With the help of College Baseball 360 editor Sean Stires, Omaha native Paul Fiarkoski has filed a review of the new TD Ameritrade Park in downtown Omaha. Paul has been on record in the past as an ardent supporter of Rosenblatt Stadium, which was the home of the College World Series since 1950 prior to this year.

A panoramic view of TD Ameritrade Park

Paul:  I am aware that dozens of writers have already made comparisons of Omaha’s new TD Ameritrade Park to the condemned Rosenblatt Stadium three miles to the south. I almost didn’t bother writing my own review, but I feel like I needed to on behalf of the people who really loved Rosenblatt Stadium.

Having grown up with the Rosenblatt Stadium lights visible from my bedroom window, I became very attached to Rosenblatt. It was the center of activity in our South Omaha neighborhood where we could go for events. Most people think of the College World Series when they think of Rosenblatt, but it was once the spot for way more than that. I saw my first concert (the Beach Boys) there. To this day, I have still never seen a more spectacular fireworks display than the ones at Rosenblatt.  I think you get the point – I really loved Rosenblatt. So much that I maintain a blog of memories at rememberrosenblatt.com and a Rosenblatt Stadium fan page on Facebook.

Dusk settles on the last CWS game played at Rosenblatt Stadium in 2010.

I moved to Colorado in 1996 and have made it back to numerous events Rosenblatts since. I felt a great loss when I left the last College World Series game in 2010. Had it not been for the opportunity to guest blog for Collegebaseball360.com in 2011, I doubt I would have ever bothered to visit the new TD Ameritrade Park. Now that I have been there, I think it’s important that I share my thoughts on behalf of the thousands of others who are clinging to the memories of Rosenblatt.

In order for me to offer an objective review, I had to try to set aside my opinions about the politics and finances of the new stadium. It’s hard to do. Let me just make this one point before I get to my review.

Many people talk about the stadium cost of $131 million. The reality is it took two new stadiums to replace what Rosenblatt already offered the community. The other new stadium (Werner Park), in the town of Papillion southwest of Omaha cost $26 million. Not included in either figure are the infrastructure costs to get people to the stadiums or keeping flood waters out of the area surrounding TD Ameritrade Park.

Need more background? Read What happened to Rosenblatt Stadium>>

Sean: Unlike Paul, I didn’t grow-up in Omaha. My first visit to the city was in 2002 to attend the College World Series. I have subsequently covered the CWS four more times since then.

As with many people, the connections to Rosenblatt for me was instant and indelible. The College World Series was Rosenblatt Stadim and vice versa. The colors, the neighborhood, the surroundings…the people make forgetting Rosenblatt hard to do.

I am proud to be able to say that I am part of the group of people who were there for the last game at Rosenblatt Stadium and the first game played at TD Ameritrade Park.

A shot of the Road To Omaha statue outside of TDA

Paul: My first visit to TD Ameritrade Park was the evening of day four of the 2011 College World Series. I arrived so late in the game that I didn’t bother going in. I parked my car at an open meter about three blocks south and wandered around the new baseball village that is reportedly owned in part by Omaha’s mayor at the time the decision for a new stadium was made.

I was rather impressed with the layout of the “village”, although it really lacked people on that night. I continued my stroll around the vicinity and the overwhelming feeling was “Where am I?” Twenty years earlier I served a summer internship for the Omaha World-Herald in the same general area and spent quite a bit in north downtown. On my first visit back to the area I did not recognize it. I remember thinking to myself as I jumped back in my car to go meet some people in the Old Market, “Why wasn’t this here when I lived in Omaha?”

Parking & Tailgating

Day five of the College World Series was my first day to go inside the new stadium. Before that though I had to park in Lot D featuring the bubbling spring on the north end. I arrived 90 minutes before the game parked at the far east edge of the lot to preserve up close spots for fans. The few tailgate parties I saw paled in comparison to Rosenblatt tailgates by a long shot. The most active was a tent near the spots closest the stadium which was hosted by the advertising agency of record for College World Series Omaha, Inc.

