[W683]Where To Go Toronto

With over 200 straight sellouts and the diminutive Fenway Park
(capacity 36,298) as their home, the Boston Red Sox are one of
the hottest tickets in Major League baseball (MLB). If you are part
of Red Sox Nation, the innumerable fans who live and die by each
pitch and swing of the bat, and can't get through the turnstiles of
the home park, there is an alternative-road trip!

Many fans have found it to be fairly economical to take a
mini-vacation on the weekend or use a week's worth of summer
leave and follow the team to opponent stadiums. Red Sox players
have noted that they get a lot of support everywhere they go, and
although many of those people are transplants from New England
or natives of that particular region who love their Sox Red, others
are part of a growing group of fans from the Boston area who can't
get enough of their team in the home setting.

Some away venues, such as Yankee Stadium and Citizens
Bank Park in Philadelphia are tough tickets to get, but there are
many stadiums where good seats are still available. Here are a
few places you may want to go to help make the away team feel
like they are at home.

Comerica Park, Detroit

Comerica Park is the home of the Detroit Tigers and it is
one of those venues that, with everything else it offers, also
seems to have a ball game going on somewhere. If you're used to
Fenway and you've never been to a game at a place like Comerica,
you may be overwhelmed by the amenities, spaciousness and
opportunities.

The park is in the center of an urban village that includes
shops, restaurants, offices and many other features. Yes, there is
a Ferris wheel and a pedestrian museum that goes around the
main concourse. Other attractions in the area include various
casinos and the Henry Ford Museum.

The Tigers have not had a good team in a long time and
that means you can get fine seats for just about any game.
Outfield boxes at $25 a seat are not difficult to get if you want to
go and see the Red Sox.

Rogers Centre, Toronto

The Blue Jays have certainly upgraded their team but great
seats are still relatively easy to get. The Rogers Centre has a
retractable roof, the J Force (a team of Hip Hop and Break Dancers
performing for fans), a season-long highest speed pitching cage
contest and a 50/50 drawing every Saturday.

If you're hoping to sing the national anthem at the Rogers
Centre, please note that your audition tape must contain the
American and then the Canadian national anthems. Be sure to
include contact information with your CD or tape and once you
send it in don't contact them; they'll call you if they're interested.

You can buy exceptional field box tickets between home
and first for around $42. Remember that hockey is king in Canada
and baseball is not this country's national pastime. So become an
international traveler, enjoy one of the most beautiful cities in
North America, and catch a three-game series in an open-air
ballpark where there's never a rainout.


Tropicana Field, Tampa Bay

The Trop has plenty of great, cheap seats all season long.
It's called ¡°the ballpark of the 21st century,¡± and about 10 years
ago the venue underwent an $85 million renovation. Like many
newer parks, it has a primary concourse-Centerfield Street-that
features various specialty shops and restaurants. Included in the
area, where you can still watch the game, is MLB's first in-stadium
cigar bar-the Cuesta-Rey Cigar Bar.

The park is under a dome and, unlike any other domed field
presently in the majors, has artificial turf and all dirt base paths.
All other in-door facilities have only areas around the bases with
dirt and then artificial turf on the rest of the running area.

Forty-seven dollars will get you a seat on the field level of
the Trop. Not only will you get to see two teams that have
developed a lot of bad blood between them, but you'll get to hear
the Tampa Bay Heckler, Robert Szasz, also know as ¡°The loud
guy.¡±

Szasz goes to every home game dressed in a Devil Rays
shirt and hat and loudly heckles the visiting team, usually hurling
his abuse at one player. He's loud (you can hear him on radio and
television casts), but he's also clean. If you're not up for a close
encounter with Szasz and his booming voice, don't sit near home
plate.


McAfee Coliseum, Oakland

Go west, young fan, go west! If you're California
Dreaming, then Oakland may be the perfect place for you to catch
your Sox. McAfee Coliseum is a multi-use stadium with 50,000
seats! Tailgating is permitted outside the park, something you
can't imagine doing around Fenway.

For a west coast venue, the stadium seems to have a rich
history, including claiming to be the first stadium where ¡°The
Wave¡± was first performed on October 15, 1981. Fenway fans,
which may be the only group that still performs The Wave, may find
a pilgrimage to the site a life-changing experience (then again,
maybe not). The bay area, including San Francisco, is easily
accessible, making this a great vacation trip.

Oakland teams are built on pitching and fielding. You
should see some fine ballgames at McAfee Park, the home of the
game changing, progressive GM Billy Bean and Money Ball. You
won't be sitting at field level but for $40 a pop you'll be able to
look down on the game from far above.

Turner Field, Atlanta

Want to see one of the best teams in the American League
take on one of the best clubs in the Senior Circuit? You won't get
prime seats like you will in Toronto or Tampa Bay, but you will find
tickets available for Inter-league play between Boston and Atlanta.

At Turner Field the Braves claim that there are 101 things
to do, including watching a ball game! Other things you can indulge
in include making your own baseball bat (think ¡°The Natural¡±),
engaging in the non-P.C. ¡°Chop Rally,¡± and taking a picture with
Scooby Doo. (Why would anyone want to watch Andruw Jones
play?) The venue also contains a very fine baseball museum.

The city of Atlanta possesses a rich cultural heritage,
historic sites and the CNN Center, which includes the news giant, a
shopping mall, convention center and hotel.

For $15 you can find a seat in the upper deck and enjoy a
bird's eye view of the BoSox battle with Atlanta. This is baseball at
its best, with your home team taking on one of the best home
teams in all of baseball.

If you are considering a short jaunt or a longer excursion to
one or more of these out-of-town settings, be sure to buy tickets
ahead of time. Presently, it's fairly easy to purchase seats for most
of these venues, with games that are scheduled later in the
season being plentiful.

It's baseball season-get away, enjoy a different city, and
spread the spirit of Red Sox Nation across the land. With Big Papi,
Manny, Schill and Tech taking the field, you'll feel right at home and
so will they.