Huntington Park- Columbus OH

Cooper Stadium was a great park in Columbus that saw a lot of history. I have talked to a lot of people who hated to see the Clippers leave. It seemed a bit unnecessary.

How could you top such a historic facility?

Well, they did top it.

I had the privilege of stopping by Huntington Park in its first year (2009) but it was an off day. It wasn't until this season that I got to stop by on game day.

There is a noticeable difference between a park on a day when a game is going on, and when a game is not going on. Yes, I know, I am stating the obvious.

All parks have some magic 24 hours a day. I mentioned in a previous post that I stopped by the old Greenville Braves park some time ago. The place is starting to fall apart, but the baseball magic is still there.

The excitement of seeing the team on the field, and of mingling with other baseball fans magnifies the magic.

Seeing a park without a game going on is always fun and a treat. Seeing a park with the team on the field, however, is ideal. You are seeing the park at it's best.

Columbus has a festive atmosphere. It is a party town. The park is right there pretty much on campus and you can feel the young vibe in addition to the baseball magic.

Unlike at other parks, standing around and drinking beer is the norm. There were no staff people chasing people away.

Huntington Park has a few features that I would love to see copied elsewhere.

There is a three story open building with a Buster's Wings on the top and a bar area on the second floor. The gift shop is on the bottom. The top area has several tables with great views of the game. And, in a move that reminds one of the rooftop seats at Wrigley, Busters has a bleacher area on the top of the building. This is a great place to catch the game! Oh, and they have great wings!

There are some fun photo ops in the back of Buster's. You can see Nationwide Arena right behind the park.

The park has a great fenced in viewing area from the street. You can watch some BP from here before the gates open! People on the street can get a great view of the game outside of the park even without a ticket! It is a really nice feature here.

I have put a smaller version of a panoramic I made on this site. This is a great park for pictures. The sun was overwhelming when I was there though, so some of my pictures are a little bleached out.

The Coop is still standing. It looks like it has been a bit let go, but it is still there, and they have fenced it in. I hate to see a nice park fade away, but I do love to see a great new park go up.