| Finally a park that breaks some new ground in terms of stadium design. Frisco probably could have built a new park that is like any other new park built since 1995, but instead they built one that takes the best features from the standard ballpark template and enhanced it with several unique aspects. From the outside, the park looks like no other - there is no red brick to be found here. It is light gray in color and completely vinyl sided. A plaza area with a fountain is located behind center field. Inside, the structure of the park is made up of several buildings instead of one continuous grandstand. The structures down the line each hold luxury boxes on the second floor and concession stands on the ground level. Behind home plate, the structure contains a restaurant in addition to the press box and more luxury boxes. The buildings are set back fairly far making for wide and spacious concourses. The concourse wraps completely around the park and the field is visible from anywhere along it. The seating is made up of all green fold downs with no center concourse to split it up. This makes for good sightlines and seats close to the action. In addition, there is also berm seating available in the outfield. The most unique feature (and most publicized) is the bullpens which are built into the stands. While it is different, it feels a bit contrived and pointless. Concessions at Dr. Pepper Ballpark are above average in quality with an excellent variety - brats, pizza, cheese steaks, burgers, and BBQ. The BBQ plates available at the stand in right field are highly recommended. Cola fans beware - there are no cola products sold here - no Coke, no Pepsi, no RC. A large team store is located in one of the buildings on the 3rd base side. Despite being a new team, the atmosphere is not too over the top in Frisco. There are only a couple between inning contests (musical chairs, flipper race) and no sound effects at all. Being a suburb of Dallas, there are lots of yuppies (with kids) at the ballpark. Fortunately, the kids are much better behaved in the south than they are in the northeast. Parking is available in team lots for $3 or at a nearby mall (within walking distance) for free. The only complaint I have about this place is the extremely high ticket prices - $15 to $18 is nearly twice what most minor league teams charge. But I'm sure they can get away with it for a while since they are still much cheaper than the Rangers and the novelty hasn't worn off yet. New ballparks just don't get much better than Dr. Pepper Ballpark - a unique design, tasty concessions, and a good atmosphere combine to make this a great place to take in a game.
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