CoolToday Park – page 2

 

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The Design

After entering any of the three main gates and venturing up the stairs (with Braves all-time greats joining you for the climb — see photo below), you are treated to a wonderful ballpark.

Three features that immediately capture your attention are wonderfully wide concourses, the seating section on top of the home bullpen and a welcomed breeze. While that might be enough to satisfy many fans, there is so much more.

The use of photos of Braves players is a tremendous touch, like in the grand entry stairway behind home plate.

First, you might take concourses for granted — unless the throngs around you prompt the thought that they are too narrow. The one that rings CoolToday Park, though, is enormous — and breezy. “At some parks, there’s so much concrete as you go to get a hotdog that heat is a big problem,” pointed out Jonathan Cole of Pendulum, the Stadium Design Architects on the project. “We took advantage of the prevailing winds here by elevating the concourse and creating paths for refreshing breezes to circulate. Even on blazing hot days, the air through the concourse is refreshing.”

But that’s not all about the concourse. “At most parks, the concourse can be messy, with exposed pipes and infrastructure items,” Cole continued. “This is one the cleanest concourses I’ve ever designed. When you’re on it and you look overhead, you’ll see simulated wood paneling. We had to fight (to keep it in the design) because it’s a little expensive, but now that it’s there, it blows people away.”

He added, “The effort we put into making the concourse feel a certain way was worth it.”

It looks like wood on the ceiling, but it’s actually metal. It gives walking on the concourse a different, more-comfortable feel than at other parks.

Let’s make a clockwise tour of the ballpark, starting in the left-field corner.

Outfield Tiki bars have become all the rage in spring training parks, so why should CoolToday be any different? This one doesn’t have the stereotypical look of  the others, though, as there is no thatch roof. And that roof is enormous, making the covered area much larger than at any of the other Tiki bars. Painting the underside of the roof light blue (a nod to the color of the Braves’ uniforms in the ’80s) was a smart touch, too, because it gives this spot a much different feel than anywhere else in the park. “The powder blue makes you feel psychologically cooler, without changing anything about the structure,” said Cole.

No thatch roof at the Tomahawk Tiki Bar, but there is lots and lots of space under its roof. There is talk that this bar might remain open even when there’s no baseball game going on in the park.

Beyond left field is the only berm at CoolToday Park. Not only is it not too steep (like the one at Salt River Fields in Arizona), it also has a corporate-sponsorship name:  Coca-Cola Corner Berm. If you had guessed this was a Pepsi ballpark, then you didn’t take into account that the Braves are from Atlanta! By the way, on both sides of the berm are seats with countertops.

On the right-field side of the batter’s eye is certainly one of the ballpark’s most intriguing architectural elements. The SunTrust Pavilion is a seating section that is elevated above the concourse. In fact, it is positioned directly above the home bullpen, reminiscent of Hartford’s Dunkin’ Donuts Park. For fans in those seats, it’s very much like watching a game from a Major League park’s outfield seats.

The Right Field Patio basically sits on top of the RF wall. Interestingly, this patio is directly over the Centauri Insurance Field Suite, a private lounge that sits at ground level. To see the action, you look through fencing that makes up the RF wall. “We copied the concept of Below The Chop at SunTrust Park,” Cole explained. “Here there’s an area where you can see into the lobby of the clubhouse about 15 feet away, and you can hear the activity from the home bullpen.

This is the North Port version of Below The Chop that also looks through the right-field wall at SunTrust Park. I like the CoolToday version better because the seats afford a better view.

“The emotional muscle memory is so important,” Cole continued. “You hear the sounds, you smell the smells, see the sights. They are all part of the experience of going to a ballgame.”

At a number of parks, positions for those in a wheelchair are an afterthought. Not here. I was quite impressed with the quantity and quality of these spots all around the ballpark.

There are numerous spots for those in wheelchairs, and the positions have great sightlines.

Before we leave the outfield area, let me point out that the dimensions of the field and angles of the walls are quite close to SunTrust Park

Reserved seats pretty much wrap the infield, going foul pole to foul pole. There are three novel “suites” along the concourse at the rear of the seating bowl. These are made possible by the extreme width of the concourse. The first time I saw this concept was at the new park in Columbia, SC, but the suites in North Port are more spacious.

There are three Concourse Suites positioned at the rear of the seats. They are roomy and take advantage of the breeze coming through entryways to the ballpark.

There is one aspect of the design of the main level that I’m not crazy about, though. In between the Dawgs ‘n’ Burgers concession stand behind the 3B on-deck circle and the Salsa Supreme eatery near the RF corner, there is only one food stand — another Dawgs ‘n’ Burgers. It would make sense to me if there were additional points of sale on the 1B side of the infield.

More on concessions in the next section.

