May 29, 2011
Harbor Park (Capacity: 12,067)
Norfolk, VA
Norfolk Tides vs Columbus Clippers
Final Score: 5 – 6 (10)
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After attending a game in Salisbury, MD the night before, we made the two and a half hour drive south and in the process, used one of the architectural marvels in the world, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. On the other side is Hampton Roads, a populated section of Southeast Virginia that is defined by the surrounding waters. Nowhere is that more apparent, then Norfolk, a city of 235,000 people that features the Elizabeth River opening up to the west and south and the large Chesapeake Bay to the North. This maritime influence has long defined the city and so has a military presence as Norfolk is home to the world’s largest Naval Base. The sport of baseball has been played here since 1961, with the “Tides” nickname used the entire time. After initially being called Tidewater, the name switched to Norfolk when the team moved to Harbor Park in 1993. The Tides have won five Governors Cups, but the last came in 1985. Additionally, after 38 years of being affiliated with the New York Mets, the relationship ended in 2007 when the Orioles took over. Since then, the Tides have yet to have a winning season. Norfolk’s home has a nice design, but a “harbor” view that disappoints.
Prestige Ranking: 2.5 out of 5
Location
Harbor Park is located just outside the downtown core of Norfolk. The immediate area does not feature anything of note as the ballpark is segregated onto a small piece of land thanks to I-264 cutting it from the rest of the city. It’s a 15 minute walk (or a short ride on the nearby light rail) past the cluster of entrance ramps and access roads to reach downtown and there are several spots worth visiting. The Cannonball Trail points out all the historical sites, while Nauticus is the aquatic themed conglomerate of exhibits and museums. You can also hop on the Victory River Naval Base Cruise from here, which is an all-encompassing waterway tour. The Waterside District is where you will find a plethora of restaurants.
Location Ranking: 7 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Hampton Roads often contends with traffic and that occasionally includes congestion from a bridge or tunnel. I-64 or US-13 from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge are the main ways to reach Norfolk, however any arrival from the South is more tedious with smaller roads used. I-264 goes east-west from Virginia Beach through Norfolk and getting to the stadium was no problem from I-264, despite some lengthy off-ramps and connector roads. Parking was available all around the facility and in the rare event that gets full, nearby City Hall’s garages are available. We encountered no traffic downtown or after the game. There is a light rail station right at Harbor Park and in case you want to park downtown near everything else, this is an option that’s probably more trouble than it’s worth.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 7 out of 8
Exterior
The ballpark uses a light-colored design as off-white and light brown are the main colors, which fit some of Norfolk’s downtown business architecture. The main entrance is behind home plate and underneath an opening that has “Harbor Park” engraved into the top. Otherwise, it’s a muted yet decent look.
Exterior Ranking: 7 out of 10
Concourse
Fans coming through the main gate start by entering into an awkward lower-level room and then are briskly directed to climb some enclosed stairs to reach the concourse. Beyond that strange intro, the open-air concourse is adequate. Space is ok, though there is a claustrophobic feel as the overhead beams are quite low. Walls are a tan color and there is a view of the field all the way through. The concourse does not wrap around the outfield. A small team store called “Memories & Treasures” provided the souvenirs.
Concourse Ranking: 3 out of 5
Food
One feature I really liked was a restaurant at the end of the concourse on the first base side. “Hits at the Park” is a full service, enclosed restaurant where fans can sit, eat and watch the game from the corner of the outfield. Concourse food options had enhancements to the usual offerings and a Chili’s To-Go stand was an unexpected sight. Bruster’s was the featured ice cream and Fried Twinkies and Fried Snickers were also available if you really wanted to go fatty. Unfortunately, no local food establishments were seen on any of the menus. Beer was a different story though as locally-produced O’Connor could be had along with many other choices.