Press box

Paul: Once inside the business end of the stadium I got a taste of what others mean when they have said the new stadium is “sterile”. I felt like I was in a hospital. I am not alone in my assessment that the press box set up was much better at Rosenblatt. I overheard one reporter say he felt like he was covering the games in a library. My particular beef with the press box at TD Ameritrade is that the glass panes are narrower than at Rosenblatt, so you have more vertical lines disrupting your view. On Day one of the series, a number of media members complained about spotty wifi (internet) access in the press box. I’m sorry, but that should not happen at a brand new, state-of-the-art stadium. Even the press box at 62 year-old Rosenblatt Stadium had good wifi.

Sean: I know some fellow media members mentioned via Twitter and other outlets their displeasure with the lack of “ambiance” in the press box for the first day-plus of the series. I didn’t voice my own thoughts on this at the time, because I’ve always found that “fans” watching on T.V. or paying for tickets to watch the games could care less about what media people who are sitting inside the press box have to “endure” (I use that word with a touch of sarcasm).

That said, it was very unnerving to watch the games in essentially complete silence for those first couple of days. Thankfully, someone finally patched-in the crowd microphone “ambiant” sounds of the stadium for the rest of the CWS. We went from hearing nothing, and I do mean nothing for those first few games to hearing what umpires were saying to players in the batters box. We couldn’t even hear the sound of bat hitting ball prior to the change. If we happened to be looking down to write a note and something happened on the field, we were all but lost. I was sitting next to College Baseball Today’s Eric Sorenson throughout my time at the CWS. Let’s just say if he and I had a dollar for every time we had to ask each other “What just happened?” we could have afforded several adult beverages after every game.

The "skyline" at TDA

View

Paul: On day two of my visit, I vowed to get out into the stadium to get a taste of the fan experience. To say the least, I was impressed. Some have said TD Ameritrade Park has a big league feel to it. I would say it doesn’t. It’s better. Most big league parks are so big that you don’t feel like you’re close to the action. I tested out numerous vantage points from around the main level and all the views of the field were great. However, I did not make it to the upper deck.

On the topic of views, I much preferred the view of treetops and the valley beyond at Rosenblatt than the buildings poking up around downtown Omaha. Regarding the grass on the field I have mixed feelings. Since the most common question I heard about the turf was whether it was real (it is) I’ll have to give it a thumbs down.

Sean: There’s no doubt that TD Ameritrade has a pro park feel. All the defenders of the stadium have basically echoed that sentiment.I asked several players during the CWS what they think of the stadium and they all loved it. All of them said it’s like playing in a pro park. That should come as no shock. Most of the players at the CWS are used to playing in stadiums that seat fewer than 10-thousand. And guess what? They all dream of playing professionally so of course they are going to love playing in a pro style park.

Yes, there are no obstructed views. And yes, the seats are now wider to accommodate the trend of obesity in America that made them a necessity. I agree with Paul though. The view could be from any town USA. There is just concrete and steel to stare at. Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside!

Paul's Pick: The Rosenblatt scoreboard.

Scoreboard

Paul: The scoreboard and video reply monitor at TD Park does not stack up to the one at Rosenblatt. If it’s not smaller, it sure looks like it and it doesn’t display as much information. At Rosenblatt, you could see information not just about the current batter, but you could also see who else was in the lineup. Not so at TD. The other thing I liked seeing at Rosenblatt was the pitch speed display. I looked all over and couldn’t find the pitch speed anywhere at the new stadium. The other gripe I have about the scoreboard is that everytime I look at it, I am reminded how much money I have lost in my IRA at TD Ameritrade and how difficult their statements are to read (zing!).

Sean: I honestly had no real thoughts on the scoreboard and how it compares to Rosenblatt. I thought the new one was alright. It serves its purpose. As long as its modern (which it is) and shows replays and the score (which it does) it’s fine with me.

The new scoreboard at TDA

Concessions

Paul: One thing that is vastly improved at TD is the concessions. Truthfully, I only bought a pretzel and a souvenir cup of Dr. Pepper but there was virtually no wait and the ambiance was much more inviting than at Rosenblatt. The people I am happiest for in the whole move to the new stadium are the concessions workers. I always felt bad for the sweaty folks working in the hot, cramped confines of the Rosenblatt concession stands and I’m glad they can now work in greater comfort. The menu boards are attractive and easy to read too.

