San Francisco - Baseball in San Francisco

Hi

Our LAS-SFO flight is scheduled to land Friday April 22 at about 14.45 and we are staying at Union Square. We will not have a car so will rely on cabs and/or public transport

We would love to see a baseball game. Having checked the schedules it seems the best option is that evening's game agains Atlanta (Saturday and Sunday are day games and we have a hectic schedule at the weekend)

According to the website, the game starts at 19.15. A couple of questions:

1) Based on a reasonably timely arrival in to SFO, is this feasible?

2) Never having been to a game (there are 4 of us including and 11 yr old and 14 yr old) what would be the most appropriate seating? There seem to be a multitude of options

3) Where should we buy the tickets?

Thanks for any advice

nickyboy

Hi

Our LAS-SFO flight is scheduled to land Friday April 22 at about 14.45 and we are staying at Union Square. We will not have a car so will rely on cabs and/or public transport

We would love to see a baseball game. Having checked the schedules it seems the best option is that evening's game agains Atlanta (Saturday and Sunday are day games and we have a hectic schedule at the weekend)

According to the website, the game starts at 19.15. A couple of questions:

1) Based on a reasonably timely arrival in to SFO, is this feasible?

2) Never having been to a game (there are 4 of us including and 11 yr old and 14 yr old) what would be the most appropriate seating? There seem to be a multitude of options

3) Where should we buy the tickets?

Thanks for any advice

nickyboy

1) Yes - you can take public transit from Union Square (Market St.) - MUNI will take you directly to the stadium (www.sfmta.org) and will only take about 10-15 mins.

2) That depends on your budget. Generally, the more you are willing to spend, the better the seats.

3) sfgiants.com

AT&T Park is one of the nicer stadiums, so you may want to get there a little early and do a walk-around for some great views of the bay.

The more popular the game, the higher the prices go closer to the event. So if Tim Lincecum is pitching, price will be higher. So if you know you want to go try and buy tix as soon as they go on sale.

Honestly my favorite seats in the park are the reserved bleachers. No seat backs but reasonably prices, out of the wind and "real" fans sit there without behaving badly.

Also note ATT Park is one of the few newer parks where you can bring your own food - so if you can pick up sandwiches or whatever on your way in all the better. Food is crazy expensive at the park.

One tip (since you are a group of four): Don't restrict yourselves to four seats all in a single row - two pairs seats in two successive rows (a sort-of "box" arrangement can work just as well.

Thanks for such informative replies. As a complete novice in these matters I checked the website and got the following pricing:

View Reserved Left Field $17
View Reserved Infield $29
View Box Left Field $26
View Box View Box (?) $34
Bleachers Left Field $29
Club Level Left Field $55
Club Level Outfield $75

Appreciate this is subjective, but are the Club Level tickets worth the extra? If not, where would you recommend? We would like to be close-ish to the action as we probably will not appreciate the subtleties of the game

Any restaurant tips near the stadium where we can get an early dinner? Doesn't need to be too high end as it is a bit wasted on the kids ;)

Thanks again

nickyboy

I prefer infield seats when I go, however I believe you get a better experience the closer to the field you are (esp for kids). For restaurants:

Gordon Biersch (a few blocks away & great selection of beers & pub food)
Public House & Mijita (on site at AT&T - also good beers & pub food)

Both are reasonably priced, and if you pick Gordon Biersch, you can reserve a table ahead of time at opentable.com.

However
The restaurants mentioned (near ATT) like GordonBiersch , Public House an Mijita are likely to be way too crowded and for what the OP is looking for, too pricey. (I have found rez at GordonBiersch on game days to e s/w of a joke)

If you are going to your hotel first, I'd suggest Lori's Diner in Union Sq, solely for the kids. Or Buy some sandwiches in the Westfield Shopping Center Bristol Farms and have a picnic at the park!

However
The restaurants mentioned (near ATT) like GordonBiersch , Public House an Mijita are likely to be way too crowded and for what the OP is looking for, too pricey. (I have found rez at GordonBiersch on game days to e s/w of a joke)


I've used opentable to book at Gordon Biersch many times before games and never had a problem and always maee the game on time. They also have a website to determine the prices ahead of time. However, the food court at Westfield near Bristol does offer many inexpensive options as well.

