| I think sometimes those of us that live on the east coast or near a big city take for granted the amount of entertainment options we have. It's certainly not like that everyplace, especially in middle America. Which is why in a place like Fargo, Newman Outdoor Field appears to be such a popular destination for people of all ages. On the July 4th game that I attended, this appeared to be the place to be. And why not ? The park is nice and the Redhawks almost always have a great team. Located on the campus of North Dakota State, the ballpark is easily accessible from the highway and has plenty of parking ($2). The exterior is red brick and the grounds are meticulously groomed. For a park that is built near a lot of open land, it is surprisingly intimate. It follows a similar template as other new parks with an open concourse overlooking the field. The majority of the seats are close to the action as they are located between the bags and there is no middle concourse to split them up. Additional sections of seating were apparently added later. These include bleachers along the right field line and an additional box seat section on the 3rd base side. My only complaint about the seating is that the rows are a bit too long, but fortunately they are quite spacious. The concourse area, which can get cramped with big crowds, features several concession stands as well as a well stocked team store. Concessions are well varied and reasonably priced. Interesting food items include walking tacos, foot long dogs, Jack's Burgers, and mini donuts. The quality of the food I sampled was very good. As with many other midwestern ballparks, the atmosphere is very laid back. There was no invasive ushers, the PA announcer was lively, and the fans generally seemed to be into the game. This, even on July 4th when most fans aren't there to see the game. Between inning games were also kept to a minimum as only a couple were done throughout the whole game. One other nice feature of Newman Outdoor Field is the hand operated scoreboard in leftfield, which also contains out of town scores, something almost never seen at a minor league park. It really is little wonder why this ballpark is so popular with the fans who come out year after year. The atmosphere is great, the concessions are tasty, and the team is a winner.
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