| rev:text
| - Back when I was a radio announcer, in the late 1970's, I had to babysit Braves games and play the local commercials during the breaks. That's when I learned to appreciate faster moving sports... But if you can take baseball or leave it, as I do, it's still worth an occasional visit to a real ballpark. Baseball is much more watchable live than on TV. And forget radio. Only rabid baseball fans will resort to listening to that!
The Knights played the Toledo Mud Hens Friday night, 5/20/11, and we got there early so my wife could donate blood (Red Cross Bloodmobile was giving free tickets to donors). We were meeting some old friends there, for a mostly social evening. Our kids go to school with one of theirs, so they would have fun together.
Parking was $4.00. Remember to park as close to the entrance road as you can, and to face out of the parking space, because it takes a loooooong time to get out of this ball park!
We bought tickets for the cheap seats for the other three in our family, because we've noticed that the concession prices have crept way up over the last few years. Snacks (a fried pickle tray and bag of peanuts), dinner (three burritos and a hot dog tray), drinks (two lemonades and two waters), a bag of tennis balls for the end of game contest, a couple of chances on the kids' roulette wheel, and game tickets set me back $94.50, and my wife threw another $20.00 on snacks for the twins (Dip-n-dots ice cream and candied nuts).
Here are my impressions of the Knights package:
The tickets *are* still relatively cheap ($8 upper deck, $12 for the lower, and more for a few choice locations). I'm not a serious baseball fan, so $8.00 seems plenty high enough.
The baseball is, well, baseball. It's minor league, so it's not spectacular, but it is played by professionals, so you get to see a game well-played (well, usually!).
The stadium is vintage late 1980's, built after Jim Crockett Park burned in Dilworth in 1985. It could use a fresh coat of anti-rust paint here and there, and some new toilet seats and fixtures.
The concessions are average, somewhat overpriced, mostly unhealthy American fare... with limited selections on a Friday night when only a third of the seats were sold. They close really early, too, so get what you want well before the 8th inning.
We found a Moe's stand and got some half-way decent burritos. Other choices include hot dogs, chicken fingers and sandwiches (fried), pizza, and french fries. One stand offered "fried pickles", but what you really get are about five battered strips of pickle on a bed of limp french fries coated in way too much salt.
Of course, they sell bags of salt-saturated peanuts in the shell, and there's the German candied nut guy with his cart of addictive cashews, walnuts, and almonds.
There is $6 lemonade, and beer is almost as expensive there as it is in the cable box (Time Warner Arena) uptown. Selection is limited, but Mecklenburg Brewery does have a couple of taps there.
My advice? Eat before you come, to avoid high prices for indigestion. Save your money for beer and maybe a snack. Water is $3.50, and you can't bring in your own.
When the team plays at home on a Saturday night, and on the 4th of July, they have fireworks after the game. That usually makes the evening worthwhile, regardless of the outcome of the game. On the 4th, WBT and other sponsors gang up to launch a HUGE fireworks display. The last one I saw there was unbelievably cool. That 4th of July show sells out way in advance, and with good reason.
If your kids are baseball fanatics, the Knights probably get an extra star rating here. They do a great job with kids' promotions, and they go an extra mile to keep the entertainment family-oriented.
There has been much talk over the years of moving the Knights to Uptown Charlotte. I can't really get excited about that. I'm sure the ticket prices and parking and concession prices would be much, much higher there. As it is, the Fort Mill, SC location is not a bad drive away from Uptown, and the surrounding countryside and fresh air are just as enjoyable as the game and other entertainment.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)