Tips for first-timers to Northeast Delta Dental Stadium

The Binghamton Mets are back in New Hampshire this week for another series against the Fisher Cats.  As a long-time attendee of Fisher Cats games (well, I went to three games in May…), I thought I would pass along some tips for Mets fans making their first trip to Manchester.

Driving directions

Getting to the stadium is easy, just take the Everett Turnpike to Exit 5 (Granite St.), head east on Granite St. across the river, and take the first right onto South Commercial St.  Go straight ahead and you’ll find several parking lots, all charging $10.  There’s no free parking anywhere nearby, so make sure you have some cash with you.  If it’s available, you’ll want to park in the last private lot on the right before the stadium entrance, across the street from the place claiming to be the closest parking lot (it isn’t, and it requires crossing a busy street to get in and out of it).  Don’t drive directly into the stadium entrance unless you have paid in advance for a space in that lot (see the Fisher Cats web site for more information).

Seating

The visitors’ dugout is on the third base side. so you’ll probably want to hang out over there.  Section 107 is on the home plate side of the dugout and is at the edge of the net, which could be good or bad depending on whether you want an unobstructed view or protection from foul balls; you can get a clear view of the plate from the seat on the dugout-side aisle, but not from any of the others.  This section is often fairly empty in the front rows, so adventurous fans can move up to front row seats here fairly easily.  Sections 106, 105, and 104 make up the rest of the space around the dugout and are good for catching foul balls and flying bats.

Sight lines to the scoreboards are pretty terrible from all seats on the third base side.  The main scoreboard is used almost exclusively for current batter information and occasionally announcing a pitching change, so don’t look for game info there.  There is a simple info board at the far end of the upper level on each side, but it is difficult to read during the day and uses amber lights for everything, so figuring out which dim lights are for outs/balls/strikes is about as hard as telling how many are lit up.  A better option is the scoreboard at the far end of the left field wall, but that is partially obscured by fans when viewing it from the third base side.  Even so, that board uses different color lights (green for balls and red for strikes and outs) and is much easier to read.  This is perhaps the biggest problem at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.

Handicapped seating is available on the edge of the concourse and is typically unused.  The concourse has a perfect view of the field all around the stadium, so this is a great place to move to for some shade or to get a different angle on the action.  It also has convenient access to bathrooms and concessions.  The concourse itself is wide enough to accommodate normal traffic without becoming too crowded.

Concessions

A variety of food items are available for purchase at the stands located on the concourse or from the hawkers who frequently roam the seating area (and occasionally stop at the edge of the field, obstructing everyone’s view).  Prices are the same from the stands or the hawkers, so it makes sense to take advantage of the convenience if you want what they’re offering (prices in general are fairly decent for ballparks); for frozen items, always go with the hawkers, the freezers at the concession stands are cranked up to 11.  There’s more of a variety of offerings at the concession stands, which often have little or no wait at the registers (particularly when the Fisher Cats are at bat).  As is the norm, beer is sold at the stadium until the middle of the 7th inning, but I didn’t see any heavy drinkers in my trips there; drunken fans can ruin a ballpark experience, so it was nice to see no sign of them.

Autographs

Players are available to sign autographs during warmups before the game, if you can catch them.  They are usually busy getting ready for the game, so your best bet is calling to them when they enter the dugout (home plate side) or when they leave the dugout to warm up (left field side).  Study up on the player names and uniform numbers (or have a copy of the roster handy for quick IDs) for the best chance of getting their attention in the few seconds you’ll have before they’re out of range (note that some players may be in uniforms that do not match their roster number).  Players who are not in the lineup will be more accessible; they will often be sitting in the dugout while everyone else warms up.  Pitchers are tough to find, though they may occasionally wander along the edge of the field randomly.  There is a group of regulars seeking out autographs from everyone, often with pages and pages of cards to be signed.  I don’t quite understand them and they don’t seem to talk much to outsiders.

Fans

While you are on the other team’s turf, the Fisher Cats are a Blue Jays affiliate and this is Red Sox territory, so the fans tend to be less aggressive than in some parks.  Still, there will be a few vocal die-hards in the crowd and the general vibe will go the way of the home team.  You will find Mets fans in the crowd though, particularly around the visitors’ dugout.  Identifying yourself as a Mets fan is unlikely to cause any problems, though you are likely to have random strangers ask you questions about the team or the players or talk to you at length about something while you’re trying to watch the game.  Just humor them for a while and they will eventually latch on to someone else.

With that, enjoy the games and let’s go Mets!