Tagged: garlic fries

New seating area opens

coorsdeckview.jpgOver the past 10 years, the Giants have added a number of additional seating spaces at AT&T Park, including the Dugout and Lexus Box seats behind home plate, the Legends Club in the left-field corner of the Club level, the Bullpen boxes between the dugouts and bullpens, and the Virgin America Loft in the right-field Arcade wall.

But those have all required group bookings, which can be out of reach for a number of fans. Starting with Monday’s homestand opener, however, there’s a new seating area available for the cost of a single-game ticket: the Coors Light Deck.

coorsdeckwatch.jpgThat won’t be its name for long — KNBR is sponsoring a contest to rename it — but you can find it listed in the ticketing system for the upcoming week under the name “Coors Light Cold Zone.” The area is located in right-center field on the Promenade level, right next to the cable car.

For the price of an Arcade ticket, you can get one of approximately 40 tickets to the
deck, which features 20 premium padded seats lining the wall overlooking the field. The seats are each adorned with the name and number of a Giants legend, from Juan Marichal and Willie McCovey to Duane Kuiper and Kirk Rueter. Behind the seats is a deck area that features two Coors Light beer stands.

coorsdeckseats.jpgAs someone who had season tickets in the Arcade for years, I can tell you that the location of this seating area is fantastic for both watching the game and for amenities. Express restrooms (so named because they’re underused and thus never crowded) are located right under the scoreboard area, just a staircase away from the Coors Light Deck seats.

Also under the scoreboard are some of the best concession stands in the ballpark, including a Ghirardelli sundae stand, a Gilroy Garlic Fries stand, Stormin’ Norman’s Fabulous Frybreads (like a funnel cake but a thousand times better) and the legendary Big Guy’s BBQ. Immediately behind the scoreboard, on the Promenade level, is a food court-ish area that includes Crazy Crab sandwiches and the world-famous (or should be) Cha-Cha Bowls.

And it’s a snap to exit (or enter) the ballpark through the less-used Marina Gate, which is closest to the new seating area. Take the ferry to the game and you’ll be dropped off right at that gate.

A few more photos from the preview event for the new area:
coorsdeckbeer.jpg

coorsdeckview2.jpg

Giants add green to orange and black

No, the title doesn’t refer to one of those hideous Giants/A’s split caps — it’s describing the Giants’ recent announcement of efforts to be the greenest ballpark in the Majors.

By the end of the year, the Giants plan to have AT&T Park become the first Major League facility to earn U.S. Green Building Council certification for  Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings, Operations and Maintenance. Conservation steps they’ve already taken include being the first MLB  park to install a solar energy system, advances in irrigation practices (including a cool-sounding “irrigation clock” that receives weather conditions, including “evapotranspiration” information, to establish watering times) and adding energy-efficient office equipment to the executive offices.

Two of the cooler green inititatives fans will notice:

The Green Team — Employees wearing special uniforms and badges made from recycled material will help fans with recycling and composting of ballpark trash. During the seventh-inning stretch, fans can pass their trash to Green Team members.

greengarlic.jpgThe green garlic fries stand — The popular promenade level garlic fries stand behind home plate has been converted into a sustainable concession stand. It has new Henny Penny open fryers (love that name), a Coca-Cola Energy Management System Cooler, more efficient lighting, signs made from 100 percent biodegrable and recyclable materials, environmentally friendly paint, recyclable drink cups and compostable trays. The energy saved by this stand is enough to fry 110 tons of garlic fries a season. Fun fact: 800 pounds of garlic fries are made at this stand every game.

Oh, the entire ballpark is now a no-smoking facility — the smoking areas are no more.