minors over majors

I was able to take my family to a baseball game a few weeks back, and we had a good time. It was my kids' first time at a large stadium, and while they barely made it through the first four innings or so without getting restless, I still think that it will be a nice memory for them when they get older. There were a few things that I was a bit disappointed about, though.

First off, the tickets were pricey. This was a minor league baseball game, and yet I discovered later on that my father pays less when he goes to see the Colorado Rockies. It's not like it was a huge game or anything. Maybe I shouldn't be complaining. Obviously, it's not like the tickets cost as much as say...Superbowl, Major League Playoffs or March Madness. But they were approximately 50% more than my father's major league tickets.

I was also frustrated when we arrived to pick up our tickets, because "will call" tickets could only be picked up from one ticket booth on the other side of the stadium. So, after waiting in line, we had to walk all the way around the stadium, and then upon entry we had to walk all the way back to get to our seats. I guess the concept of convenience has only gotten so far as to have popcorn, cotton candy, peanuts and beer vendors walking up and down the aisles.

Another thing that really surprised me was that the safety net wasn't extended to the area in front of us. We were in the third row, by the first base side dugout...definitely close enough to catch a foul ball in the face, and yet the net only extended to a small area just behind home plate. You would think that they could extend the net a little to protect their patrons. Instead, they posted signs near the seats cautioning us to beware of flying balls and bats. It would also have been nice if they had let us know which areas had the net when we ordered our tickets online.

Now I understand that you can get hit by a foul ball in nearly any place in the stadium, but the areas closest to the field can send them "line drive" style right into your face, giving you very little time to respond (or get your glove ready). You would think that in this world of "safety belts required by law", some government agency would require stadiums to protect customers sitting close to the in-field, instead of just letting them post signs of potential danger.