| Binghamton's Municipal Stadium (now with the corporate moniker, NYSEG) was one of the first of the new breed of minor league stadiums that were being built in the early 1990's. Though still a nice enough park for double-A, it is not the way new parks since have been built, with the exception of New Britain Stadium. The seating area is split by a narrow concourse that features the entrances to the main concourse where the souvenir and concession stands are housed. What makes this different is the fact that the main concourse area is underneath the seating and is not in plain view of the field. This concourse area is very dark and rather cramped, much more so than in New Britain. That is one of the few complaints I have of the park, though. The setting is nice as it sits in a residential neighborhood, and features a railroad track with trains behind the outfield fence and mountains in the distance. Prices are very reasonable at NYSEG on everything from parking ($3) to programs ($1.50) to hot dogs ($1). Besides the normal ballpark fare, one of the concession treats here is the chicken spiedie, which is a specialty of the southern tier area of New York state. Other unique food items include angus burger, ribeye steak sandwiches, and salt potatoes. The atmosphere here is surprisingly laid back - no sound effects and only the normal "walk-up" music. There are a few between inning contests, but the BMets don't try to showcase these as the main attraction like some teams do. The one annoying aspect is the dance which the mascot does whenever the Mets score a run. Overall, just a pleasant place to see a ballgame with the scenic setting and baseball oriented atmosphere. Despite the park, Binghamton has not proved to be a hotbed for minor league baseball as they are annually near the bottom of attendance in the Eastern League. But the ownership has tried hard over recent years to bring in more fans and it seems to be working, so hopefully double-A baseball will remain in Binghamton for many years to come.
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