Monday, April 25, 2011

Baltimore Diary : 2

After seeing  Fort McHenry, we went to Camden Yards, which is about 5 mins drive from there. We were at the ticket counters at 11, and got the walking tour tickets for 11:30. 

                                                            Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Oriole Park at Camden Yards - The home of the Baltimore Orioles, the baseball team. It was completed in 1992 and is located few blocks away from the inner harbor. It is built on land which was once a rail yard and the Baltimore-Ohio warehouse stands right beside the stadium, and bears a home run mark too.

                                           The only home-run mark on the B &O Warehouse

We started the tour right on time with the guide, who first gave us a background of the ballpark history and how it was designed in 'retro' style quite opposite to the trend of multi purpose stadiums. With green color chairs, steel structure, B &O warehouse behind the right field wall, Camden station behind the scoreboard; it was a perfect mix of state of the art features and traditional looks.

From here, we were guided to the standing only section, next to the scoreboard to get an idea of the field and   then on to the seating area. The field looked amazing from that point, and while the tour guide was giving us information about the teams played and the ball park, it stated raining. And all of a sudden we saw people running to cover the field area, as there was a baseball game in the evening.

Rain was not at all a dampener, we went down to the main field and sat in the team section, where players sit while there team members play. We got beautiful views from there, clicked so many pictures and it was so good to see the field so close and the best part was the field cover was removed as it had stopped raining. So the park was clear and green. From here, we were ushered into the walled part of the stadium, got to see the rooms where the guest team relaxes before a game, where the family members of the players sit and watch the game.

                                                               Orioles Park

The next was Media Room, where the media persons sit and watch every moment carefully. And on the third floor was the Radio room, where the commentators sit. And the fourth level was more of a lounge place, with cafes and party rooms, VIP rooms overlooking the field, and of-course walls dedicated to the greatest players of the game.

And then on to the open area, where the winning team gathers and celebrates. It was an amazing experience to see a famous ballpark and to actually get to see the behind the scenes places, where the media people sit and the teams celebrate and relax. It was the best part of our trip to Baltimore. Loved it !!!

                                                            Out Ticket stubs to the Ballpark