I have been to Safeco Field, the accueil of the Seattle Mariners, quite a bit. Now, I am par no means an expert on the ballpark and couldn’t even begin to tell toi everything about it, but for those who have never been to see a game at beautiful Safeco Field this should be at least helpful and informative.
I live about 300 miles from Seattle and I can get there par going straight West on Interstate 90. It takes about 4.5 hours if the traffic isn’t horrible. The drive through Washington starts beautiful, then goes to the Palouse/Columbia River Basin area which is very similar to a desert and finally once toi get to the Cascade Mountain Range the scenery is beautiful. toi can see two awesome vues on the way there. On a clear jour sometimes toi can see Mt. St. Helens to the south and after toi get into the Cascades, keep an eye out for Mt. Rainier – Washington State’s highest peak. Seattle itself is a beautiful city and toi can see two awesome sights when toi traverser, croix the bridge to the city. On the north toi can see the université of Washington overlooking Lake Washington and to the south toi can see the ever prevalent l’espace Needle.
plus recently is has become increasingly easy to get decent Mariner game tickets. I have found ticket prices for baseball games to be fairly reasonable if toi account for siège location and the fact that toi really get 3-4 hours of entertainment. This season (2008) the Mariners increased their ticket prices again, but toi can still sit in the lover level infield for about 55 dollars. I know it seems like a lot, but it’s worth every penny to sit where the action is. I have sat in every possible location for a Mariner game, and there is not a bad siège in the house. No matter where toi sit toi will get a great view of the game. So if you’re looking to save a lot of money and don’t care where toi sit, then I highly recommend the center field bleachers at 8 dollars a ticket. That’s a steal. Now there are a ton of ways to get tickets. toi can go to the link to get tickets, which seems to be a very populaire option. Another option is to go to a Seattle Mariner team store if there’s one in your area. This is helpful because here toi can talk to a live person who can find plus specific tickets for where toi want to sit. Another good option since the Mariners aren’t selling out every game is to go directly to the same-day sales windows at Safeco Field. This is really great because sometimes toi get lucky because season ticket holders give up seats for games the jour of, ou night before, the game. Another good, and legal option, is to buy tickets off of scalpers that are found everywhere around the ballpark before game time. I iterate that this practice of scalping is perfectly legal in Washington state so long as the tickets are not sold for plus than face-value. However, if toi are going to a high-profile game, then scalpers do often sell tickets for greater than face value. How else could they keep doing what they do? Now a game can be high profil for several reasons. 1. The opposing team is either the Yankees, Red Sox, Athletics ou Angels. 2. The opposing team has a very high profil player that everyone wants to see play such as Johan Santana, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez. 3. The opposing team is has a player ou manager that was once a member of the Mariner organization and is either absolutely hated ou loved par current Mariner faithful. Here’s a prime example; the last Mariner game I went to was a high profil pitching matchup between Seattle’s Felix Hernandez and the Yankee’s Randy Johnson, whom is also a former Mariner. I was lucky to find an amazing siège only 15 rows behind accueil plate (I could see the filth of Randy Johnson’s slider). I didn’t have tickets before the game. I asked several scalpers and tickets were going for about 80 dollars for cheap seats. I pressed my luck and went to the ticket window to find my prized ticket for regular game-day prices.
So now you’re in Seattle for Mariner game day. If toi are there for an evening game, which I often am, I have a few pre-game recommendations. Parking is everywhere. If toi arrive a few hours before game time, then toi should be able to find a spot near the railroad tracks north of the ballpark. toi can park in the garages on either side of the park for $20 and fight some serious after-game traffic. There are also a lot of little lots where toi can park for 10-15 dollars depending on the location. I highly recommend that when thinking of a place to park that toi map your exit strategy accordingly because the traffic is awful and toi don’t want to get turned around in downtown Seattle.
There is a lot of stuff to do before the game starts. toi can get yourself some Mariner gear at the Team Store located at the ballpark from the Edgar Martinez Blvd. side. If toi are hungry there are a lot of options. Across the rue is the Pyramid Alehouse serving good American nourriture and a reasonable price. The wait can be long so plan accordingly. toi can also go over to the Outback bière garden and get a Bloomin’ Onion. There are also a lot of venders cooking up hot dogs, chicken, burgers and sausages all around the stadium. ou if toi are looking to get a real up close look at Safeco Field then I recommend taking the Safeco Field tour, which is about 8 dollars and leaves from the Mariner Team Store at various times during the jour (depending on when the game starts). The tour is awesome because toi get to sit in the press conference room, sit in the dugout, see the stadium from the field (sorry, toi can’t walk on the grass), and get a feel for what it’d be like to see a game from nearly every vantage point in the game. Oh, and toi get a glimpse into the life of a broadcaster from the press box – watch for flying balls!
The turnstiles begin moving about an heure before game time. Hopefully while toi were walking around the park toi decided to grab some candy, cacahuètes and biscuit salé, craquelin jacks because toi are allowed to take your own nourriture into the game, but toi can’t take your own drinks. So grab that reasonably priced bag of cacahuètes from the vendor outside ou spend an arm and leg for a much smaller bag in the park. There are a lot of awesome things to do inside the park before the game starts. Often, the Mariners can be found taking batting practice. Since toi don’t have to go to your assigned siège right away, toi can run down to the dugout and maybe snag an autograph ou two. I’ve gotten Willie Bloomquist, Yuniesky Betancourt, Jose Lopez, Raul Ibañez, and Adrian Beltre. The players are encouraged to interact with the fans a bit, so take advantage of it if toi can. Another great option is going to the bullpen marketplace to see the starting pitchers warm up through the chain-link fence. There’s nothing glacière than hearing the pop of the catcher’s mitt from a 90 mph fastball. toi can take a look at the art around the stadium as well if that interests you.
There is every kind of nourriture toi can imagine in the park. toi can get everything from a classic hot dog to sushi if that’s your thing (I’ve had the sushi and it is very good). The only nourriture that I recommend are the garlic fries. When the smell of those fries hits my nose it is amazing. It’s almost worth the price of admission alone. Now, if toi like to consume beer, I recommend doing it before the game at a local pub within walking distance because bière in the stadium is way overpriced and often warm and flat. But that’s baseball for you, I guess. So now it’s time for the first pitch. toi have your cacahuètes and soda. Hopefully toi brought your gant to catch that foul ball coming your way. Just sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds of Major League Baseball. Stand up and sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the 7th Inning stretch and cheer on the Mariners.
