The second stop on the road trip from Alabama to Oklahoma was Little Rock, Ark. I wanted to stop because I have never thoroughly written about my experience at an Arkansas Travelers game at Dickey-Stephens Park, and this trip seemed like a good opportunity to write about the park and explore a city my wife and I had not visited together. We also got assistance from the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau, and spent the night at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Little Rock. To see a view from the room, check out my post on Twitter (here). The hotel recently underwent a massive renovation, sits right on the Arkansas…
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Experiencing a new ballpark to the fullest
For a few weeks now I’ve been thinking about what makes for a “good” ballpark experience. I don’t think there is a definitive list because everybody has their own “must do” items to truly experience a baseball stadium, especially a Minor League stadium. However, as a geographer who studies place and place attachment, I’ve thought about the things I try to do when I visit a new ballpark. The premise can be applied to any sports venue, but my primary experience has been with baseball stadiums and especially Minor League stadiums. #1: Read Up on the Park There are a lot of blogs and books that talk about stadium visits,…
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My night with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals – July 22, 2013
At the beginning of the summer I set a goal of watching games at three Minor League ballparks. I recently moved out of my apartment in Stillwater, Okla., and incorporated two stadium visits into my trip. On the way from Georgia to Oklahoma, I stopped in Northwest Arkansas to do some sightseeing and saw my first game at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark., home of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Like many stadiums built in suburbia, an expansive parking lot surrounds Arvest Ballpark. The city built the stadium in hopes of spurring development in the area, but so far nothing has arisen near the intersection of South 56th Street and Watkins…
