May 22, 2023, Seattle, WA - T-Mobile Stadium had the most expensive ball park tour this year at $50 per person. We weren't impressed. We got into the ballpark 3 hours prior to the game but got very little ball park tour that we couldn't have gotten by just showing up when the gates for the general public were open. We did get to see Mariners batting practice where other people on the tour were excited to retrieve and keep heavily hit stand balls. No tour of the inner parts of the stadium; no dugout or field field trip. We cannot recommend this tour.
So that part of the report is out of the way. Now for the good parts!
The rest of our rankings of the stadium are good or excellent. Seattle has a nicely designed ball park with a retractable roof that works like an umbrella. Seagulls like to hang in the stadium, but it was one the cleanest we have seen. Staff were pleasant and friendly.
The end of the ball park tour locked us into a specific concession stand area at the ground floor until the general public could enter the stadium.
We got a hot dog for our food taste test, but the condiment vats
would not expel the condiments. None of the staff could get it working. Some drama ensued. Let's just say it is best not to get between Christine and her hot dog ketchup.
We stayed in the Silver Cloud Hotel across the street from the stadium which was a big mistake. Remember that I mentioned how clean the facility is? The cleaning staff runs leaf blowers starting at 4am after game nights. So there was some sleeplessness in Seattle (see what I did there?).
The roof was open for both games we attended, but they close it overnight while they clean the stadium. We did not get to see it move, but apparently that can happen during the game if it is needed.
The games were not well attended, but it was two week-nights when kids are still in school.
Stadium Ratings are exciting, good, meh, bad, disastrous.
Stadium - All seats and sections appeared to have good field view except that the club level has some obstructed views. Nice backdrop of Seattle skyline (but no Space Needle in sight). Surrounding area had the typical homeless contingent, but we never felt threatened. The views of the stadium area from the city (like from the Space Needle) are impressive as both the football and baseball facilities have similar design features and light up at night. Rating: Exciting!
Food - Aside from the ketchup incident, we give the food a high ranking. There was plenty of beer choices. Prices were reasonable for ball park fare. Hot dog had a good snap and flavor with the bread only slightly stale. Christine got a good soft pretzel and I had a decent pizza slice. There were lots of choices for different types of food. I still can't bring myself to order sushi dishes at a ballpark but I respect the effort. Rating: Good
Mascot - Moose had the moves and was very present during the game. We enjoyed his interactions with the fans and dancing on the dugouts. He reminded us of Durham's Wool E. Bull. Rating: Good