One myth about TD Ameritrade is that you can watch the game while you stand in line. I actually lost my place in line because I heard a crowd roar and ran to the railing to see what caused the ruckus. The railing around the lower reserved seats, by the way, is very nice. I like the fact that you can set a drink on the narrow counter top or take notes if you want to.

Sean: I agree with pretty much everything Paul had to say on this subject. It is much nicer to have the wider concourse area and open air concessions. I only walked around outside a few times to find my son and his friend in the stands. I do think the bigger concourse and the fact that you can see the field from there only invites people to get up out of their seats and walk around more…so are those bigger seats really necessary if people aren’t sitting in them as long.

The outfield general admission seating area is nicer though. Concession stands are out there and have a view of the field. Those railings Paul was talking about are available as well.

The Dimensions

Sean: A lot was made about the fact that just eight home runs were hit during this year’s CWS, and most of the blame was placed on the new BBCOR bats that were used this season in college baseball. However, that was only part of the reason for the drop in long balls.

The dimensions of TDA are exactly the same as Rosenblatt:  335 feet down the lines, 375′ to right and left centerfield and 408′ to dead center. That makes it the biggest park most college baseball players will ever play in. Florida’s McKethen Stadium is 329′ to left, 325′ to right and 400′ to center, while South Carolina’s Carolina Stadium is 325′ down both lines and 390′ to center.

Remember, Rosenblatt was home to a Triple-A baseball team with bigger and stronger players who needed the bigger dimensions.

The argument for the bigger dimensions seems to be that they are the “great equalizer” for teams once they reach Omaha. Whether it’s a team like Texas with its small ball style or Florida, which ended the season with 69 home runs, no team would have an advantage over others in Omaha.

However, what TDA lacks is the strong southern winds that were prominent at the top of the hill at Rosenblatt that helped push balls out of the yard. TDA sits in the bottom of a valley and with home plate situated roughly ninety degrees clockwise from home plate at Rosenblatt, the winds are more likely to blow in than out.

It’s an easy fix, move the plate five feet and let the game be played.

The Big Picture

A shot from outside the old Rosenblatt Stadium

Sean: There’s no doubt that as an overall facility, TD Ameritrade is an upgrade from Rosenblatt. However, newer and more modern doesn’t mean everything is better.

There is a big difference between a “stadium” and a “ballpark”. The name TD Ameritrade “Park” is a misnomer. It is a stadium. There is no “ballpark” feel. It is all concrete and steel and lacking in emotion and nostalgia…kind of like the NCAA.

Keep it corporate, there’s no time for feelings here!

Put it this way, remember when the Chicago White Sox built the new Comiskey Park (now U.S. Cellular Field) back in 1991? They trumpeted the place as the “Eighth wonder of the world”. It was shiny and new and had all of the most modern amenities (it also had a view of the train yards and projects on the South Side…anything but wonderful). The next year Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened with its “retro ballpark feel” in Baltimore. Guess which one has been the model teams around the country have tried to replicate since? (Hint-it’s not the one with the corporate name.)

That’s my biggest gripe with TDA. I can’t fault the city for wanting a new stadium, but they act like it was required to build one without a soul. Go to Oklahoma City, Lansing, MI, Bridgewater, NJ and all points in between. Ballparks there have the feeling of a “ball park” not an overblown corporate event attended by Sterling, Cooper & Price et al.

When the Yankees built the new Yankee Stadium they didn’t forsake their past. While they might have done a better job to project things like wind tunnels in right field, they did everything they could to make it as much like the House That Ruth Built when they erected the new yard.

The left field concession area...can you see it?

TDA is also sorely lacking in color. Those sandy, tan concessions in left field look like they’re trying to hide from a camel in the desert. Would it hurt to dress them up? How about painting all that gray steel dark green (like they do at most parks) to set some contrast from the Qwest Center and all the other cold steel and glass in the background?

Rosenblatt wasn’t just unique for its structure, it was painted bright blue and red. It screamed “something fun’s happening here”. TDA screams…well, does it scream anything? The only bright colors there are the red on the sign across the street at The Dugout and those red structures at the corner of 10th and Cumming..

