AT&T Park
San Francisco, CA

Located at the edge of downtown San Francisco and the San Francisco Bay, AT&T Park is one of the best ballparks in baseball with its design and breathtaking views. The idea and planning for new ballpark to replace Candlestick Park dates back 1976 when Bob Lurie bought the Giants. Lurie wanted to build a new downtown stadium for the Giants because of the financial losses they were suffering at Candlestick Park. Interest in a ballpark peaked in 1984 when Lurie nearly sold the team. Instead of building a downtown ballpark, city officials proposed placing a dome over Candlestick Park. That plan failed and in 1987 and 1989 San Francisco voters rejected plans to build a ballpark. Both plans were barely defeated and Lurie began threatening to move the Giants. Lurie looked to Santa Clara in 1990 and San Jose in 1992 for public funding, but citizens rejected both referendums. With the threatened move to Florida, Peter Magowan bought the Giants in 1992, keeping the team in the Bay City. In 1995, the Giants announced plans to build the first privately financed Major League ballpark since Dodger Stadium. It would be located in downtown San Francisco in the China Basin area. Construction of the steel, concrete and brick ballpark began on December 11, 1997. Naming rights were sold to Pacific Bell for $50 million over 24 years, thus the ballpark was named Pacific Bell Park. After the 2003 season, Pacific Bell Park was renamed SBC Park after SBC Communications Inc. acquisition of Pacific Bell. In February 2006, the ballpark was renamed AT&T Park after SBC Communications changed its named after its acquisition of AT&T.

On April 11, 2000, the Giants played their first regular season baseball game at AT&T Park. Nestled in the China Basin area on the outskirts of downtown San Francisco, as fans approach the ballpark they see a magnificent steel and brick structure. At the main entrance gate, a statue of one of the greatest players in baseball history, Willie Mays, can be found. Making up part of the exterior architecture of AT&T Park are the the King Street clock towers. The two towers are 122 feet tall and feature pyramid-shaped roofs topped by 45-foot tall flagpoles. Once inside, fans are engulfed with views of the Bay Area and the smells of garlic fries and crab cake sandwiches. The main three tier grandstand consists of 41,600 green seats that extend from behind homeplate to both the foul poles. Bleachers are located behind the left field fence. There are no seats behind the right field wall because of McCovey Cove, part of the San Francisco Bay. However a sidewalk outside the ballpark, adjacent to right field, commemorates historical moments in Giants history. A screened fence that is part of the right field fence allows fans without tickets to see the action inside AT&T Park.

AT&T PARK PICTURES