Dave: The New Cowboy Stadium—When Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones spent 1.2 billion dollars on the new stadium, it was meant to be perfect.  Jones wanted “everything to be bigger” in the new stadium, to go right along with that dumb saying “everything’s bigger in Texas” – it’s not, I have been there and can confirm that everything looked normal.  So after building this “masterpiece,” Jones decided the finishing touches would be huge HDTV screens in the center of the arena.

Punters have to learn to punt around these things. Who cares about hang-time, just avoid Jerry’s TVs./JUDY BATTISTA

Two 160 foot wide and 73 foot high TV screens hang 90 feet above the field.  This way, just in case some of the fans are on the verge of going blind, they can still see the game.  These wonderful TVs factor into ticket prices, as the cheapest tickets in the new stadium are being sold at $197 – that’s right folks, $197 to purchase standing-room-only tickets that will allow you to watch the game on the large TV screens….sounds like something that could be done at home for a hell of a lot less.

The only problems is, those screens happen to affect the actually game they are displaying.  In the first preseason game played at the new stadium, Titans punter A.J. Trapasso booted an average punt into the air…and into the screens.  Instead of going down field, the punt ricocheted off the TV screens and was ruled dead where it landed.  Jones didn’t seem to think it was a big deal, saying, “That’s not the point – how high is high if somebody just wants to sit there and kick straight up?”  Nice work Jerry, blame it on the punter, not on the idiot who decided a live football game needs TVs inside the stadium that are big enough to view clearly from your own TV at home.  The NFL plans to investigate this situation and could require Jones to spend more than the 1.2 billion he spent to build it in the first place, to get it raised.  Jones plans to fight that, claiming that the NFL approved these dimensions when he proposed them, so he shouldn’t have to change them.  Good call Jerry, who cares if they affect the game; it’s all about you making money.

Sieck: Fenway Park—Everyone relax. I don’t dislike Fenway. I was fortunate enough to visit the park last summer and it was an incredibly pleasurable experience. It’s easily one of the best old-school parks in baseball. It’s in a great location in the heart of Boston with tons of cool bars within walking distance of the stadium. However, let’s not get off topic. The place screams of the charm of the sport’s bygone era with the manual scoreboard and the venue’s overall layout. Additionally, any baseball park where fans can get some clam chowder is OK with me. When I went to see and extra-inning Red Sox win over the A’s, I was situated right in the heart of “The Triangle” in centerfield right next to the infamous Green Monster. The leftfield wall is deeply and rightfully entrenched in baseball lore, and it’s even more imposing and fun to experience in person.

Ooh, scary monster.

However, I sometimes think that Fenway is perhaps romanticized a little too much. People who make it out to be so fantastic are really just getting caught up in its mystique. For one, the ballpark certainly lacks many of the amenities of baseball’s newer, more “fan-friendly” parks. There’s certainly nothing wrong with “old school,” but parts of Fenway are very run down, it’s a little cramped in certain spots, and some places obviously offer better vantage points of the game than others (like many old parks). It seems that even some of the Boston faithful agree with me. My crew was told by some locals after hearing we were from Philly that we should appreciate our new park.

Furthermore, getting back to the Green Monster, I’m sure there are plenty of power hitters in the league that don’t think it’s so awesome. I know part of baseball’s appeal is that every venue has its own unique characteristics, but there’s nothing more exciting than going yard, and the monster makes that difficult. Besides, before 2004, the BoSox hadn’t won a World Series since 1918, so how good could the place really be?

Brian:  Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan—In town to visit my in-laws in nearby Birmingham, Michigan, the four of us decided to catch a Tigers game at beautiful Comerica Park in downtown Detroit.  The stadium follows a familiar blueprint for new ballpark ambiance, complete with a Ferris wheel, an open-air, wraparound outfield, and the requisite Walk of Fame area so many parks are leaning on to remind new fans of the days of old.

Despite sitting in the upper level, the game unfolded before us without so much as a complaint from anyone in our section.  The vantage points were precise, and from our position, just behind the plate on the third base side, we were treated with the park’s liquid fireworks which are synchronized to the whims of the stadium DJ, similar to that of the Bellagio’s famous water show.  Couple all that with the fact that the Tigers currently enjoy a comfortable four game lead in the Central and are primed for another deep playoff run and therein lies the recipe for a perfect ballpark, right?

Tonight at Comerica: All fans 14 and under will receive a free canister of mace! Hoooray, crime!

If you let your eyes wander back up to the top of this piece, you’ll remind yourself that Comerica Park sits comfortably in the middle of Detroit proper.  In 2007, Detroit was deemed America’s most dangerous city, based on a compilation of FBI statistics, by CQ Press.  Not coincidentally, that was the year I attended my first and only game in Detroit.

With or without the help of documentarian Michael Moore, I was already fully aware of the impoverished nature of many of Michigan’s inner cities, but I wasn’t prepared for how destitute Detroit is.  No measure of Stanley Cups, World Series titles or NBA championships (sorry, Lions) is enough to offset Detroit’s cesspoolian atmosphere, so despite all that Comerica Park boasts in terms of fan friendliness, a quality baseball team, or mouth watering concessions, I’ll pass on any further fun family outings to the crime capital of the country.