T-Mobile Park

Team: Seattle Mariners

Address: 1516 First Avenue South

Location: Seattle, Washington

Opened: July 15, 1999

Capacity: 47,943

Visited: July 28, 2017

Rating: 9/10

T-Mobile Park*, home to the Seattle Mariners, is located in the SoDo neighborhood of the city. With a beautiful view of the Seattle skyline from the top seats, it's well-loved by Washington natives. The ballpark also happens to have a retractable roof, which is unique because the sides of the stadium are still open when the roof is closed. This allows for the Mariners to play outdoor baseball in all types of weather. Safeco Insurance decided to not renew their naming rights of the field that expire in 2018, so the ballpark will soon have a new name.

Safeco Field is in the perfect location. It's adjacent to CenturyLink Field, just a mile or two outside of downtown Seattle. While not far, the games don't cause any additional city traffic. Getting into the ballpark was easy, and there seemed to be a very organized parking system that was both quick and efficient.

As an AT&T Park garlic fries enthusiast, it was only necessary to compare them to the garlic fries at Safeco Field. They had the perfect amount of garlic, however I would've liked for the fries to be just a little bit more crispy. I would give them a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars. But the garlic fries are just the beginning as this ballpark has a wide variety of food options. Italian ice, pizza, coffee, pickle fries, ice cream sandwiches, waffles, veggie burgers... the list goes on and on. They even have a place called 'The Natural' which serves vegetarian and gluten-free options for those healthy eaters. But the snack that Safeco Field is most known for is the toasted grasshoppers. In fact, they've become so popular amongst baseball fans that they've begun to limit orders to 312 per game. If you want to try them, you'll have to get to the game early and hope that 312 grasshopper-snackers don't beat you to it. 

The atmosphere at Safeco Field felt great. Everyone paid attention to the game and cheered on their Mariners team. We were lucky enough to be blessed with seats right behind the Mariners dugout thanks to Alaska Airlines, and it was amazing to be so close to all the players. I even got a baseball from Robinson Canó. The only thing that made me cringe was the wave. I personally believe that the wave does not belong at a baseball game, and when the Mariners fans started one in the top of the inning nonetheless (the wave was meant to distract the pitcher), I was not having it. 

Walking through the stadium, I felt very at-ease and the fans were all friendly. They also love their Mariner Moose who was kind enough to sign autographs for all the kids who ran up in-between innings. I was able to capture this great shot of him standing in front of us. While the fans at the game were enthusiastic, it would have been nice to see more of the seats filled. I can only imagine how the ballpark would feel during a playoff game. 

Overall, Safeco Field is a family-friendly ballpark full of good vibes, and the Mariners Hall of Fame is a really nice touch. The views of Seattle cannot be seen from the lower level, but head to the top for a beautiful cityscape view. I would highly recommend taking in a Mariners game if you're ever in the city. This is one stadium that you must visit.

I would like to thank Alaska Airlines for making this trip to Seattle a reality, being great hosts, and getting us incredible seats to the game.

*Review was updated in early January to reflect the ballpark’s name change from Safeco Field to T-Mobile Park. The content itself was not edited.