Out of contention, out of touch

[Leones]

I love baseball. I love living in Colorado. I used to love going to watch the local nine. Then the Rockies started a series of campaigns to drive me away. ( yes I am sure it's ME they want gone :) ) Trading away perfectly fine players, moving the family section from the infield to the third deck, playing "New York New York" when they beat my Red Sox in 2004 (how's 2007 sitting with you Rockies owners? scoreboard!), screwing up the ticket sales for the 2007 World Series … I could go on and on.

The pattern is typically the same. Opening Day and Fireworks games draw crowds. Then after the All-Star break they open up the club for minor league tryouts and the endless shuffling begins. On a hot summer day you could sit on the third base side of Coors Field while the hapless Rocks floundered about you could let your gaze rest on the empty right field decks and enjoy the summer evening, smells and sounds of the game.

No longer friends. The Blake Street oligarchs have decided they need revenue and have deluded themselves that young people cannot possibly enjoy the game for what it is but rather need to be seduced into baseball culture with a kegger atop Coors Field.

They've ripped out those 3rd deck right field seats they couldn't hope to fill with baseball fans and replaced it with a party deck and eyesore they call 'The Rooftop'. Here's how it will attract baseball fans according to Dick Monfort, club owner

"I see these rooftops plugged full of young adults," Monfort said of the taverns neighboring Coors Field. "Baseball draws a lot of fans, but they're missing out on a whole group."

The result is the biggest fan deck in sports, a 38,000-square-foot area decked out with comfortable couches and chairs, a fire pit, drink railings, a CHUBurger restaurant and the Tavern Ballpark, complete with a 5,280-inch bar that has 52 taps serving 20 varities of mostly local beers.

"I think it'll pizzazz the place up," Monfort said of The Rooftop. "I think it'll get a younger crowd. Let's get them up here where they're amongst themselves."

Tickets will cost $14-$26, depending on the game, and each ticket includes $6 worth of concession or merchandise credit. The Rockies plan to make 2,500 tickets available each game, with general-admission tickets allowing fans access to the entire lower and upper decks and room to settle on The Rooftop. Any fan with a ticket can go to The Rooftop for a mostly standing-room atmosphere, though there are 400 places to sit.

"People say it's not 'baseball tradition,'" Monfort said of The Rooftop's new appeal. "But a lot of people come to our games who aren't really interested in baseball. Maybe a 25-year-old comes to The Rooftop because that's where the girls are or that's where it's happening. All of a sudden, a tremendous roar comes from the stadium, and he turns around and sees the players celebrating and everyone high-fiving each other. He thinks, 'This is a good, fun place.' Maybe he finds someone and gets married, they move to the suburbs and he decides he'll bring his kids back here and let them have a chance to experience this place."

Yep that's how it all will work out I'm sure.

More likely we'll get some new series on youtube entitled something like "Friday night fights at the rooftop"

I'll be back at Coors one day Monfort, long after you've stopped ruining my local team.

Here's a link to an article about it:

Rockies unveil latest upgrades to Coors Field
http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/news/ar ... y=news_col


p.s. ranting about this sort of thing s what happens when I'm not fully engaged in my favorite pastime; PEBA/LRS baseball. Let's hope we get back to it soon before I start yelling at kids to get off the lawn! :)

edit: fixed a typo

[Evas]

Not to be contrary, but that actually sounds pretty nice to me, assuming it isn't a dump full of bros.

The real question to me is what they are charging for the beer. Terrible beer is ridiculously expensive at the game. What on earth would good one cost?

[Robert_Ogden]

Not to be contrary, but that actually sounds pretty nice to me, assuming it isn't a dump full of bros.

The real question to me is what they are charging for the beer. Terrible beer is ridiculously expensive at the game. What on earth would good one cost?

I pretty much agree with Kevin on the deck. It does sound cool. And, it is COORS Field, yes? Generate revenue-> Better Team???
Maybe it will be a good thing overall.

[Cole]

I'll also throw my support behind it. While I can't comment with any great knowledge about the Rockies franchise is running as a whole, the Rooftop thing sounds pretty neat.

[Borealis]

So did they eliminate the 'Mile High' seats - those above the purple row, to where Barry Bonds hit a BP HR once upon a time? That would be awful... If anything, the Rock Pile would be a better choice - or better yet, just build a new platform!

[Leones]

To the best of my knowledge the purple Mile High seats are still in the remaining upper deck sections.