Quad Cities River Bandits Park Updates

Fun guy Benjamin Hill wrote a great article on milb.com about the Quad Cities River Bandits park getting some amusement park style additions.

Here is the article-

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140124&content_id=67043790&fext=.jsp&vkey=min_bus&sid=milb

First off, have you been to Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport?  The place is amazing.  It is a unique and beautiful place to see a game.  Here is some info from my visit there back in 2012-

http://kentuckybaseball.blogspot.com/2012/10/quad-city-river-bandits.html

I guess I am asking myself, "Does adding a Ferris wheel to this park make me want to visit it again?"

The answer is, "Absolutely."

Again, even without rides and updates, this park is perfect.  That bridge is amazing, and in a cozy little park like this, you are going to have a great baseball experience!

Still, I tip my hat to the River Bandits organization for wanting to do more.  They obviously want this park to be beyond amazing.  They want the baseball purist, and the young kid to have a great time.

Bob Feller Museum

On our recent trip through Iowa, we made a point to make a stop in Van Meter, to visit the Bob Feller Museum!

 

As former Clevelanders, we felt like this was a must stop.

 

We were actually fortunate enough to meet the legendary Bob Feller on a couple of occasions while we lived there.  He seemed tough as nails each time, even for the old timer he was.

 

I admired him for the fact that he took time out of his career as a very successful baseball player to VOLUNTEER to join the Navy and help out in WWII!  They don't make ballplayers like that anymore.  Heck, they don't make humans like that anymore.

 

Luckily, the nice little community of Van Meter Iowa has a museum going devoted to their hometown legend.  I hope this museum keeps going forever.  Bob deserves it.

 

The day we went the museum was having a bit of a "garage sale" selling some old signed photos and other items they had around.  I was very excited about this.  My wife was not as excited.

 

Still, I found some bargains, and simply enjoyed checking out the museum.

 

http://www.bobfellermuseum.org/

 

 

 

 

 

Quick Change

 

When it comes to promotions at a park, I have my favorites.  I will pretty much take a bobble head night over anything anytime.  I love leaving a park with one.

There are a few acts making the rounds that I really enjoy.  I think Noodleman is a lot of fun.  The Zooperstars are great.  And the San Diego Chicken is a must see anytime you can.

I read about Quick Change some time ago and just thought that the idea sounded unexciting.

I am not a big fan of dancing, and the whole thing sounded slightly novel at best.

Well, I did get to catch them for the first time at the Quad City game I went to this year.

This is actually a very fun act.

They dance- and during the dancing, there are very quick costume changes.  VERY QUICK!  In fact, I couldn't follow them at times.

They did use a cover a time or two, but there were some moments when a dress literally seemed to change color instantly.  I might compare what they do to a magic show in many ways.  You sort of set and wonder how they did it.

Anyway, this is a MUCH more interesting act than I expected! 

Quad City Wedding

Before the Quad City River Bandits game we went to, there was a wedding!  I think weddings before a game are so cool!

Check out my photos!

Quad Cities River Bandits

We had a very similar experience in Davenport Iowa to the one we had in Peoria.

That section of the country just has a very cool, relaxed, casual feel.

And, just like in Peoria, we found a great ballpark!

Modern Woodmen Park is the home of the Quad Cities River Bandits.  This is one of those parks that I really wanted to get to and catch a game.  Some of the photos showing that great bridge in the background really impressed me!

That bridge really looks spectacular.  What a unique view over the outfield wall for fans in Davenport!

In fact, I can't saw enough about it.  It might be one of the most impressive views in all of baseball.  That view, along with the nice, small size of the park, instantly makes this one of my favorites!

Kids riding their bikes across the bridge stopped to catch some of the game.  The bridge lights up at nice.  There is almost something unreal about looking at it.

The staff at Modern Woodmen Park do a great job too.

We bought foot long hot dogs at one of the stands near the entrance.  The guys cooking and selling the dogs were full of character.  The locals seemed to love these guys.

They charge $2 to park, but then they give you $2 in "Bandit Bucks" to use inside of the park!  I can handle that!

As I mentioned, the park has a very small feel (it reminded me in some ways of NYPL parks).  All of the seats are good.  AND you can walk a complete lap around the park (I love that at a minor league park).

If you are a baseball road tripper, this is a trip you have to make.  The park is amazing.