Saturday, September 5, 2009

Keyspan Park Goodies


Last night, my wife and I visited Keyspan Park for the first time after having read that the chance to visit was coming to a close this summer - the last game is on September 6. We had been to Coney Island earlier this summer but never made it to a game. To sum things up, the Brooklyn Cyclones make sure their fans have a good time, as every trick in the book was thrown in - and sometimes literally - to the fans. They presented, not necessarily in this order, a hot dog race, free t-shirts, free thunder sticks, free childrens' books, free scorecard and program, cheerleaders, and a whole host of other local characters who constantly stirred up the crowd. To top things off, there was a fireworks display after the game, including a performance by the "world's fastest golfer." How's that for your entertainment buck?

What was most appealing were the ticket prices, $9 to $16, and there is not a bad seat in the house. The most dramatic aspect of the park is the parachute jump in right field. What a backdrop! We were really lucky to get free tickets last night unexpectedly. I was waiting on line at the ticket booth and we were approached by an older couple who asked if we were interested in some tickets. I thought they were trying to sell them, so I declined. They said they were giving it away so we agreed! We followed the couple and when we got to our seats, were were literally sitting right over the opposing team's dugout and had a clear view between third base and home. I almost got hit by a foul ball too! That's the last time I check my Blackberry!

So how was the food you may ask? As with the ticket prices, concessions were all reasonably priced with most prices under $5. You could buy a $3 box of popcorn and a $2 soda. Try doing that at Yankee Stadium! I noticed they offered foot-long hotdogs, regular hot dogs, kid-sized hot dogs, pretzels, peanuts, etc. Other foods were sold on carts such as sausages and "Brooklyn-made" (Asian) dumplings etc. Everything looked fresh and unhealthful. ;-)

In the final analysis, this is a really fun place to go and totally family-friendly. I even found out that the well-known major league pitcher, Scott Kazmir played for the Cyclones. Even the game was fun, "how about that?"