The upper level of CoolToday Park is simply beautiful. There are party decks at each end (which is pretty standard these days) with four sections of Terrace seating on the 3B side and three on the 1B side. The sightlines from these sections are outstanding, probably the best in the ballpark.

In addition to the press/broadcast areas behind home plate, there is a suite controlled by the Braves (this is where the greatest individual in Braves history, Hank Aaron, watched the March 24 game) and two “super suites.” These gorgeous suites aren’t rented out, though. These enclosed (i.e. air conditioned) lounges are for anyone with access to the upper level.

In between the structural elements of the upper level are gaps like this one. They aren’t reserved for groups. Anyone with access to this level can watch the game from here — and can visit the air-conditioned lounges on this level.

The overall design of CoolToday Park is excellent. The use of space is tremendous, and never feels cramped. Braves fans will enjoy coming here for years to come.

Yeah, but what is the food like? Read on!

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The Essentials

As is always the case when a new park opens, a lot of planning and effort has gone into it. And when moments like the above occur (this was the first pitch at CoolToday Park), most feel it was all worthwhile.  And the sell-out crowd — which had gobbled up all of the tickets in less than an hour of them going on sale — seemed to love it .

But what’s it going to be like when fans flock to future spring trainings here?

Well, we know traffic is a problem. It prompted columnist Doug Fernandes of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune to remark, “… we might as well address the obvious right away … Braves spring-training games promise to be a traffic nightmare. The four-mile stretch of River Road, from the exit off I-75 to the entrance to West Villages Parkway, should be renamed … Gridlock Way.”

You’ve been warned.

But once you’ve arrived in the complex and paid $10 for your parking, you’ll enjoy roaming around the practice fields and snagging autographs, as the accessibility to Braves players is very good. “It was very important to John Schuerholz (former Braves GM and president who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 2017) that we give our fans access,” Moore explained. “That’s such a big part of spring training.”

Ticket costs for exhibition games in future years have yet to be announced, but they will probably be in line with what other springtime games cost in Florida.

And fans will quickly learn the best spots to get autographs within the ballpark. For the March 24 exhibition, it was at the home-plate end of the dugout (see photo).

The fans will certainly want to eat and drink, too. Even though the 2019 game was a one-shot affair, all of the concession stands were in operation. We’ll forgive the Braves that the names of the stands were on temporary signs.

A nice combo of two side-by-side stands is down the 3B line: The Chicken Coop and Fish Camp.  The former features Tenders and Boneless Wings (both are $9 with fries and $15 with seasoned “Sharkfries” and fried pickles). The latter offers fried fish ($9 with kettle chips) and fried shrimp ($9 with fries). I bought an order of the shrimp, and it was excellent. They also sell conch fritters, which are $8 with fries.

Another noteworthy stand is Salsa Supreme down the 1B line. Their Kitchen Sink Nachos are $9 and a pair of empanadas are $8. They also serve tacos (2 for $9) and soft-serve ice cream in a dish for $6.

The Salsa Supreme stand features cookies and empanadas (on the left) and Kitchen Sink Nachos on the right. Kudos to the operators of the stand for stepping out front to show potential customers what the dishes look like.

The two Dawgs ‘n’ Burgers stands feature pretty standard fare: burger with fries for $10; grilled chicken sandwich with fries for $10; corn dog for $8; regular hot dog for $4.

Along the outfield concourse are kiosks for Papa John’s Pizza and Landshark beer.

On the upper level are two quite different concession outlets. On the 3B side is Greenfields featuring build-your-own salads, and over on the 1B side is the Braves Smokehouse. It features a variety of sandwiches – either brisket or pulled pork is $9, and chicken salad, smoked chicken or bologna cost $8. The rotisserie cooker for the brisket and chicken is right there behind the counter. They call the brisket “BBQ,” but I beg to differ on the nomenclature. Where I come from, BBQ means “smoked,” but here it is stored in a beef broth. They allowed me to sample it, and it is indeed delicious, but I wouldn’t call it BBQ.

The Tomahawk Tiki Bar, unlike most such establishments at spring-training parks, doesn’t just sell alcohol. You can order burgers at the bar, and the Sausage Shack that’s tucked under the same powder blue ceiling has brats and Italian sausages. Both are $7.

Of course, most people will be heading to the Tiki Bar to drink. Standard mixed drinks are $7, with the Home Run Rum Punch being their specialty. Wine is also $7.

The Craft Beer Bar behind 3B features local brews from 3 Bridges Brewing in nearby Venice and other local breweries in Fort Myers, Sarasota and Bradenton. Cups that hold 22 ounces are $7, which seemed more than fair.

Although many spring-training parks made do with non-video scoreboards for years (until this year, the Brewers in Phoenix were a prime example), fans in North Port won’t have to wait. From Day One, a glorious 40′ by 80′ board in left-center provided graphics and replays.

