Clippers Clips: New Diggs for the Indians Triple A Affiliate

In the off season not only did the Cleveland Indians get a new home for spring training, they also got a brand spankin new home for their Minor League Triple A affiliate. The Wahoo Warriors teamed up with the International League Columbus Clippers who just opened up the brand New $55 Million Huntington Park (pictured above), which was rated by Ballpark Digest as one of the best new Baseball facilities.

With Cleveland knowing that their contract with Buffalo was ending after last season it work out perfectly for the Tribe as the Clippers only signed a two year agreement with the Washington Nationals (after previously being affiliated with the Yankees for over 30 years) and that contract was also up last year. It only made sense for the Tribe to make the easy trip down I-71 and team up with Columbus' finest...Columbus Clippers ring your bell! This new affiliation now leaves Cleveland with all but one of their Minor League affiliates in the Buckeye State. There were also two other factors that made sense for Cleveland.

#1 The Clippers were building a brand new beautiful state of the art facility
#2 This would be a fantastic oporrtunity to expand their fan base in the State Capital.

Because I live in Columbus, I have had the opportunity to watch 8 games at Huntington Park this year. Upon entering for the first time I can honestly say I was shell shocked....was this really a Minor League Facility....and did I just pay $3 to park and $6 for a ticket, someone pinch me. This facility is literaly a Major League Park on a smaller scale. It has all the ammenities, it is spacious, yet at the same time it is VERY intimate. You can pretty much sit anywhere and feel like you are on top of the field. For those of you who never experienced the old Cooper Stadium no need to worry. It was a piece of _ _ _ _! I hope they bury it in the cemetary that sat right next to it. At Cooper Stadium you had a 50% chance of either sitting next to someone who had about 4 teeth and another 50% chance of sitting next to NOBODY! The facility was so old and outdated and just did not draw a good crowd...not to mention it was in a terrible ghetto of a location. Ok, enough of my tangent on how crappy the old Clippers Stadium was.

Huntington Park brings an excitement to Downtown Columbus and a brand new clientele. People actually want to go to this place. It is always packed whether it is a Tuesday night game or Saturday day game. It is definitely an event. Sure there is an actual game going on, but you can make a night out of it. In left field they have a building that you would think has been standing forever...wrong. They built the AEP Power Pavilion building to make it look that way. It is truly a conversation piece in itself. The first floor houses the ticket office, Clippers Cargo team shop, restrooms, and concessions. The second floor is AWESOME. It is literally a huge bar...I said HUGE. The second floor basically gives you several options. You can sit out on one of 6 balcony's, you can belly up to the bar with friends and drink a cold one or do some shots if you wish, you can order food, or you can look at all the Clippers and Indians memorabilia that surrounds the entire floor. If you walk up to the third floor of this building you will notice two things that might be familiar. The first thing you will notice is the bleachers. Huntington Park took a little piece of Wrigley Field and put it in Columbus. That's right, there are bleachers high atop the building looking out onto the field. The second thing you will notice is the smell of Central Ohio's famous Roosters chicken wings. Roosters took over the third floor by offering their famous chicken wings and of course, you can always get a beer to quench your thirst.

Now, for the rest of the facility.... like I said it is truly amazing with a capital A. Everything from the site lines to the Concessions. 360 Architecture designed the facility and did a great job with the concourse...it is truly genius. Usually you have to walk down a tunnel and stand in line forever only to miss that unbelievable catch or long home run....not at Huntington Park. The concourses are set up on both the first and third base sides and are completely open to the view of play. So if you want to get up and grab your hotdog and Cracker Jacks you don't have to miss a single pitch. Throughout the concourse there is memorabilia from the Clippers past teams plus they offer food from several of Columbus' local restaurants so you are not stuck on the same old ballpark food. The one thing that I like the most about the park is that they have railing along the entire ballpark so if you feel like grabbing something to eat or drink or if you just feel like standing you have a perfect view anywhere in the park...plus you have something to lean against. I have found that buying the $6 bleacher seats and then standing right behind the first base dugout is the best value in town. That being said, Columbus Clippers General Manager, Ken Schnake did Columbus fans right with the ticket prices.....he kept them affordable! Box seats are $12, Reserved seats are $10, and General admission (bleacher seats and standing room) are $6. Plus they kept the parking at $3 (however if their is an event going on at Nationwide Areana then the parking goes to $10). With all this being said, a single person (like me) can go to a game, park, and watch the Clippers for under $10.

Here are some quick facts on the park:

-Year Opened: 2009
-Capacity: 10,000 (7,600 seats, 1,200 specialty seats, 1,200 lawn/SRO spots)
-Number of Suites: 32, with 42 loge boxes
-Owner: Franklin County
-Architect: 360 Architecture
-Naming Rights: Huntington Bank, $12 million
-Dimensions: 325L, 365LC, 400C, 365RC, 318R
-Website: clippersbaseball.com
-Phone: 614/462-2757
-Ticket Prices: Box Seats, $12 in advance, $15 day of game; Reserved Seats, $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and children twelve years old and under; Assigned Bleacher Seat General Admission, $6 for adults, $3 for seniors and children twelve years old and under.
-League: International League (Class AAA)
-Affiliation: Cleveland Indians
-Parking: Between $3 and $10 in adjoining lots and ramps.

In summary this is a fantastic place to watch the next stars of the Cleveland Indians. As a matter of fact, this year you have seen such players as Trevor Crowe, Matt LaPorta, David Huff, Luis Valbuena, Zach Jackson, Tony Sipp, and several more already don both Clippers and Indians uniforms. And the way the Tribe has been playing this year I am sure you will see several more players make the two hour drive back and forth on I-71. So if you are looking to see the next generation of the Indians play, or you just want to see the perfect Minor League Ballpark, then come to Columbus, OH and look me up...I'll show you around.