Ballpark Information
History
History
Oracle Park, with its breathtaking views and classic design, received rave reviews throughout the country as one of the smash hits of 2000.
The first privately financed ballpark in Major League Baseball since Dodger Stadium (1962), the Giants' new home features an inspiring nine-foot statue of America's greatest living ballplayer, Willie Mays, at the public entrance; Portuguese water dogs who fetch home runs that splash into McCovey Cove (named after another Hall of Fame Willie); an 80-foot Coca-Cola bottle with playground slides and miniature Oracle Park behind left field that has become a magnet for kids of all of ages; and mass public transit that rivals any sports complex in the world.
Columnist Peter Gammons wrote: "It's hard to say what's best about [SBC] Park, except that it is San Francisco. The view from the worst seats in the house still gives you a view of the Bay Bridge and the marina. As great as Camden Yards, Turner Field, The Jake and Coors Field are, this is the best fan's ballpark because it was conceived, built and paid for by Giants owner Peter Magowan, a legitimate baseball fan."
Magowan, who led a group of San Francisco business leaders in saving the Giants from moving to Florida in an 11th-hour effort in 1992, always knew the Giants franchise was not secure in San Francisco until a new ballpark was built to replace much-maligned Candlestick Park.
With an ambitious financing plan in place, the Giants' president joined club Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Larry Baer in orchestrating a marketing campaign that reaped 29,500 season ticket holders, including 15,000 Charter Seat members. To put those figures in perspective, only three previous times in franchise history had the Giants sold more than even 10,000 season tickets, with an all-time high of 13,200 in 1994. What's more, the Charter Seat total more than tripled the previous record for a Major League Baseball team.
For his vision and leadership, Magowan was "2000 Executive of the Year" by Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal. While certainly a prestigious honor to receive, perhaps the greatest reward for Magowan that year was merely watching endless capacity crowds jam into the city's sparkling new jewel by the bay, and simply knowing that Giants baseball is alive and well in San Francisco -- today and for many generations to come.
Opening Date:Â April 11, 2000
Original Cost: $357 million
How Named: Corporate Sponsorship
Former Name:
Surface:Â Kentucky Bluegrass Blend with crushed volcanic rock infield and rubberized tartan-surface warning track.
Outfield Fences:Â 8 feet high from left field to center with 19-foot span that reaches 11 feet high at its peak in left field; 25 feet high in right field.
Distance from Stands to Home Plate:Â At a distance of just 48 feet from the first row of seats to homeplate, these lucky fans are actually 12 feet closer to the batter than is the pitcher.
Design:Â Classic urban ballpark with an old-time feel and all the amenities of modern ballparks. Inspired by Wrigley Field and Fenway Park and modeled after Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Jacobs Field and Coors Field.
Field Dimensions
Location
Financing
Seating Capacity: Approximately 42,300
Luxury Suites: 67
Amenities
Oracle Park hosts multiple non-baseball events every year. If you would like more information, please visit oraclepark.com.
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First Game: June 28, 1911
When Used:
Original Cost: NA
How Named: Polo was played in the 1870s on a site just north of Central Park. The site became known as the Polo Grounds. By 1883, baseball had taken over the site. The New Yorks (later called the Giants) of the National League played in the southeast corner of the park and the Metropolitans of the American Association played in the southwest corner. In 1889, when the Giants were evicted from the original Polo Grounds, they moved uptown to a stadium on the southern parcel of Coogan's Hollow. Also known as Manhattan Field, from the beginning it was called the new Polo Grounds (Polo Grounds II).
Design Style: Major League Classic
Field Dimensions: the dimensions changed numerous times, but the
most recognized are as follows:
Location: New York City
Financing: NA
Seating Capacity
Luxury Suites: 0
Originally built for minor league San Francisco Seals and Missions. Seals became sole tenants in 1938, when the Missions moved to Hollywood and became the Stars. Seals continued to play in stadium until Giants relocated in 1958.
First Game: April 15, 1958
When Used: NL Giants, April 15, 1958-Sept. 20, 1959
Original Cost: $600,000
How Named: Named after team
Design Style: Minor league, Art Deco
1958 Field Dimensions
1959 Field Dimensions
Height of Outfield Fence
Location: San Francisco
Financing: Paid for by Seals owners George Putnam, Dr. Charles Street
and Charles Braham.
Seating Capacity
Luxury Suites: 0
First Game: April 12, 1960
Original Cost: $24.6 million
How Named: Fan balloting
Design Style
Field Dimensions (1960)
Field Dimensions (1961)
Field Dimensions (1968): Foul lines extended to 335 feet
Field Dimensions (1982)
Field Dimensions (1983):Â Â Right foul line moved in to 328 feet
Height of Outfield Fence
Location: Candlestick Point, San Francisco
Financing: City of San Francisco
Seating Capacity
Luxury Suites: 85
Amenities
Nestled in the heart of historic Old Town Scottsdale and surrounded by art galleries, restaurants and boutique shops, Scottsdale Stadium has become the home of not only the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Fall League, but also of numerous special events, festivals, concerts, and parties. Designed by the architects of Camden Yards in Baltimore, the stadium is adorned with turn-of-the-century lamps, framed antique baseball gloves, and sidewalk bricks in the shape of home plate.
When Built:
Field Dimensions:
Location:
Address:Â 7408 East Osborn Road, Scottsdale, AZ, 85251
Seating Capacity:
Amenities:
San Francisco has hosted the All-Star Game three times-in 1961 and 1984 at Candlestick Park, and in 2007 at AT&T Park. The games were held in San Francisco exactly 23 years apart. Both games at Candlestick Park were won by the National League, 5-4 in extra innings in 1961, and 3-1 in 1984. The American League won 5-4, in the 2007 game at Oracle Park.