August 22, 2005
The Sandcastle (Capacity: 5,500)
Atlantic City, NJ
Atlantic City Surf vs Nashua Pride
Final Score: 2 – 1
* The ballpark was renamed to Surf Stadium
** The ballpark no longer hosts professional baseball games
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My first visit to Atlantic City was full of excitement as I came in thinking it was a little mini-Vegas given the combination of casinos, golf courses and entertainment. Throw in the beach and boardwalk right there and you have a playground for those in the Northeast. That novelty quickly wore off as I found the vast majority of the area seedy and downtrodden. Don’t get me wrong, you can certainly have a good weekend down here, it just had a different vibe than I was expecting. AC is home to 40,000 people and located on the Jersey Shore (the southern portion) as the barrier island of which it was built upon separates the marshy inland and the ocean. Part of our weekend was spent seeing the Atlantic City Surf. Somebody was actually handing out several free tickets in the parking lot, so we picked up a pair making for a cheap event. The team and stadium have been around since 1998 and in their inaugural season, the Surf won their only AL championship. The Sandcastle is a beautiful ballpark with a fantastic view of the glitzy casino-skyline, however fans and tourists have failed to turn out for the Surf.
Prestige Ranking: 3 out of 5
Location
The Sandcastle is a mile or two away from the Boardwalk section of AC. Most of the city’s attractions are located there and a little further north towards the Marina. The multiple casinos will likely occupy most people; however there are other options for those not wanting to gamble. These include: walking the boardwalk, using the beach, going atop the Absecon Lighthouse and checking out the Atlantic City Aquarium. We ended up doing all of that during the course of our weekend in AC and enjoyed our time. The stadium is on a strip of land that includes Bader Field (small airfield) before reaching one of the many snaking waterways that make up the marshland before the barrier island. Across the street from the entrance is a McDonald’s and a pizza place, while car dealerships line the street before giving way to a neighborhood.
Location Ranking: 7 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Located right off the Black Horse Pike (US-40), the stadium is easily accessible as this road connects with the Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway. Local traffic is non-existent, but if you are coming from Central or North Jersey for a summer weekend, then expect slow-downs. Otherwise, the parking lot next to the ballpark is sufficient.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Exterior
You can see on the outside why this is called The Sandcastle as a nice tan color is used for the bricks that make up the building. Regular brown bricks are used as well. There is one entrance area into the stadium and it is nicely developed with two sections for ticket sales that are shaped almost like a clubhouse with beams standing them up and a pyramid shape at the top. In between the box offices, stairs lead up to the stadium and concourse. The front is accented in teal with “The Sandcastle” written above the entrance. Overall, it’s an appropriate and pleasing entrance.
Exterior Ranking: 8 out of 10
Concourse and Food
After climbing up the huge set of stairs, a typical concourse level is set up with the team store straight ahead (behind home plate), concessions on the back wall and an open view of the playing field in the front. Aside from a couple artist renderings of baseball on your walk up the stairs, not too much can be found on the walls here. Food variety was decent and by far the most popular item on this night were the delicious funnel cakes, a staple in beach communities.
Concourse Ranking: 3.5 out of 5
Food Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Interior
Inside, is a one level design with a walkway in the middle splitting up seating. Seats extend a little further than 1st and 3rd base and the chairs are wide enough and come with cup holders. The pitch of the bowl is adequate and the slightly added height to the upper level is appreciated. Perched above the concourse is the suite and club level boxes. It is nearly the same exact design I saw at Citibank Park in Long Island, but that was built 2 years later. The ballpark is a bit plain with the lack of berm seating beyond on the bowl. It’s the visual aesthetics that make this a nice stadium as seats are colored teal and dark blue. Combine that with the tan walls and the beach feel is consistent. I love a ballpark with an appropriate theme. Fans are greeted to a cool outfield view, as the Boardwalk skyline is visible with towering casinos and hotels. It is a very unique and appealing setting as this is not your typical downtown skyline. At night, the casinos light up in bright colors and are easy to pick out. It’s a shame that they decided to stack two rows of advertisements beyond the outfield wall, as it deters a little from what makes The Sandcastle stand out as a ballpark. Also, an occasional small plane may take off or land right beyond the outfield in Bader Field, further adding to the awesome backdrop
Interior Ranking: 10.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
The scoreboard in left field is rather plain for a ballpark built in the late 90s. There are no graphics and the digital board just features a box score and text for batter stats. It is surrounded by advertisements, however the Surf logo and ballpark name is displayed at the top.
Scoreboard Ranking: 1.5 out of 4
Displays
Ummm, nothing here in this department. Some sort of honor to their lone championship would’ve been nice.
Displays Ranking: 0 out of 6
Cost
Parking was free, though beware of all the tolls if you are not from the immediate area. Both the Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway will hit you coming in and leaving. Otherwise tickets and concessions are considered cheap.
Cost Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Fan Support and Atmosphere
Unfortunately, the atmosphere does not live up to the ballpark as it was quite dead inside. Not many people were at the game with an announced attendance of 1,280 and actual people numbering only in the few hundreds. Attendance is usually low and the Surf have been near the bottom of the league for several seasons. As a result of that, the atmosphere is comprised more of seagull calls then people cheering.
Fan Support Ranking: 2 out of 8
Atmosphere Ranking: 3 out of 14
Other Stuff
Throughout I’ve been impressed with the whole consistency of the beach/sand theme and that is just reiterated when you are sitting in the park as the seagulls fly around…..For each at-bat the P.A. announcer says “Surf’s Up”.
Game
Ryan Schurman (ACY) and Denny Harriger (NAS) both pitched complete games. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a game where that’s happened. The Surf used four hits in a row during the sixth inning to produce their only 2 runs as they jumped ahead of Nashua to lead by one. That 2-1 lead held up for the rest of the game as Schurman got the victory.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
