Accessibility Review: Chase Field - Section 107W, 4th Street Garage, etc.

Date of Visit: June 1, 2025

Since we moved from DC in 2020, we have not been to a baseball game. Every summer we considering planning a trip to visit the new Rangers ballpark, but it just does not work out. This year, though, when we were planning our trip to Arizona, Mik did not really want to go until he noticed the Nationals were playing the Diamondbacks that weekend and we got tickets to go to a game.

Tickets - Purchasing and Using Hassle

One would think over the years with technology buying tickets would get easier. At least you can buy the accessible seats online nowadays, but I found it a pain to zoom in and out trying to see where the available seats were. Then I finally found a section with availability in the wheelchair row and the row in front of it, but it would not let me buy 2 seats in the row in front because it would strand a single seat by itself even when I was trying to let the single seat be left on the aisle. I think I could have bought four in the wheelchair row, but we did not all need to be in that row, so I ended up getting the other 2 seats a few rows down instead.

This was our first time using mobile tickets for a baseball game as a whole family. I had all the tickets on my phone only because why go through the hassle of getting them to the others, especially Mom, when we were going to enter together anyways. Well, they only let one person go in the wheelchair line with the wheelchair and the security and ticket line is the same thing (if I remember correctly, our only other experience is Nats Park and you go through security and then you can reunite before you get to the ticket scanners). They just have you tell them the other group has the tickets and Dad and Mik were in taking pictures with the Gonzo mascot before Mom and I got through and had them scan all 4 tickets. I get that they do not want most to go through the regular security, but they really need to better set up for scanning the tickets if you cannot keep your group together. Later only me ahving the mobile tickets also would have been an issue if someone other than me sat with Mik because the usher checked our tickets twice before leaving us alone that we were in fact in our purchased seats (well, we were slightly over one because it is not clearly marked, but that was not an issue because there was no one to left or right of us).

Section 107W

Mik liked the view from this section as you could easily see the scoreboard and the whole field, although I think the foul pole is kind of in the way. Over a section to the right the foul pole probably would not be in the way, but then you would probably be too far over to be able to look over to the right and see the Circle K strikeout meter, which has always been our favorite part of the B.O.B./Chase Field.

4th Street Parking Garage

I pre-purchased parking for the 4th Street, which was convenient to know we had parking as it did end up sold out for that garage. However, we got there slightly before the gates opened and the parking lot already had all the accessible spaces taken. We did at least manage a spot at the end of a ramp that worked out good for unloading. Loading back in was a little scary because cars were exiting down that ramp and coming close to the truck when turning. Dad ended up folding out the Tommy Gate, which we do not need to do for the manual chair, but it made the cars turn the other direction instead. The biggest problem with this garage was after the game it took 4 elevators before we could get back up because despite there being four elevators, only one was running after game (it was not even the same one we had used to get down) and because the club level enters garage at a different level sometimes it came down to the ground level full because they apparently were riding it down to go up. At least there were not that many people trying to use them.

Kj's Baseball Collection: Inaugural Season SunTrust Park

Mik's Mini Bat Collection: Inaugural Season SunTrust Park

Mik's Food Scrapbook: SunTrust Park

At SunTrust Park, Mik tried the buffalo fries from Potato Cutter. He enjoyed them, but they were messy and spicy. The Potato Cutter also has a seasonings bar to flavor your fries how you want and Dad and I enjoyed the regular fries with garlic onion seasoning.

I also got a Tomahawk Chop with Butterfinger topping. It was good, but also messy as the chocolate fell off almost right away.

SunTrust Park

Date of Visit: July 14, 2017

Since a new ballpark opened, we had to go to the ballpark for a family vacation this year. We choose the game based on when the Dbacks were in town. Interestingly, the Dbacks ended up in town for Mom’s birthday, which was the same time we did Atlanta on our 2009 ballpark trip and we had even gotten her a ticket to join us that game, but she didn’t due to work and joined us in St. Louis for a game instead.

We ended up parking in Lot 29, which is what I repurchased for parking when I bought the tickets. When I was buying tickets I couldn’t find any parking map that had the same labels as the online ticket system so I kind of had to guess what seemed the closest. This isn’t the closest, but it wasn’t too bad of a walk up the hill and over the bridge to the ballpark. Also, when we were walking out of the parking lot they asked if we wanted the shuttle, so it doesn’t seem difficult to utilize that service if needed at least to get to the park (not at all sure about the after game logistics of that).

The gates were open when we got there and we tried to go in like everybody else in the middle ones and they told us we had to go over to the media entrance with the wheelchair. That’s fine, but the real problem is we get there and only one person gets to go in with him. So I then had to go back to where there was now lines of five to ten people at every gate. Nats park sometimes does it like that, too, but they specifically only send one person with the wheelchair. Also, I know for a fact a person in a wheelchair had just been allowed through the metal detector entrance instead of going around, so it’s certainly not a consistent or fair process and they are way too far into the season for any excuse to the total confusion for the entrance experience.

Once inside the way we came in there are steps down to the concourse. There is also a ramp to the left, which we used to get down, as well as elevators, but the elevator lobby is before they scan your tickets and when you come in it looks like it’s only for those going to suites, although we used them later to get to our seats and they really seem to be for general use.

We walked all the way around the main concourse before heading up to our seats. Overall we found it felt too small and crowded. That may partially have been because it was a Friday fireworks and bobblehead game, so a lot of people were there and there early. However, it really is nowhere near as wide a concourse as say like Nationals Park, which also can be crowded at times but it takes many more people to do it. Also, there are a lot of lines for team stores taking up space, which were almost Opening Day type bad that we never even went into the big team store and just got our bat and ball at the little shop by our seats in Section 339.

The one thing that we liked about the main concourse was the monument area, which seems to basically be some of the stuff from the museum that was a separate admission thing in Turner Field. It is kind of nice that it is now accessed as really a feature of the ballpark, but then it ends up more crowded and it’s kind of more like walking through the numbers at Yankee Stadium except it isn’t manned (or even have signs) to make it so that traffic flows in just one direction, which it appears is how it is designed to be done.

Overall our impressions of SunTrust Park were that it’s not a better ballpark and in fact worse. However, the actual view and seats were as good if not better, so at least the actual game experience is still good. Of course, it would’ve been better if the Dbacks won, but at least it was a close game the whole time.

Of course, Mik was happy they had cupholders for each spot in the wheelchair row. It even gets a bonus on the cupholder rating because the folding chairs in the wheelchair row also have one on them.

Destination Info:
SunTrust Park
755 Battery Avenue Southeast
Atlanta, GA 30339

Mik's Food Scrapbook: Loaded Tots at Nationals Park

While Mik didn't so much enjoy watching his Dbacks lose to the Nats yesterday, he did enjoy the new loaded tots. He tried the BBQ pulled pork ones, which also has mac and cheese on them. I had the crab ones, which were also tasty, but they didn't really seem loaded as the amount of topping to tot ratio is heavy on the tots.

Arizona Diamondbacks at Washington Nationals - September 29, 2016

Watching the Dbacks at Nats in the rain sure makes us miss when the annual tradition was seeing the Nats at Dbacks at the BOB. At least it didn't get rained out.