Fluor Field Green monster
Paid a visit to Fluor Field –home of the Greenville,SC Drive –yesterday. the park is just 3 years old,and looks absolutely beautiful. It’s nestled into a revitalization of Main Street,and it’s really been well integrated into the city.
The park houses a single-A team for the Red Sox,and they do everything they can to capitalize on that relationship. the park has a 30foot high “Green Monster”in left,including a manual scoreboard,and all the OF dimensions are said to replicate what you’d find at Fenway Park –even the Pesky Pole in right,where the outfield continues on behind it another 30 feet. Beyond the Monster is the New York Life building,which appears to still be half-commercial,and now half residential,as they attempt to create a bit of a Wrigleyville atmosphere with some balcony viewing from a limited number of upscale apartments.
If you love Fenway,but don’t love some of the vagaries of the old ballpark,this is the place. At any point,there are no more than about 21 rows of seating throughout the park,and the 2nd deck is entirely used for private suites and club seating. A fair extent of the infield seats are shaded by the 2nd deck,which can be helpful on a hot summer day in South Carolina. Concourses have a wide open view of the game,and during a brief afternoon shower,most of the bleacher seating was under the overhang,and there were plenty of good opportunities to see,despite the near capacity crowd. No matter where you are,you’re right on top of the action.
One of my first questions to an usher was,“So,what’s your signature ballpark concession here?”to which he claimed the hot dogs. the dogs,however,are not Fenway Franks,and nothing to write home about. Good,but not great,and the bread for the footlong stadium dog was a bit stale. Towards the end of our visit,though,we did find what should be the signature stand. they have a specialty stand with Fenway Favorites… A Jim Rice Bowl,and a Dice-K Rice Bowl,as well as a Luis Tiant Cuban Sandwich and a few other choices,trying to bring in some outside flavors. the quality of the rice bowls were sub-par;sort of like shopping mall level chinese food. But,the rice bowl was an economical meal,and an interesting twist beyond what was otherwise pedestrian ballpark fare.
Sightlines were excellent from around the park. the bleachers in rightfield pointed a little too much towards centerfield,which is particularly weird when the field juts in the way it does. Would be great if it were pointed more towards home plate. There’s a steep grassy area in left field that makes for a great family zone,complete with moon bounce and playground on the plaza just behind it. It’s also a great place to pick up foul balls,as we did this night. If you have bleacher seats,the family zone is your best option for game watching.
This is a great new park,and well worth the visit. Now just about 3 years old,it’s the gem of the South Atlantic League. Just be sure to bring some bug spray! When the air gets still,the Upstate’s got a special brand of biting flies that will take a chunk out of you if you’re not careful.
