Yesterday we decided to check out a Columbus Clippers game at Huntington Park. It’s the first time I’ve been to this pretty little jewel of ballpark, which is found on the west edge of the Arena District of downtown Columbus. The fact that it was my inaugural experience is kind of pathetic, because Huntington Park opened in 2009–but better late than never.
Yesterday’s game was a 5:05 p.m. start. It was a slightly overcast day with temperatures in the 70s–just about ideal conditions for a ballgame. We walked up, bought tickets at the ticket office, and got seats in the screened off area directly behind home plate for $21 apiece. Even more amazing than the price was the fact that we got actual paper tickets, rather than some requirement that we download an app and accept e-tickets. Clutching our paper ducats, we entered the ballpark through the center field gate, just past the statue of Harold Cooper holding a baseball.
Because we got there early we had a chance to check out some of the features of the ballpark. There are lots of concession stands and food and drink areas, including small kiosks where you can buy an enormous variety of different beers in different sizes and at different price points. If you don’t like the beer offered at one kiosk, you just mosey down to the next one. It’s been a while since I’ve been to a baseball game, but I don’t remember seeing so many different choices of suds before. I bought a Sam Adams Summer Ale and a bag of peanuts, and then followed it with a Miller High Life–“the champagne of beers”–at the mid-point of the fourth inning as I worked my way through the peanuts. Kish went for a lemonade and some “elephant ears” french fries, both of which got a big thumb’s-up.
Our seats were great, with an unobstructed view of the field and the downtown Columbus vista behind. The ballpark, which seats just over 10,000 people, was probably about two-thirds full. There are a lot of different seating options, including a lawn area where people were camped out on blankets and a cool little nook in the brick building behind the left field fence. Many of the people in attendance were part of family groups, and there were lots of kids in the stands.
The Clippers are the AAA affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, so some of the players on the field were just a phone call away from the big leagues. It was a fun, competitive game that went into extra innings. We had to leave after the ninth inning, and the Clippers ended up losing, but I doubt if any of the fans cared too much. People were having fun just watching a ballgame. The between-inning entertainment was provided by the ZOOperstars! troupe, some of whom are seen below. They appeared in different costumes based on sports-related figures; the yellow character with the big black glasses, for example, was Harry Canary. The characters goofed around with the umpires and the coaches for the opposing team–the Lehigh Valley IronPigs–and their gentle humor appealed to people of all ages.
All told, we spent an enjoyable three hours, saw a good game, reveled in some fine early summer weather, and the whole experience costs us about $75–and that’s with buying two of the more expensive seats that were available. We’ll definitely be back.
Webner House 