Camden Yards experience garners perfect score, top ranking from Stadium Journey

Those of us who regularly attend Orioles games already know Camden Yards is a gem. From its pristine field, retro feel and storied history to its fantastic views, cool vibe and the winning team that inhabits it, the downtown ballpark really is the stadium that changed baseball.

Seems others have noticed, too.

Stadium Journey, a website that chronicles venues for college and pro sports across North America and beyond, is out with its 2014 Major League Baseball Ballpark Experience Rankings, and not only does Camden Yards top its list of 30 major league parks, but the 22-year-old stadium received the survey's first perfect rating in history.

Using its FANFARE scale - which takes into account food and beverage options, general atmosphere, neighborhood, fans, access (parking, traffic, restrooms, handicap accessibility), return on investment and unique features - Stadium Journey says the ballpark experience at Camden Yards is the best in the big leagues.

I'll take a break while you hoist a Natty Boh to properly honor this achievement.

Correspondent Richard Smith, who contributes locally to The Baltimore Wire blog, says the opening of Camden Yards in 1992 changed the landscape of impersonal multipurpose stadiums that previously populated most large cities.

"After Baltimore built this fine stadium, it upped the ante and forced teams to build places that cater to the fans," he writes.

He lauds the variety of food options ("not cheap, but not exactly unreasonable, either"), from the offerings at Baltimore institutions like Roma Sausage House, Gino's or Polock Johnny's to the pit goodness at Boog's BBQ on Eutaw Street, with a special nod to innovative eats like the grub at Tako Korean BBQ.

The in-game experience at Camden Yards gets high marks for its ability to please both casual fans and baseball purists. Music and activities are carefully intertwined and the "O!" during the national anthem and seventh-inning hoedown to "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" are praised as Baltimore standards.

Smith suggests Pickles Pub or Sliders Bar & Grille as nearby stops for pregame and postgame fun, and points visits to Charm City to the correct blend between tourist (Inner Harbor) and local (Federal Hill) haunts. He correctly notes the stadium's proximity to Babe Ruth's birthplace and suggests fans make time for a visit there and to Sports Legends Museum adjacent to the ballpark.

Orioles fans get their due as knowledgeable fans, and the plethora of parking garages nearby and easy access to Interstate 95 are praised. Tickets are readily available, Smith notes, even though the O's recent success has started pumping attendance figures.

Smith notes recent changes and additions to Camden Yards - the center field roof deck and the statue garden bearing the bronze likenesses of the team's six Hall of Famers that were dedicated in 2012.

"History was made by Oriole Park at Camden Yards," Smith concludes. "Its opening changed baseball and the way fans chose to experience games. A fan will revel in its festival-like atmosphere while still enjoying the purity of quality baseball."

Hard to believe there was once prolonged debate about whether a downtown stadium could draw fans in sufficient numbers, isn't it?

The rest of the top 10 finishers in the 2014 rankings by Stadium Journey: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Fenway Park in Boston, Chase Field in Phoenix, Wrigley Field in Chicago, AT&T Park in San Francisco, Target Field in Minneapolis, Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia and Coors Field in Denver.