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| In this old news photograph, which has all the appearances of a Norman Rockwell painting, baseball fans wait in line to buy tickets to the 1946 All-Star game held at Fenway Park, Boston MA. |
EDITOR’S NOTE: Blogger
Kurt Smith is probably one of the biggest fans of Major League baseball on the
Internet. One look at his free blog (www.ballparkguides.com) will
demonstrate his love of the game.
Called “Ballpark E-Guides,” Smith’s
baseball site covers everything from parking to peanuts at all Major League
stadiums.
The following guest blog is an example of
Kurt’s undying research into America’s pastime.
HOW TO AVOID LINES AT THE
BALLPARK.
By Kurt Smith, Posted Sunday, July 26, 2015.
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| Kurt Smith |
So since Ballpark E-Guides is all about making your life more fun at the ballgame, I’ve come up with a few tips based on my own experiences about how to avoid standing in line (or sitting in line in your car).
They
won’t work every time, but they should help!
1) Get
There Early. I know this is obvious, and I also know that sometimes it’s not
possible to get to the ballpark early.
But try.
Get your boss to let you out of work an hour earlier. Get the kids out of
school earlier if you must.
Getting
to the ballpark when the gates open saves you from a slew of lines…to buy
tickets, to get into the ballpark, to get something to eat, to buy a souvenir.
You can do all of these things with virtually no waiting if you get to the
ballpark early enough.
But I get
that sometimes it’s just not possible. So keep these other steps in mind.
2)
Embrace technology. Many teams will allow you to buy tickets online and use
your smartphone to scan at the gate. Why not save yourself the trouble of
waiting in line to buy tickets, or even to print them out at home? If the line
is too long for tickets, just order them on your phone and scan it.
A lot of
teams will also put a bunch of ticket kiosks right by the box office, and
amazingly, people seem to prefer waiting in line at the window than use them. I
beat a bunch of Mets fans into Citi Field recently simply by using one of these
instead of the box office.
The Mets
don’t even charge a fee for using it, although some teams might. The Reds have
tons of kiosks at the gates; I hardly saw anyone using them. Don’t be
intimidated; they’re not hard to use.
And look
to see if you can avoid waiting in line for food too. The Yankees are starting
to allow MasterCard holding fans to order food with an app called Qkr…which
allows you to order a bucket of sliders or a Nathan’s dog and have it sent to
your seat. Several teams, like the Phillies, allow you to use the “Ballpark”
app to order food. Lines can get long at concessions stands too, so definitely
look into what teams will do about it.
3) Avoid
the main box office on game day. With popular teams, like the Yankees and Red
Sox, waiting until game day to get your ticket almost guarantees that not only
will you be waiting in line a while, but you could well miss a portion of the
game if you’re late enough.
The box
office is a good option for getting real tickets and avoiding fees, and some
teams make sure they can handle the crowds, but it’s not worth it if you’re
standing on cement for an hour or more to find that all of the good affordable
seats are gone.
If a team
has a box office location away from the local train stop or from most of the
parking, you could try that, but you can’t always count on it.
4) Use
the secret entrance. If there aren’t alternate gates that you can use that are
less congested than the ones located closest to the parking or train station,
try the ballpark restaurant if there is one…generally you should be able to
enter from there.
This
isn’t always the case; with the new metal detectors required at each ballpark,
some teams haven’t gotten around to installing them at the secret entrances.
(Comerica Park is an example as I write this.) If the front entrance is too
congested, try a walk around the park. You might be surprised at what you find.
5) If
using public transit, buy your return trip in advance. In big cities like New
York and Chicago, after a ballgame there will always be dozens of people buying
train tickets to their return destination, and I promise you, at least two of
the patrons in front of you will not know how to use the machine. It gets
exasperating until it’s your turn and you see this skill isn’t so simple after
all.
Most big
city public transit systems sell added value cards that allow you to load
enough value onto your card for as many trips as you need. It can be
complicated figuring it out, but spend some time on the transit website
learning how if you can. It will save you a lot of waiting after the game.
6) Look
for alternate locations of popular food items. Most teams have a food court or
other large area where the most popular food items are sold, like Ashburn Alley
in Philly, Eutaw Street in Baltimore, or the fantastic new Right Field District
in Cleveland.
Lines get
long and stay long for the unique items in these areas, and sometimes that is
the only place to get them, like the Shackburger at Citi Field or the Campo’s
Heater sandwich in Citizens Bank Park.
But
sometimes there are alternate places to get popular food items. There is a
Chickie’s and Pete’s crab fries stand in the upper deck concourse in Philly;
club level patrons in Baltimore can get Boog’s BBQ in the concourse; Citi Field
has Pat LaFrieda’s steak sandwiches and Two Boots pizza on the Promenade Level
with much shorter lines. If you’d like to try a go-to food item, have a look at
the team’s ballpark map to see if there’s more than one stand for it.
There you
go; six useful tips that should help you avoid the dreaded long line at the
ballpark. It won’t save you every time, but at least you’ll be prepared!
INDIVIDUAL STADIUM GUIDES FOR
SALE
Want to
know more about your favorite ballpark or one you plan to visit? Download a
Ballpark E-Guide today. His official
guide books are inexpensive to purchase.
To order click: http://www.ballparkeguides.com/get-a-ballpark-e-guide.php
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| Ballpark E-Guide for Baltimore |
So far
Kurt’s ball guides are east coast and Midwest based. There are 16 guides total.
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