Similarly, the merchandise store was beautifully stocked with gear, even though there was only one game this year. Prices were typical for spring training. Men’s T-shirts ranged from $26 to $38 and for women $30 to $35. Kids’ Tees were $18 to $25. Caps were $20 for kids, and $18 to $40 for adults. There were lots of nice polos, ranging from $50 to $85. There were even some top-shelf Tommy Bahama Hawaiian shirts with the Braves logo for $140 to $155.

The store is a perfect size, and features different merchandise on the upper level than the lower.

It’s a great idea including merchandise from the Braves’ Minor League clubs. The Florida Firefrogs have a particularly striking logo.

And of course, the store offers foam tomahawks for $7!

The beautiful store is spread over two levels, with designer apparel on the lower floor (which has a door to the parking lot) and everything else on the upper.

The ballpark’s sound system is certainly state-of-the-art. Thankfully, unlike its predecessor facility at Disney World, the volume isn’t always at 11!

It is a complete, family friendly experience when attending an exhibition game at CoolToday Park.

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Summary

Except for the agonizing drive home, fans thoroughly enjoyed the one-day debut of CoolToday Park. One reason for this was the constant appearance of The Braves Way — although you never heard or read that exact place at any point on March 24th. I mean, if you’re classy, you don’t have to tell people constantly how classy you are.

A winning team

While there were many. many individuals who made CoolToday Park possible, these three have to be chief among them: Steve Padget of Fawley Bryant, Chip Moore of the Braves and Jonathan Cole of Pendulum.

One major, major way that the team did things in a first-class way was in limiting the tickets they sold for the one-time game. They knew perfectly well that they could sell 10,000+ tickets to this game, and you couldn’t blame them if they did since the whole day was a money-losing proposition. I mean, there’s no way to cover the costs of putting on the game when you’ve got to stock shelves with merchandise, coolers with food and bus in staff just for one game.

So you couldn’t blame them if they would’ve sold every single ticket they could and packed the concourses and berms with lots of sweaty bodies. If they had, it would’ve been like the final exhibition at Disney World the previous day — and it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

Instead, the crowd on March 24th was announced at 7,067 — far short of the park’s normal capacity of 8,200. That meant the concourses were a pleasure to navigate and those on the berm had elbow room (see photo above). Way to go, Braves!

Another classy feature is a lighting system that most fans will never notice — but outfielders in night games will. You see, since spring training parks aren’t nearly as tall as regular-season MLB stadiums, the lights tend not to be as high off the ground. Consequently, during night games in the spring, it’s possible for a batter to blast a really high pop-up that flies above the area illuminated by the light towers. Here in North Port, though, there is a lighting system that helps brighten those higher distances above the playing surfaces so these eager young outfielders won’t lose sight of those extra-high flies.

The Braves also brought the best ballpark sound with them from Atlanta for the game. I’ve always felt that organ music is what should be played between batters and after innings instead of blaring rap music or commercials. Matthew Kaminski, who is the organist at SunTrust Park, was summoned from Atlanta to fill the air with the lovely sound of the organ. Thank you, Braves! Do it again for future exhibitions here!

And fans might not talk about it, but the signage around the ballpark is truly something special. My initial thought was that the signs and graphics were the best I’d seen at a new park since Dunkin’ Donuts Park opened in Hartford … then I realized that the same entity that designed those graphics also did the ones here: Pendulum.

From the massive photos of all-time great players to the small signs over the restrooms (see photo), everything is first class — even if it doesn’t jump out at you. “This ballpark is going to feel right, and you’re not even going to know why,” remarked Pendulum’s Cole.

To be fair, one aspect of the graphics I’m not crazy about is the logo for the ballpark itself (see the image at the top of the Ballpark Stats box on page 1 of this review). It’s at the intersection when you first arrive at the complex. It’s shown on the video board regularly. But that doesn’t make it attractive.

I realize that it’s based on the company logo of CoolToday, and the Braves didn’t have a lot of say about how that logo looks. But I think it would help the company’s image, as well as the look of the logo of the ballpark, if that graphic were updated with different colors and graphic elements.

This is no knock on CoolToday as a company, though. I heard several times how highly the company is thought of in the area, and how active and generous they are in worthwhile community causes. From all accounts, it’s the kind of naming-rights partner you’d want to have (as opposed to something like, say, Enron, who partnered with the Astros on their stadium .. well, for a while, anyway).

But if the lack of an additional concession stand on the 1B side of the park and the logo of CoolToday Park are the worst criticisms I can hurl at new facility, they must be doing 99% of everything correctly.

After all, they are following The Braves Way.

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Let everyone know what you think of CoolToday Park in the comments area below.