As far as seats are concerned, you have to ask yourself why you are going. If you really want to see what is going on, it would be best to get seats ranging from first base to behind home plate and out to third base. If you go much further, you won't see any details of what is happening. If you are just going for the atmosphere and general view of the game, then anywhere is ok.

Also, in general the higher up you go, the less detail you can see, although if you are right at field level, you won't get much perspective.

Remember that it gets chilly at night in San Francisco, especially in April. Be sure to bring the warmest coats, jackets, hats, scarves, and blankets you have.

As for getting there, if it's a nice and sunny day, you can walk to the park (around 30 mins from Union Square). You can definitely walk back along the Embarcadero and then down Market St. Alternatively, take the lines 30 or the 45 which stop right at Union Square to their termini, which are 1 block from the park. They run quite frequently and take 10-15 mins to get there.

Thanks for all the feedback.

We are getting infield seats (our one and only visit to baseball so we want to see as much as possible). Lori's for a quick bite then the MUNI to the stadium early enough for a bit of a look around.

If you're seated next to 4 Brits who keep asking stupid questions about what's going on....that'll be us :p

nickyboy

The major benefits of the club level are that it has full bars (although they're generally fairly crowded with people trying to place drink orders), a pseudo farmer's market in the middle (behind home plate), the concession areas are glassed in, and there's easy entry and exit through an escalator that's exclusive to the club level. If you take the escalator from the main entrance, just flash your club level tickets to take the next escalator to the club level. After the game is done, they reverse the escalator and hold all traffic from other sections until the club level is emptied. So easy access in, easy access out.

Frankly, if I ever have a choice, I'll sit nowhere else except for field club and even then, I feel like field club is too close to the action, if that makes any sense at all.

and I would guess, amenities lost on an 11 and 14 year old.

That said the club level is fun if you don't actually like baseball, and just want to spend extra money on slightly better food and wine. :)

So, are the garlic fries better at Gordon Biersch, or at the ballpark? (or is it a tie)? :)

A couple notes to consider for the novice baseball tourist:

1) The Giants are the reigning champions. Your visit will be during the first month of the season. There will be a lot of energy around the new season (read demand for tickets).

2) Everyone wants to go on the weekend. Tickets will be hard to find, especially at face value. Look to secure them as soon as they go on sale.

3) Weeknight games will be easier and cheaper to obtain. Less demand on school/work nights. A 19:00 start in SF during April will be no worse than a 15:00 start at Stamford Bridge (go Blues!) in January. Just be thankful no more Candlestick Park!

4) You will be much more likely to find a pleasant seat-neighbor on a weeknight, IMHO. Again, IMHO, true fans versus weekenders wanting to get on the championship bandwagon.

5) If you see Giants v. Dodgers on the schedule, those tickets will be in great demand. Big Rivals!

6) If no luck with the Giants, a back-up will be to take BART over to Oakland and see the A's (abbreviation for Athletics). A's will be an easier ticket all around. A good read on the A's is Moneyball by Michael Lewis. The English Premiership could learn a thing or two in that book. The A's are not a good team.

Hope this helps.

So, are the garlic fries better at Gordon Biersch, or at the ballpark? (or is it a tie)? :)

I would say a tie, although I've had them more often at GB. I'm also a fan of the homemade chips at GB.

Are all of the home Giants games sold out now? I'm seeing no individual tix for any games available on sfgiants.com.

Are all of the home Giants games sold out now? I'm seeing no individual tix for any games available on sfgiants.com.

Individual game tickets haven't gone on sale. Look for them to go on sale somtime later this month. Not sure on the date. I now the Red Sox are going on sale January 29th.:D

Well, we got tickets for section 323 (club was a bit expensive for 4 tickets) and we had a great time, other than the result of course.

Garlic fries and blue moon beer was the way to go :p

nickyboy

Well, we got tickets for section 323 (club was a bit expensive for 4 tickets) and we had a great time, other than the result of course.

Garlic fries and blue moon beer was the way to go :p

nickyboy

Great to know that you and yours enjoyed your time and the game.