Every year at the College World Series a few happenings stand out that will long be remembered by fans, players and the media. Here are our top ten from 2011:

1. The new stadium – Omaha unveiled its shiny new big-league style $131 million dollar stadium.
2. George W. Bush - Threw out first pitch and out-chatted ESPN analysts in the booth. (game 1)
3. Five infielders – Pulling out all the stops to beat South Carolina, Texas A&M pulls an outfielder and inserts a fifth fielder into the infield  (game 4). They lost anyway.
4. Kent Emanuel - UNC’s freshman pitcher threw a complete game shutout to send the Texas Longhorns home as the first 2011 0-2 team. (game 5)
5. Wicked Weather – We knew things could get ugly when the Weather Channel crews showed up in Omaha for Day 3 of the series. High winds and rain from a storm cell that generated numerous tornadoes west of town caused the Florida-Vandy game to be postponed delayed until the next morning. The entire stadium, including the press box, was evacuated upon arrival of the storm.
6. California Bears – Thanks to the fundraising efforts of  boosters, the Cal Bears overcame elimination of the baseball program and qualified to compete in Omaha’s eight-team tournament.
7. Outfield Fence – Created controversy in the first game of the series when a Florida home run ball was rule a double by the home plate umpire.
8. Connor Harrell – Vanderbilt’s centerfielder became the “Home Run King” of TD Ameritrade Park hitting two bombs during the series. He says he was just trying to hit line drives and was able to get them up into the jet stream.
9. South Carolina - Won the “battle” and their second national championship in two years after overcoming injuries, loaded bases, extra innings and the nations top pitchers.
10. Scott Wingo - Second baseman for South Carolina, came of age as a college baseball icon, earning the designation as Most Outstanding Player for turning multiple double-plays along with great hitting and base running.

Find everything you could possibly want in officially licensed College World Series gear at The Dugout – your one stop for the most officially licensed 2011 College World Series apparel!

The Dugout, located right across the street from the Road To Omaha statue outside TD Ameritrade Stadium. If you can’t make it to Omaha, simply follow this link to Dugouthats.com. You’ll save 20% on your order when you enter the coupon code CB360!

Some of the traditions may be gone, but the fans are not. After nearly a week of play and amusement at Omaha’s sparkling new TD Ameritrade Park, I can report that the College World Series is alive and well. In fact, total attendance through one week of games at the new park was approximately 9,000 higher than the final year at Rosenblatt. Frankly, that stat surprised me.

South Carolina fan Zack Boyd in front of the Road to Omaha Statue

Take South Carolina fan Zack Boyd for example. He won’t miss the traditions and lore of Rosenblatt. That’s because he never experienced it. This is his first time in Omaha. He made the 18-hour drive from Columbia, S.C., to be here to support his title-defending Gamecocks.

“The stadium is great and so is the food,” Boyd said after three days in Omaha. “All the different college teams out here and whatnot. The people are also very friendly. I’ll stay here the whole time if my team repeats.”

Alanna Fortune is a new CWS fan too. “It seems like a really nice stadium. I love it!” she said.

Alanna and Cash Fortune at 2011 College World Series

Alanna and her husband Cash were in Omaha to celebrate three years of marriage.

“I’m surprised how loud it is here in person, ” Cash told me. “It seems so quiet on tv. The crowd is really into it.”

Cash got bit by the CWS bug in 2008 when his father and groomsmen took him to the College World Series to celebrate his bachelor party. This is his third time back in four years.

Cash informed me that the couple had spent their honeymoon in Denver … so they could attend a Rockies game at Coors Field.

Emily Poeschl has made the adjustment to the new stadium. The Omaha resident was a big fan of Rosenblatt. Having thrown out the first pitch at an Omaha Royals game during Rosenblatt’s final season, Poeschl even had a sentimental attachment to Rosenblatt.

After day-1 of the College World Series, her feelings about the new arrangement were unmistakable. “The new stadium and downtown location are a huge improvement!” she said.

It seems a new leaf in Omaha’s College World Series experience has been turned over. The memories of Rosenblatt Stadium remain with those who experienced it, and a new era is here to stay.

Check out all the 2011 College World Series action in the CB360 photo albums>>

Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor discusses his team’s heartbreaking loss to South Carolina that ended the Cavaliers’ season.

Florida Headed to Championship Series, Vanderbilt Home

Game 11: Vanderbilt 4-10-1,  Florida 6-13-0
Final Stats | Vandy Recap | Florida Recap | Photos

Near-perfect baseball weather (overcast, low 70s, light breeze) greeted fans and players for Game 11 of the 2011 College World Series between Southeastern Conference rivals Vanderbilt and Florida.

