The SHC Summer Institute Sports Writing & Digital Media class spent the day touring AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, and occasionally the home of SHC baseball and football. With notepads in hand, they spent 90 minutes learning about the inner workings of the stadium, the day-to-day business of running a stadium, and the history of the Giants and the park. The following are the students impressions of the experience.
Alicia Cho, 5th Grade
Today was a beautiful day at the ballpark. I learned that the San Francisco Giants stadium was built in 2000. The stadium cost $355 million. First, we went to the media conference room, then we went to the field. After we went to the field, we went to the San Francisco visitors’ locker room. After that, we went to a suite that costs $120,000. Finally, we went to see the World Series trophy.
William Appel, 5th Grade
AT&T Park is good for baseball games and many other things like concerts, soccer games, football games, and many others. I love the Giants’ park even when the Giants aren’t there because every time you can see or do something else. I like watching games more though. The tour we took included visiting the batting cage and clubhouse then to the Coca Cola slide in left field. The most interesting thing we saw was the Giants World Series trophy.
Purva Joshi, 6th Grade
AT&T park is the home of the legend Barry Bonds! It is really fun and there are a lot great facts about it, but the ballpark itself has a great personality. It has a diamond-shaped field and a giant mitt next to the awesome slides that are in the Coke bottle. You can also never forget the one and only 2010 World Series trophy! Did you know the whole stadium was made with private funds, and cost $355 million? Did you also know that the Giants’ first game in the stadium was in April 2000? The coolest thing I learned was that the tobacco they chewed was called bull durham. Another awesome thing was that out of the 61 balls that have been hit into McCovey Cove, Barry Bonds hit 35 of them! AT&T Park is epic when you see all the details like the dugout, field, suites, etc. You guys should see the tour like I did, and live the features of AT&T Park!
Angela Schmidt, Grade 6
Strike one, strike two, strike three, you’re out! Take a tour behind the scenes at AT&T Park in San Francisco. At AT&T, we got to take a little tour around the park and here are a few fast facts about the home of our SF Giants. AT&T Park was built in 2000 and cost about $355,000,000. What made this park special is that unlike other ballparks, AT&T was built with money people donated on their free will, not by collecting taxes. On the tour, first we went to the media conference room, where they interview the players. It felt so cool to be in a place where baseball legends had been. Next, I got to go inside the guest dugout and inside the guest clubhouse and look around. Inside it feels like you are actually a part of the hustle and bustle of a real game. Last, but not least, we got to see the legendary World Series trophy which is so amazing in real life! Well, that was the end of our tour, but we did get to go on the Coca Cola slide which was a very nice ending to our tour. Homerun!
Joseph Recinos
It felt good to go to AT&T Park today for the 1st time. We took the 47 bus to AT&T Park and then we had snack. A couple of minutes later, we went on the tour around the Giants’ stadium. The first room we saw was the media conference room, where we learned about the Giants’ history. It was exciting to hear about the Giants, not only because I like the Giants, but also because it’s a good history to hear once in awhile. The best part of all was going on the field and I was really excited because it was my first time inside the building. I saw everything, including the Coca Cola bottle and I learned that there is a slide inside of it! The tour guide said that we were not supposed to step on the grass, which was disappointing because I wanted to stand where the players hit the ball and run the bases. We all got to go to one of the best suites; it was so beautiful that I felt like living in that room. The tour guide, Ron, said that they rent a suite for $120,000. That is so much money just to be in that room! The cool things were the bases from the old times, and the best of all was seeing the trophy from the 2010 World Series. When I looked at it, I felt so happy because I actually saw the best reward that the Giants ever earned in their life. We ate lunch after that then I went to the Coca Cola slide which was so fun. I think going on the tour was the best adventure of my life and I will be glad if I go there another time.
Erin Louie, Grade 6
AT&T Park is the home of the 2010 World Series champions, the San Francisco Giants. The park offers tours, which we, the SHC sports writing camp, visited today. First we visited the media room, where the Giants players are interviewed after games. The tour guide told us that the ballpark was built in the year 2000. This stadium cost $355,000,000, all the money needed to construct the ballpark was from people’s donations, not taxes. That is why AT&T Park is unique, because most other ballparks are built using taxes. Then we toured the field and visited the Giants’ dugout. Later, the group headed to see the 2010 World Series trophy and the many Giants pins. The AT&T tour was fun and I learned a lot about what happens around AT&T Park.
The SHC Sports & Media class spent the day touring AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, and occassionally the home of SHC baseball and football. With notepads in hand, they spent 90 minutes learning about the inner workings of the stadium, the day-to-day business of running a stadium, and the history of the Giants and the park.