UPDATE: If you found this post while looking for tickets to 2014 Orioles Opening Day, we have some for sale. Please see This Post.
After more than twenty years of ballgames in downtown Baltimore it’s been pretty well established that when it comes to Oriole Park at Camden Yards there really isn’t a bad seat in the house. Being stuck in the upper rows of the 380’s on a Student Night is about as bad as it gets, and even then you’ve got a full view of the field, an eye-line to the scoreboard, and a five-senses fill of the best atmosphere in all of baseball, and all for around $10.
Being a native Baltimorean and a fan who’s stuck with the team through the lean years (and done our fair share of seat-jumping) we’ve been seated in just about every section in Oriole Park, and we’ve got a few favorites we’d like to share with the ticket-buying public.
The Orioles have a complete guide to the park with a price chart and photo visualizations for every section at their site. It’s a handy tool for picking seats, but it can also be a little overwhelming with so many choices available. So we present here for your baseballing pleasure our top five seating sections at the Yard.
These choices don’t necessarily represent the actual ‘best seats in the house’ which are of course the luxury skyboxes and the front row behind the dugouts and similar high profile, high dollar locations. Our picks are meant to represent the best bet for the casual fan who visits the park a few times a year, and wants to realize a good value for the dollar, particularly at crowded or sold-out games.
Section 8 Sections 8 and 6 are unique in the park because of the way that they’re angled toward the infield. Comparable seats in sections 10-14 and 60-64 may be a bit closer, but they squarely face the outfield and keep fans’ necks turned toward the plate for the entire game. Section 8 is also triangular, getting smaller as you get closer to the field. But perhaps its best feature is its easy access to Eutaw Street. Fans who want to stretch their legs have Boog’s, Dempsey’s, the Flag Court, and the new center field rooftop bar just a few steps away. Be careful though: during a day game you’re staring into the sun and feeling the heat all day.
Section 280 Section 280 is another anomaly on the seating chart. With a view straight down the 3B foul line, it’s the only left field club section that isn’t completely set aside for the left field picnic perch package but also faces the infield directly. At $30, seats in sections 272-280 are the least expensive option on the club level, and frankly any seat in those sections is a bargain. Getting access to the club level with its own separate bars and foodservice and bathrooms is worth every penny of whatever premium you pay over comparable tickets, and as a bonus you can scoop up as many free peanuts as you want from the barrel on the 280’s concourse.
Section 308 If funds are tight and the game is going to be crowded, section 308 is a great bet. The Right Field nosebleeds are a lot closer to the diamond than the left field nosebleeds, and 308 is a small and almost intimate section which is bounded by the walkway at the back, the rail in front, and the face of the warehouse on one side. at $20 it’s a Flite Deck view without a Flite Deck price.
Section 55, back rows. If you like sitting in the lower bowl, the upper rows of sections 55-65 and 7-17 are the cheapest way to do it. These seats are only $17 and offer a full close up view of the action. You may not be able to see the scoreboard, but you’ll almost certainly be able to catch replays and television angles on one of the many flatscreen monitors in the lower reserve sections. These are also the absolute best seats to have on a possible rain delay date, or on a mid-Summer day game when the heat is out of control.
Section 35 If you’re going to splurge a little on ticket prices, Sections 33-39 are a great choice and will be worth the money. These are small, less crowded sections directly in front of the press box. They’ve got the same sight line as the seats right behind the plate, but we would say even a better view as being up a little higher keeps you in better perspective looking at the outfield. As a bonus you’re also likely to be sitting right next to major league wives and guests, as these are the sections where their comped tickets are usually located. (section view photos via orioles.com.)