Although the light rail goes within walking distance to Coors Field, we parked in a garage a few blocks away from the stadium. There were a lot of newer apartments and restaurants along the walk from the parking garage to the stadium. We walked past Union Station, a transportation hub currently under construction that city planners hope will be an urban center once finished. Like many of the other ballparks built around the turn of the century, Coors Field is a retro ballpark. The outside of the ballpark is brick, light towers built from steel trusses, and seating close to the playing surface. The lower concourse is filled with a wide variety of the concessions including a gluten-free stand, a market area with pizza and steak sandwiches, and even Rocky Mountain oysters. I thought about getting the Rocky Mountain oysters but I couldn't find them until my brother found the stand in the 7th inning. By that time I had already bought a cinnamon sugar torna-dough (basically a doughy pretzel wrapped in a spiral). Also along the concourse are batting cages and radar pitching stations for kids. Even though only about 3/4 of the lower concourse is covered due to the second and third decks, the playing field is visible from nearly anywhere on the concourse.
The signature feature of Coors Field is the bullpen area in right field. Along with a 20 foot tall out of scoreboard next to the foul pole, the bullpens occupy the space next to the field all the way to dead centerfield. Inside the bullpen are a variety of evergreen trees, a waterfall, and some fountains that go off when the Rockies hit a home run. This area pays homage to the mountains that give the Rockies their name. Another cool but subtle feature of Coors Field is a purple row of seats in the upperdeck marking an elevation of 5,280 feet above sea level. One aspect where Coors Field comes up a little short is the centerfield backdrop. A large and effective scoreboard occupies the space above the left field concourse and a seating section called the Rockpile is above the batter's eye in centerfield. The Rockpile is a discount seating section (~$4/ticket) mostly only available for day of game purchases. Although I love the idea of the Rockpile and the scoreboard is great, the Rocky Mountains are not visible from the field level seats.
The game started under blue skies and the Rockies seeing blue as well. The Brewers scored 6 runs in the first 3 innings, including a Juan Francisco homer to right. If not for the great defense by Rockies' third-baseman Nolan Arenado, the game could have gotten out of hand. Tom Gorzelanny pitched great to hold the Rockies scoreless through 5 innings. The Brewers fans in attendance (many dressed in crossed-out Ryan Braun gear) held their collective breath when star shortstop Jean Segura was hit by a pitch and had to leave the game. In the bottom of the sixth inning the rains came. Gorzelanny was clearly frustrated with the mound's condition gave up 4 runs in the bottom of the sixth capped by a Wilin Rosario home run. After trading home runs, the Brewers led 7-5 going into the bottom of the ninth when the umpires finally decided that the rain was too much. The grounds crew tried their best but the diamond dust they dumped on the infield couldn't stop the puddles from forming. An hour and 45 minutes later the game resumed for the final two outs. Unfortunately, my brother and I waited through the entire rain delay to see the Rockies go 1-2-3 in the ninth and the Brewers hold on for the 7-5 win.
My takeaway from Coors Field is that it is one of the better retro ballparks because it embraces the city's culture. The evergreen bullpens and the purple row of seats make Coors Field stand out against the generic. Yet these features are subtle enough that they add, not subtract, from the baseball atmosphere.
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