Bats Among the Bricks

Third-base entrance to Bricktown Ballpark, Aug-2000.

The grandstand, from the left-field foul pole.

Looking out at more brick, this time the outfield concession stand that also serves as the batter’s eye.

• Location: Reno Avenue at Walnut Avenue (Mickey Mantle Drive), Oklahoma City, Okla.
• Opened: 1998 as Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark
• Additional names: SBC Bricktown Ballpark (2001), AT&T Bricktown Ballpark (2006)
• Home team: Oklahoma Redhawks, Pacific Coast League (1998-present)
• Capacity: 13,066

Rating: 4 baseballs

Bricktown is the oldest section of Oklahoma’s state capital. It’s about a mile from today’s downtown area and two miles from the capitol building. The rail yards run nearby. But with the decline of the rails as a part of everyday life, the section went downhill until the city made a conscious effort to rehabilitate it. Now Bricktown is the center of Oklahoma City’s nightlife.

The ballpark is a major part of that. As befits Bricktown, the exterior is mostly red brick. Inside, the seating arrangement is similar to, but not exactly like, Harbor Park in Norfolk and P & C Stadium in Syracuse. And as a reminder that the park is in a city block, one actually walks under the scoreboard when walking the outside concourse, thanks to a tight squeeze out there. Like many parks, there is an outfield berm seating area; unlike many, there are also outfield bleacher seats here.

Ticket and concession prices are about average. One thing I did not appreciate was the lack of whiteboards for posting the day’s lineups, standings, etc. But that’s about the only shortcoming I could find here.