| After playing at Pete Beiden Field (located on the Fresno State campus) for
four seasons, the Grizzlies moved into their new downtown ballpark in 2002.
And what a great ballpark it is. The downtown setting is nice, even if the
surrounding neighborhood isn't exactly hopping with activity. While I'm
sure tons of economic growth was predicted while the park was being built,
it doesn't appear that much has occurred. Grizzlies Stadium (now known as Chukchansi Park) is a pretty typical new AAA park, similar to those in
Albuquerque and Louisville. The exterior has a western feel to it with an
adobe-like finish and palm trees surrounding it. Inside, the park has two
seating decks which all fans can access. The field level seats wrap from
foul pole to foul pole while the upper deck seats run from 3rd base to the
right field corner. Luxury boxes makes up the third deck of the stadium.
All seats are of the green, fold-down variety except for the couple rows of
bleachers located in left field. The concourse above the field level seats
is plenty wide and filled with various concession stands. Unfortunately,
the concourse does not wrap all the way around the park. It stops in right
field and in left-center where one of the picnic areas is. It's not clear
why the concourse wasn't made to circle the entire park as there is clearly
enough room. A large courtyard is located in front of the park, but seems
under utilized. A kids play area is setup here during the game, but that
appears to be its only use. The concessions at Grizzlies Stadium are well
varied and of good quality. Which means you may have to drop a bit more
money, but it's worth it. Choices include 1/2 lb burgers, fresh Mexican,
various sausages, and pizza that actually looks edible. My only real
complaint here is with the atmosphere. While the team doesn't do many
between inning games, they do have a cheerleading squad. This just seems
so out of place at a baseball game. Fortunately they only come out and
perform a few times during the game. The team also has a mascot, Wild
Thing, but he is not seen much. Overall, the atmosphere is relaxing as
sound effects are kept to a minimum, the ushers are unobtrusive, and fans
seem to be into the game. Ticket prices are a bit on the high side ($13
for field boxes), but the free programs help offset them. Parking is
available in nearby surface lots and garages for a $5 fee. While Grizzlies
Stadium doesn't have any one feature that makes it stand out, there are a
lot of things to like about this park. Among AAA parks, it is certainly
one of my favorites. Though starting in 2021, the Grizzlies are moving to the California League as a Single-A affiliate of the Rockies.
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