June 1, 2010
Prince George’s Stadium (Capacity: 10,000)
Bowie, MD
Bowie Baysox vs Binghamton Mets
Final Score: 7 – 2
.
On our way back from a trip to Virginia, we stopped in Maryland to catch a Bowie Baysox game. Luckily, we accounted for the awful DC rush-hour traffic as the delays pushed us back an hour, but we still arrived at 6:30 PM. Bowie (population over 50,000) is located between Washington and Annapolis, in the Southern portion of Maryland. It is an old railway community that has become quite a big town, more like a small city. The baseball team is named the Baysox, despite the fact they are still a little ways from the Chesapeake Bay. They play in the Eastern League and have been the Baltimore Orioles’ farm team since 1993, but have no titles to show for it and they haven’t even been to a championship series despite many early year big names that played there. Prince George’s Stadium has been home since 1994 and it is a standard, uninteresting ballpark with the food quality and variety the only thing that stood out.
Prestige Ranking: 1.5 out of 5
Location
There are a few really small museums in Bowie, but we didn’t have the chance to visit any. Otherwise, this is a place that most just come home to as opposed to being a spot where people visit. It is a good mid-point if you want to stay here while visiting Annapolis and DC. The stadium is located in an odd spot, on a road behind a small shopping complex which consists of Home Depot, BJ’s, Chick-Fil-A and a gas station. Beyond the ballpark is tree-covered parkland.
Location Ranking: 4.5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Getting to Prince George’s Stadium is no problem as it is off US-301 (full of suburban chain stores/restaurants) and most use US-50 to arrive there. If you are arriving from far, take into account the traffic, especially on a weeknight. Parking is a cinch as many lots are in the front of the park and there is even an overflow lot.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Exterior
I don’t know why, but the outside reminds me of an old grocery storefront (Wegmans) that I used to frequent growing up in Rochester. The entrance shape is flat with an ugly brown siding being used (though there is some brick). In white lettering above the entrance is “Prince George’s Stadium”. There is also a balcony above the walk-through entrance, which looks like it is for the suite level.
Exterior Ranking: 3 out of 10
Concourse
The concourse is open to field views most of the way through, the exception being around home plate where the wall of the press box is. This is the first ballpark in a while that I noticed how inconvenient the bathrooms were as there’s only two sets and they are at the ends. The concourse is wide, but plain with nothing decorative. A small team store is located near the entrance.
Concourse Ranking: 3 out of 5
Food
The food at Prince George’s Stadium was great with a lot of variety and my sample was pretty good as I had a satisfying Chicken Platter, which included Coleslaw and Beans. Some of the more unique items included Gyros, Cheese fries in a helmet, a Pit Beef Sandwich, Onion Peels and various sweets (Gelatos, Italian ice). Also there were a ton of beers and microbrews.
Food Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Interior
The stadium layout has a standard set-up with seats wrapping around to just beyond the infield. There is a walkway splitting the sections and it’s surprisingly deep with more seats than you would expect (capacity is 10,000). Unfortunately, several of the back sections are aluminum bleachers and rows seem to go up more horizontally than vertically, making you feel quite far from the field. It was not necessary to build it with this many seats. The rest of the stadium is green chairback. Suites are perched up over the concourse and in the back of the bowl behind home plate is the press box and the Diamond View Restaurant, which has both indoor and outdoor seating. Looking past the large ads over the outfield wall, an appealing view of trees greets fans. Grassy seating areas are found at the end of the seating bowl, while other features inside the stadium include a replica small lighthouse on the first base side and a carousel (all Orioles affiliates seem to have a carousel in their ballpark). Also, on the third base side is a large picnic area.
Interior Ranking: 5.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
The scoreboard was just a simple line score in left-center, with a message board beneath it, rather old-school. A BaySox logo was at the top. There is a separate video board in right-center with images (mainly used for player pictures).
Scoreboard Ranking: 1.5 out of 4
Displays
Walking in through the main entrance, fans will see a golden statue above them with a ballplayer holding the hand of a boy. I know the team doesn’t have much to celebrate, but I was disappointed not to see any team banners or honors to past players here. A 17-year old franchise has to have at least some sort of displays.
Displays Ranking: 0.5 out of 6
Cost
Ticket prices were good with seats ranging from $9 to $14. Though $14 may be a bit high, we’re just talking a few dollars. Concessions had DC prices as food was expensive for Double-A ball. However, parking and programs were free.
Cost Ranking: 7 out of 8
Fan Support and Atmosphere
Disappointing and listless. There were maybe 400 people here (announced gate was 1,438). Inside a 10,000-seat stadium, it just looks pathetic. I did take into account that the game was on a Tuesday while school was in session, but fans attending could’ve been better. On the positive side, there have been some games this year where crowds exceeded 6,000. After some amazing support in their early years, Bowie now ranks in the bottom third of the league for attendance, with seasonal totals typically 3,000 – 4,000. Still, it’s hard for me to forget the empty ballpark image when it was 80 degrees and partly sunny to start the game. It was eerily quiet inside and the only thing of note was the few fans yelling “ooooo” during “O say does that Star Spangled…” during the anthem, which is an Orioles tradition.
Fan Support Ranking: 3 out of 8
Atmosphere Ranking: 4 out of 14
Other Stuff
The team and city name is hard to pronounce and I incorrectly was saying Bow-ee, when in fact it is Boo-ee….. Prince George’s Stadium was heavily delayed in opening (especially because of a brutal winter), so the Baysox spent 1993 and parts of 1994 at different Maryland ballparks before finally settling home.
Game
In the game, Binghamton’s Chris Schwinden cruised thru the first four innings without a hit. Meanwhile, two Nick Evans solo home runs gave the B-Mets a two run lead. In the middle innings, Bowie came alive with 7 runs and starter Steve Johnson, along with the Baysox bullpen, shut down Binghamton the rest of the way. Bowie’s Caleb Joseph went 2 for 4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
