Photos courtesy of Amazing Travel Photos
If you are in Phoenix anytime from April until October, a great way to spend a day is to go see the Arizona Diamondbacks play major league baseball at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix. We happened to be in town for the home opener against the Cincinnati Reds.
Chase Field is located right downtown on Jefferson Street. There is a light rail stop right at the ballpark, which makes taking the train the best and most fun way to get to the game.
The opening home game was scheduled for 6:40PM. We got to the stadium at about 5:00PM so that we could watch BP, i.e. batting practice. It was still daylight when we arrived.
We bought our tickets about two weeks beforehand just to make sure that we’d get in to the game on opening day. We got the Pepsi Max Value deal which is a bleacher ticket, a regular hot dog and a regular soft drink for $19. That is not a bad price, since the bleacher ticket alone would normally have cost $22.
We entered the stadium through one of the west gates and made our way to the seats. It is always exciting to get your first glimpse of the green grass on the field. The Cincinnati Reds were taking BP when we arrived.
We headed to section 108 in the right field bleachers where our seats were. The bleachers have bench style seating, and you are right behind the right fielder.
We watched batting practice for a while and one ball landed pretty close to us. Everyone gets very excited when the ball comes flying at you.
Then they had some ceremonies for opening day, like they announced all the players who stood on the baselines. The they sang the national anthem. At the end, four Air Force fighter jets roared by over the stadium. That was pretty awesome seeing these war machines flying 200 feet overhead at about 500 miles and hour.
The game finally got underway. The D-Backs had lots of hits that night against the Reds. D-Backs pitcher Ian Kennedy pitched a good game.
The final out which was a fly ball to right field and the Diamondbacks won the game 13-2. There was a fireworks display immediately after the game, but we decided that it was time to head off. We headed with the crowd out to the light rail stop and caught the next train home.
Major League Baseball with the Diamondbacks at Chase Field is a great way to spend your time in Phoenix. It is a family-friendly environment and you can watched some exciting baseball.
View the complete Diamondbacks 2011 Opening Day Photo Gallery