Florida players stop to sign autographs after win over Vanderbilt

With the loser facing elimination from the tournament, both teams pulled out all the stops, battling back and forth deep into the game. In the end, Florida capitalized on a couple of 8th-inning bunts that were poorly handled by Vandy third baseman Jason Esposito and ace pitcher Sonny Gray – as the Gators went on to the 6-4 win.

By winning this semifinal elimination game, Florida advances to the championship series on Monday to face the winner of the Bracket One series between South Carolina and Virginia.

Vanderbilt slugger and third-round draft pick Aaron Westlake jacked a solo homer in the first inning to give Vandy the early lead. Florida evened the score with a run by Cody Dent in the bottom of the third, when the first baseman Westlake appeared to struggle with knowing how to play a ball bunted to him by Preston Tucker. Westlake decided to tag Tucker, allowing Dent to run from third to home.

Vanderbilt did not score again until the seventh inning while Florida put up two runs in the fourth and another in the sixth. Trailing 4-3 in the top of the seventh, Vanderbilt rightfielder Mike Yastrzemski scored on Connor Harrell‘s RBI single. Vandy then loaded the bases and scored another run when Nick Morande walked Bryan Johns, advancing Conrad Gregor to home.

Score after seven innings: Florida 4, Vanderbilt 2

Nolan Fontana and Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan

Vanderbilt made it interesting in the eighth by tying the score after Curt Casali, Yastrzemski and Esposito loaded the bases, on base hits. Casali scored when Gregor was hit by an Austin Maddox pitch. After Westlake struck out,  Esposito outran the throw from the third baseman Dent for an infield single, loading the bases with only one out. Casali scored when Gregor was hit by a pitch on a 2-0 count. Harrell then lined out to short and Esposito was thrown out at third.

In the bottom of the eighth, Florida rightfielder Daniel Piggot reached on a single to right-center. Dent then singled on what should have been a routine out at first – as Grey’s throw was off the mark but not ruled an error. Nolan Fontana then reached on a similar botched play, loading the bases as Gray quickly was relieved by right-hander Will Clinard.

Lefty Corey Williams later was sent to the mound to face Florida the lefthande-hitting Tucker. Tucker’s base hit drove in Pigott to give Florida a 5-4 edge. With only one out and the bases loaded, Vanderbilt made another change on the mound – with RHP Mark Lamm squaring off against Mike Zunino, who went down in TD Ameritrade Park history for the first broken bat in a CWS game (it turns out the new bats are more like wood than we first thought!). Zunino ultimately struck out swinging but Dent scored one more for Florida on a wild pitch by Mark Lamm to end the inning with a score of 6-4.

With two outs in the top of the ninth, Westlake tried to keep Vandrebilt’s hopes alive with a double to right-center. The game ended with Casali’s flyout to left.

– Notes –

• Florida is the fourth straight (and fourth different) SEC team to reach the CWS Finals. Georgia, LSU and South Carolina advanced to the final the three previous years. This also is the second time the Gators have reached the CWS Finals (they were the national runner-up to Texas in 2005).

• No SEC school has won national championships in football, men’s basketball and baseball – but Florida now has the chance to complete that trifecta if the Gators can win two more games. If Florida pulls off the feat, all of the championships (two each already in hoops and football) will have come in the past five years.

• Vanderbilt (54-12) lost only 12 times this season, but five of those losses were to Florida. They beat the Gators once in the six meetings.

• Seven home runs have been hit so far at the 2011 College World Series and Vanderbilt hit four of them.

• The Florida bullpen had walked only two batters in 28.2 innings prior to this afternoon, but Gator reliever Nick Maronde walked two straight in the seventh inning.

– Quotable –

“To be honest with you, nothing against the other two coaches, but I hope [the Gators] go off and win it. Tough ballgame, obviously, for us and the way it ended.” – Vanderbilt Coach Tim Corbin

“This is the best year I’ve ever had. And I love all these guys, and it’s making memories. This is history. You’ll never forget about it.” – Aaron Westlake

Eight of the nine outs Danny Hultzen recorded Friday vs. South Carolina were via strikeout.

