Located at the edge of
downtown San Francisco and the San Francisco Bay, AT&T Park is one
of the best ballparks in baseball with its design and breathtaking
views. The idea and planning for new ballpark to replace Candlestick
Park dates back 1976 when Bob Lurie bought the Giants. Lurie wanted
to build a new downtown stadium for the Giants because of the
financial losses they were suffering at Candlestick Park. Interest
in a ballpark peaked in 1984 when Lurie nearly sold the team.
Instead of building a downtown ballpark, city officials proposed
placing a dome over Candlestick Park. That plan failed and in 1987
and 1989 San Francisco voters rejected plans to build a ballpark.
Both plans were barely defeated and Lurie began threatening to move
the Giants. Lurie looked to Santa Clara in 1990 and San Jose in 1992
for public funding, but citizens rejected both referendums. With the
threatened move to Florida, Peter Magowan bought the Giants in 1992,
keeping the team in the Bay City. In 1995, the Giants announced
plans to build the first privately financed Major League ballpark
since Dodger Stadium. It would be located in downtown San Francisco
in the China Basin area. Construction of the steel, concrete and
brick ballpark began on December 11, 1997. Naming rights were sold
to Pacific Bell for $50 million over 24 years, thus the ballpark was
named Pacific Bell Park. After the 2003 season, Pacific Bell Park
was renamed SBC Park after SBC Communications Inc. acquisition of
Pacific Bell. In February 2006, the ballpark was renamed AT&T Park
after SBC Communications changed its named after its acquisition of
AT&T.
On April 11, 2000, the Giants played
their first regular season baseball game at AT&T Park. Nestled in
the China Basin area on the outskirts of downtown San Francisco, as
fans approach the ballpark they see a magnificent steel and brick
structure. At the main entrance gate, a statue of one of the
greatest players in baseball history, Willie Mays, can be found.
Making up part of the exterior architecture of AT&T Park
are the the King Street clock towers. The two towers are 122 feet
tall and feature pyramid-shaped roofs topped by 45-foot tall
flagpoles. Once inside, fans are engulfed with views of the
Bay Area and the smells of garlic fries and crab cake sandwiches.
The main three tier grandstand consists of 41,600 green seats that
extend from behind homeplate to both the foul poles. Bleachers are
located behind the left field fence. There are no seats behind the
right field wall because of McCovey Cove, part of the San Francisco
Bay. However a sidewalk outside the ballpark, adjacent to right
field, commemorates historical moments in Giants history. A screened
fence that is part of the right field fence, allows fans without
tickets to see the action inside AT&T Park.
The main scoreboard is located behind
the centerfield fence. There are numerous entertainment options to
keep fans entertained at AT&T Park. The Coca Cola Fan Lot
is an interactive play area for children and
adults. Fans of all ages can enjoy a slide into home plate from one
of
the
four slides inside the 80-foot wooden Coca-Cola contour bottle. Fans
can stroll up to the world's largest baseball glove or check out the
views of the San Francisco Bay area from the outfield area.
When a Giant player hits a homerun, strobes flash inside the Coca
Cola bottle, bubbles appear to float from the bottle's mouth, and
green and white lights flash up and down the neon tubes running
along its ribs. Prior to the start of the 2007 the Giants installed
103 foot wide high definition scoreboard. AT&T Park has become an
excellent place to watch a baseball game because of the of the
beautiful views of the San Francisco Bay and the surrounding area.
Tuesday, September
29, 2009 vs
AT&T ParkWednesday,
September 30,
2009
vs AT&T ParkThursday,
October 1,
2009
vs AT&T ParkFriday, October
2, 2009
at Petco ParkSaturday,
October 3, 2009
at Petco Park
Sunday, October 4, 2009
at Petco Park