Going in we knew we’d love AT&T Park based on what we’ve seen on TV and rave reviews from friends and family. This stadium is in a superb location, right in downtown San Fran with a remarkable view of the bay. It was easy to get sucked into the “Beat LA” chants as the Giants fans were beyond enthusiastic as they cheered their team to a resounding victory. There were many unique amenities for both kids and adults (slides, cable cars, and even a garden), and the concessions—which served fresh seafood and CA wines—were remarkable! A flock of seagulls took over the stadium immediately after the fans ran away, which was a really fun surprise. Our overall experience at AT&T Park was one of sheer enjoyment and places this stadium as one of our favorites to date.

Design

The stadium layout, with the the Bay Bridge peaking out beyond left field, is gorgeous. Unfortunately, it is only visible from some areas and was not visible from our seats in the upper deck behind home plate. The most popular feature of the ballpark is the right field wall, which opens to McCovey Cove where kayakers wait for home run balls. The Coco-Cola bottle and large glove in left field add a nice touch and also serve as a play area. The hills in the background really finish out the beautiful scenic view.

Red brick was utilized throughout which fits nicely with the surrounding area architecture. The overhang around the stadium is very basic.

We were able to easily access all the main areas of the stadium (unlike Dodger Stadium), which allowed us to check out all the stadium had to offer!

The design around the scoreboard is cool looking and visible from most areas. Unfortunately, the score itself is very small and hard to read.

Statues of Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, and Willie Mays adorn the surrounding area and enlighten fans on Giants history. There’s a light up sign that emulates a ball going into the bay, but we didn’t get to see it lit up because it was a day game.

Location

AT&T Park is located right along the bay in South Beach of downtown San Fran with a remarkable view of the Bay Bridge. The scenery around the ballpark is beautiful.

The surrounding area is bustling with plenty of great restaurants and tourist attractions nearby. It appears safe, but you do have to be wary of the large number of homeless people in SF.

Since it is in downtown SF, parking may be difficult and is pricey. We fortunately had lodging downtown and could walk to the stadium. There are ferries or trains, if you don’t want to attempt parking.

Concessions

There were a large variety of tasty treats, with many popular to the SF area. It took us about an hour of scoping out the place to decide what to try. Some of the best choices included garlic fries, Outta Here cheesesteaks, Crazy Crabs seafood and crabcakes, chowder in a bread bowl, Orlando’s Caribbean BBQ Cha Cha bowl, Mission Street Taqueria, Ghirardelli chocolate stands, Sheboygan brat in sourdough bun, and Tony’s Pizza Slice House. We finally settled on the latter two.

The Anchor Plaza is a prominent area located directly behind the scoreboard, where many of the seafood stands are setup and is the home of the Anchor Tap Room Bar.

There were also great drink options including CA wines, Bayside Brews and coffee! We have never seen a coffee at a stadium so we were sure to fuel up on Peet’s, the local coffee shop.

Amenities

There were a lot of family friendly activities throughout the stadium. There is an old cable car set up in the outfield for kids to play in or take goofy pictures (like the one below).

The Coca-Cola Fan Lot has several fun activities including a Coke bottle with slides inside, a large glove to crawl under, t-ball, batting cage and speed pitch.

I love gardening and was very enamored with the Garden Table and Hearth and their hydroponic garden system. They grow many of their herbs & veggies onsite to serve at the restaurant.

They even have a social media cafe called the @ Café next to Peets. There are free cell phone charging stations and WiFi.

There are plenty of luxury suites for an additional price.

There are a surplus of small team stores throughout the stadium and a large teamstore accessible from outside the stadium.

There were plenty of restrooms, and there was sufficient leg space in our seats.

Here’s the Giants A-Z Guide for more detailed info on additional stadium offerings.

Culture

We went to a great game between the Giants’ and their interstate rivals, the LA Dodgers. The stadium was packed, and the crowd was very lively as chants of “Beat LA” reverberated throughout the stadium during the game.

There were multiple home runs, which got the crowd roaring. The home run display consisted of a measly water spray, which was almost kind of sad. A water jet would have been more sufficient! The Coca-Cola bottle is supposed to light up, but it wasn’t very visible during the day.

The Giants theme song “Bye, Bye Baby!” was really fun.

Lou Seal, the mascot, made a few appearances and is a cute little fella.

The biggest surprise to us was the flocking of seagulls immediately after the game. According to an attendant, the seagulls are “on a timer” and know when the game is over and time to feast on ballpark leftovers.

Summary & Scoring

Date Visited: Sunday, April 10, 2016
Game Played: Giants 9, Dodgers 6. A high scoring game made for a very cheery crowd and lots of home run celebrations. Box Score
Design:  – The brickwork and layout with the bay view are gorgeous. The team history is very well portrayed inside and outside the stadium with famous player statues and team milestones. The poor scoreboard design and simple overhangs are the main cons.
Location: – Downtown SF with amazing views right along the bay
Concessions: – Many local favorites including Ghirardelli, seafood and CA wine
Amenities: – Several unique extras like the @ Cafe, Hearth Garden Table, and family friendly activities like cable cars and Coca-Cola Fan Lot
Culture: – Packed stadium with very enthusiastic fans chanting “Beat LA”
Overall: – This is one of our favorite stadiums to date – great fans, stupendous view and location, many tasty concessions, and remarkable amenities

See more pictures.