Food Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Interior
A gently-sloped lower level of blue seats wrap around the field extending to each foul pole and the seats are split evenly in the middle by a walkway. Sections in the corners are fitted differently, but neatly into the design. As one goes further from the infield, seats remain pointed straight-ahead. What I liked was the second level. On the first and third base sides was an upper-deck of seats featuring 4-5 large sections. These were a little steeper and also had a small roof covering them. In between these two grandstands was a level of suites and then above that, the press boxes. It all fit together nicely and on the beige colored wall of the press box was “Harbor Park” and “Norfolk, Virginia” written out in nice font. There was a bit of space left in between the upper seats and suites, they used that for patios with tables. Overall, the design was clean and downfalls were few. For the outfield, there are two seating areas. One in left is a grassy area with three rows for picnic tables as this is used for group outings. In the right field corner is a covered party deck that was open to all in the game I attended. Given the name of the park, I had much higher hopes for the view. The “Harbor” is on the Elizabeth River and though you see water (especially on the upper levels), it is a working harbor that is full of cranes, cargo ships and beat-up buildings. Yes, Norfolk is one of the busiest harbors in the east, I was just hoping for more of a prettier look. The rest of the outfield view is undesirable thanks to trees interspersed with a lot of power lines and poles.
Interior Ranking: 10 out of 14
Scoreboard
There were a few scoreboards here and there was no real design to them as they were sandwiched by ads. In left-field was a box score with a board underneath for the name and game stats. Over in right-field (and blocking the water view) were two scoreboards right next to each other. The first one had clear video and was used for replays and player pictures/stats. The scoreboard next to that was for more player information and a continuous scroll of out-of-town scores.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2 out of 4
Displays
In the first lower-level entrance area, there is a Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame on the wall. Members of this three-year old HOF are the best area athletes and they have plaques with descriptions of each person. Unfortunately, staff was rather rude when I was trying to read as they attempted to move me along. Otherwise, no banners for team achievements are seen in the park. On the outfield wall were pictures of two players (not sure if they were retired numbers). The names were hard to make out, but I believe one of them was David Wright.
Displays Ranking: 2 out of 6
Cost
Parking in the stadium lots was $5, while programs were $4. Tickets were a great bargain at the Triple-A level: $9.50 and $11 when bought in advance (they go up $2 on the day of the game). Concessions were reasonable given that they were nearly the same as what I saw the night before in a city 1/10th its size and in a league two classes lower. Water was $3.50, a cheeseburger with fries was $6 and a pretzel was $3.50. Beer had two sizes: small ($6.25) and large ($7.75). Except for the parking and programs which were average for Triple A, total cost at a Tides game was very good.
Cost Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Fan Support
Maybe it was the near 90 degree heat or the holiday weekend, but few came out on this Sunday afternoon. Of the announced attendance number (4,289), the actual butts in seats count was half of that. Across the rest of the IL on this same day, other afternoon games drew paid numbers of 8,197 and 9,080. Norfolk thus far through 2011 is averaging 5,163, good for 9th in the 14-team league. For the last few years, they’ve also been 9th or 10th in the league. Sadly, each of the last seven years have featured a decrease in attendance (it was 7,051 in 2005). It could be that being partnered with the Orioles is wearing thin, as I had to experience Baltimore’s ineptitude as a Rochester Red Wings fan towards the end of their in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Fan Support Ranking: 3 out of 8
Atmosphere
As a result of the small crowd, the atmosphere was pretty quiet and subdued even despite the usual slew of between-inning contests. This may have been exaggerated because we were sitting further away in an empty upper deck.
Atmosphere Ranking: 4 out of 14
Other Stuff
Hopefully the stadium is not starting to crumble (it’s only 18 years old), but in the upper deck, the concrete holding the railings on the stairs was loose and not completely attached….After a run was scored, a siren rang out quickly followed by the playing of “Rock & Roll, Part 2”.
Game
It was a game between the IL’s best record (Columbus) and worst record (Norfolk). The Tides fought hard as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 2nd, helped by a Brandon Davis triple. Columbus scraped back with three of their own in the 3rd and then it was back and forth until it was 5-5 entering the 5th. The relievers then held things tight until the bottom of the 9th when Norfolk threatened after two successive singles, but were unable to score. In the 10th, Cord Phelps hit a two-out single to score Kyle Smith from 2nd as the Clippers squeaked out a 6-5 win. Phelps finished 3 for 6 with 3 RBI. Norfolk had four players with multi-hit games in what was an entertaining affair.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