South Carolina and Virginia Help Break In New Stadium With 13-Inning Thriller

Game 12: South Carolina 3, Virginia 2
Final Stats | VA Recap | SC Recap | Photos

The talk around Omaha lately has been that TD Ameritrade Park just needs a few classic moments to break it in. After tonight’s instant classic, we can consider the new home of the College World Series to be broke like a barrel-racing mustang. South Carolina took 13 innings to beat Virginia by  a score of  3-2 and advance to the 2011 College World Series championship series. The Gamecocks will play Florida in a best-of-3 series on Monday, June 27, at 6:00 p.m. CT.

Early on, it appeared this would be a relatively short game, given how few pitches were thrown in the first three innings. In the end it would be one of  the longest games in College World Series history. Virginia scored first on a sacrifice fly by centerfielder Kenny Swab that drove in Steven Proscia.

After three innings, Virginia coach Kevin O’Connor made the surprise move of the game by pulling the second overall MLB draft pick Danny Hultzen from the lineup (Hultzen had struck out eight batters in three innings). Coach O’Connor later revealed that Hultzen was ill.

With Kyle Crockett on the mound for Virginia, Christian Walker and Jackie Bradley, Jr. scored runs for South Carolina in the bottom of the fourth when Brady Thomas doubled to left-center.

A stalemate tug-of-war ensued for three full innings, until Virginia’s Chris Taylor tied the score on a John Hicks linedrive that was misplayed by the shortstop Peter Mooney. The inning ended with a textbook 1-4-3 double play when Proscia hit a tapper back to sidearmer John Taylor.

At the time when an ordinary game usually would have been wrapping up, the tension and emotions began to amp up – for the teams and the fans. Both teams put themselves in plenty of scoring positions over the next five innings. Virginia loaded the bases three times after the ninth inning. but left the door open for South Carolina to win in the bottom of those innings.

To the top of the 13th – Gamecocks cloerer Matt Price walked David Coleman, then Colin Harrington outran the throw from shortstop and Keith Werman laid down a bunt to get on first with nobody covering. Chris Taylor came to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs. With a 2-2 count, Price tossed a breaking ball and Taylor swung past the ball for the first up. Moments later, John Barr who lined into a 4-6 double play and the Gamecocks had escaped again.

In South Carolina’s final time at bat, Thomas set the table by ripping a base hit to center. Adam Matthews was sent in to run for Thomas and Mooney laid down a bunt to the pitcher Cody Winiarsk, whose throw to second was wide and carried into center field. Robert Beary then laid  down a sacrifice bunt and Winiarski again was errant on the throw (this time to third) – allowing Matthews to score the winning run.

– Quotable –

“That was a baseball game of a lot of emotions, a lot of gut decisions, both teams taking a lot of chances. It’s unfortunate that we had to come out on the wrong end of it. I’ve got a tremendous amount of pride in this team and what they’ve accomplished this year.” –Virginia Coach Brian O’Connor

– Notes –

• South Carolina now has won a record 14 straight NCAA Tournament games, dating back to the 2010 College World Series. They were 3-0 at this year’s Regional, 2-0 in the Super Regional and now 3-0 in the 2011 CWS (after winning five straight in Omaha a year ago).

• All four starting pitchers in today’s two games were drafted by MLB teams earlier this month. Virginia’s Danny Hultzen was selected #2 overall by the Seattle Mariners, Vanderbilt’s Sonny Gray was the 18th pick (Oakland A’s), Florida starter Alex Panteliodis was a 9th-round pick (N.Y. Mets) and South Carolina’s Michael Roth was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 31st round. Roth entered the day with the best season ERA (0.97) among those four pitchers.

• The closers logged extended duty Friday night. Virginia’s Branden Kline struck out seven in 5.0 shutout innings and threw 107 pitches. South Carolina’s Matt Price kept the Cavs scoreless for 5.2 innings, with five strikeouts and five walks on 95 pitches. That’s 10.2 total shutout innings and 202 total pitches for two of the best closers in the country.

• With an all-SEC CWS Finals set, the conference is guaranteed to have its third straight national champion.

Virginia pitching coach Karl Kuhn

Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan discusses his team’s win over Vanderbilt that advanced the Gators to the 2011 CWS Finals.