 |
The Supreme Commander in front of
Centene Stadium in Great Falls, MT |
Today we rolled into Great Falls, Montana to see an afternoon game between the Great Falls Voyagers and the Missoula Osprey of the Pioneer League. The Voyagers play their home games at Centene Stadium, across the road from the Missouri River, just below Black Eagle Falls.
Of the Pioneer League Parks we've seen so far, Centene Stadium is the least impressive and the only one I would describe as a below-average place to watch a game. Most of the seats have views that are obstructed by posts or safety netting. I have no idea why they designed this place with light standards positioned in the stands rather than behind them. The safety netting is supported by a string of wide posts at short intervals. The bleachers down the leftfield line were the only section where we could watch the game without posts, walls, or netting blocking our view.
On the positive side, the concession stands, team store, and restrooms were well designed. A wide variety of ballpark food was offered and reasonably priced. The employees were helpful and courteous. The only problem was the poorly designed ballpark. Well, that and the weather, which the team can't control. Dark clouds blew in with strong winds after a few innings and it became uncomfortably cold.
At least the game was good. The Voyagers built a 7-4 lead but the Osprey tied the game with a 3-run rally in the top of the 7th inning. The Voyagers pulling out an 8-7 victory with an RBI single that broke up a 7-7 tie in the bottom of the ninth.
 |
| Centen Stadium viewed from the access road |
 |
| Centene Stadium viewed from the (free) parking lot |
 |
| A closer view from the access road |
 |
| The grandstand viewed from the concourse down the leftfield line |
 |
| The bleachers, leftfield, and scoreboard |
 |
| The Supreme Commander with her Uncle George |
 |
| The Voyagers have no trouble selling ad space on the outfield fences |
 |
| The rightfield fence is covered with ads, too |
 |
| The Supreme Commander and Orbit, the Voyagers' mascot |
 |
| If I have to pay, I don't expect to watch the game through posts and nets |
 |
| Dark clouds rolled in and forced the Voyagers to turn on the lights at 2:00 PM |
 |
| It's a close game so far |
 |
| The light standard was built in the middle of the stands! WTF? |
 |
| Whose idea was it to make us watch the game through this? |
 |
| I can't take much more of these seats |
 |
| The Voyagers have a rally |
 |
| Damn posts! |
 |
| Orbit visits the fans behind home plate |
 |
| We moved back to the bleachers to escape the posts and netting |
 |
| Orbit encourages two girls participating in a trike race for prizes |
 |
| And the winner is..... |
 |
| A pretty good draw considering the bad weather and poor ballpark |
 |
| Cold winds and dark clouds are not good for summer baseball |
 |
| The Voyagers have a scoring opportunity |
 |
| Ball or strike? |
 |
| Stupid post! |
 |
| Missoula's pitcher tries to snuff the rally |
 |
| Bang! |
 |
| A steal attempt by the Voyagers |
 |
| He was safe! |
 |
| Missoula's pitcher tries to work out of trouble |
 |
| The view isn't ruined by posts or netting in the bleachers |
 |
| The Voyagers' new pitcher trots in from the bullpen |
 |
| The pitching change halts play for a few moments |
 |
| Tied at 7-7 after 7 innings |
No comments:
Post a Comment