Souping Up the Game

Walking in to Campbell’s Field, May-2001.

A unique section of grandstand, for private parties, nestles among the sky boxes.

The Ben Franklin Bridge dominates every view, and downtown Philadelphia is visible from some angles.

• Location: Penn and Delaware avenues, Camden, N.J.
• Opened: 2001
• Home team: Camden Riversharks, Atlantic League (2001-present); York Revolution, Atlantic League (part of 2007); Rutgers University-Camden Scarlet Raptors, New Jersey Athletic Conference
• Capacity: 6,425

Rating: 4 baseballs

The new ballpark in Camden celebrates none of that history. However, the easiest approach to it is via Cooper Street, and every seat in the park has a dramatic view of the Ben Franklin Bridge, a grand structure that helped put the ferries out of business. This view – which also includes downtown Philadelphia from the extreme end of the grandstand in right field (that’s all they could do owing to the necessity of avoiding sun glare problems for the batters) – is the best feature of an otherwise copycat park that succeeds in being a pleasant place to watch a game.

Campbell’s Field – named for the flagship brand of the Campbell Soup Company, a longtime Camden industry – shares some design features with the nicer 1990s minor-league parks in the state, such as Trenton, Atlantic City, and Somerset. Seating is in a split lower level, with a concourse halfway down the seating bowl dividing “lower boxes” from “upper boxes”. As with most of these parks, they aren’t truly box seats, but glorified field-level reserved seats. An interesting touch is that the upper deck, which is generally sky boxes, includes two small grandstand areas for larger parties.

Concessions are reasonably priced, but originally the ticket pricing was very affordable. That has changed, but you can gain a $2 discount on $12 and $10 tickets by purchasing in advance. Parking, originally $2, is now $3.