACIOUS CONCOURSE WHICH ON THE LOWER LEVEL IS OPEN SO YOU CAN WATCH THE GAME. THAT IS IMPORTANT WHEN YOU CONSIDER HOW GOOD THE
FOOD IS. I DID MISS THE BULLPEN CAFE FROM LEFT FIELD, BUT THE SOX HAVE A SPORTS BAR IN RIGHT WHICH STILL GIVES FANS THE CHANCE TO HECKLE THE TEAMS OPPOSING RIGHT FIELDER AT FIELD LEVEL.

I RATE US CELLULAR 13th OUT OF THE 27 PARKS I HAVE VISITED. BEHIND THE JAKE IN CLEVELAND DUE TO MANY SIMILARITIES IN THE PARK WHICH I THINK THE JAKE DOES A LITTLE BETTER, PLUS I WAS NOT LEFT IN THE UPPER DECK AT THE JAKE AS I WAS HERE. HOWEVER, I FOUND THE PLACE TO BE VERY CLEAN AND A LITTLE MORE SPACIOUS THAN THE PARK IT IS AHEAD OF ON MY LIST, RFK STADIUM.

THERE IS JUST A GREAT ATMOSPHERE HERE THAT IS VERY OPPOSITE WRIGLEY BUT STILL WORKS FOR THE
GAME.

U.S Cellular Field, from high atop LF

Looking back to the Left Field Foul pole

A FEW OTHER THINGS ...

THE 500 LEVEL CONCOURSE IS A WALKING HISTORY OF THE SOX, FROM THE EARLY 1900s TO THE PRESENT, TEAM PHOTOS, NOTABLE PLAYERS, AND JUST SOME GOOD NOSTALGA LINE THE WALLS IN THE UPPER DECK.

IF YOU CAN, TAKE THE EL TO THE GAME, $10 FOR PARKING AND THE HASSLE OF CHICAGO TRAFFIC CAN BE ELIMINATED THIS WAY. THE TRIP ISN'T AS CHARMING AS THE ONE TO WRIGLEY, BUT AROUND GAME TIME IT IS STILL AN ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE.

FINALLY, FOR SOME REASON WHITE SOX FANS HATE THE CUBS. THE T-SHIRTS BEING SOLD AT THE EL TELL YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THAT

TO FIRST

A view of the out of town board - U.S. Cellular

THE LINE UPS

MANAGERS (PINELLA & RAINES, FIRST BASE COACH)

TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS MANAGER :::
14 LOU PINELLA

CHICAGO WHITE SOX MANAGER :::
13 OZZIE GUILLEN

TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS

13 Carl Crawford lf
23 Julio Lugo ss
3 Jorge Cantu 3b
18 Aubrey Huff dh
16 Travis Lee 1b
27 Damon Hollins rf
18 Nick Green 2b
44 Toby Hall c
1 Jody Gathright cf
30 Mark Hendrickson p
38 Lance Carter LP

Game action - U.S. Cellular Field - Chicago, Il

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

22 Scott Posednik lf
15 Tadahito Iguchi 2b
35 Frank Thomas dh
14 Paul Konerko 1b
33 Aaron Rowand cf
23 Jermaine Dye rf
12 A.J. Pierzynski c
38 Pablo Ozuna 3b
5 Juan Uribe ss
34 Freddy Garcia p
18 Cliff Politte WP
32 Dustin Hermanson S

SCOREBOARD