Year Opened: 2009
Capacity: 10,000 (7,600 seats, 1,200 specialty seats, 1,200 lawn/SRO spots)
Number of Suites: 32, with 42 loge boxes
Owner: Franklin County
Architect: 360 Architecture
Naming Rights: Huntington Bank, $12 million
Dimensions: 325L, 365LC, 400C, 365RC, 318R
Website: clippersbaseball.com
Phone: 614/462-2757
Ticket Prices: Box Seats, $12 in advance, $15 day of game; Reserved Seats, $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and children twelve years old and under; Assigned Bleacher Seat General Admission, $6 for adults, $3 for seniors and children twelve years old and under.
League: International League (Class AAA)
Affiliation: Cleveland Indians
Parking: Between $3 and $10 in adjoining lots and ramps.
Address/Directions: 330 Huntington Park Lane, Columbus, Ohio 43215. Huntington Park Lane runs on the west side of the ballpark, away from the main gates. The ballpark is just down Nationwide Boulevard from Nationwide Arena; from any freeway we would suggest following the signs to Nationwide Arena, as ballpark signage is not yet up.

Joe Santry, the longtime PR director of the Columbus Clippers, was all smiles when we bumped into him in the press box of Huntington Park during our first visit to the ballpark. It was the day after Huntington Park opened, and Santry still had the glow of someone basking in a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“Everything went perfectly last night,” he said. “Absolutely perfect.”

Perfect is a good word to describe Huntington Park; it’s not an exaggeration to say Franklin County, the Columbus Clippers and 360 Architecture may have pulled off the ultimate ballpark, on any level. Combining a strong sense of place with the latest in ballpark features and an outstanding site, the creators of Huntington Park got everything right, creating a deep sense of place in a facility that’s only been open a few weeks. It does provide the ultimate baseball experience, providing an amazing level of intimacy in a venue seating over 10,000.

One recent trend in ballparks – and one we’ve spoke of in very favorable terms in new ballparks – has been the creation of discrete seating areas within the ballpark. When done awkwardly, as was the case in Great American Ball Park, these discrete areas tend to isolate fans in their own private Idahos. When done correctly, as is the case in Fort Wayne’s Parkview Field, these areas meld together into a shared baseball experience.

The view from Nationwide Boulevard.

It was done perfectly in Huntington Park, where you don’t even notice the many segmented seating areas. The first discrete area is actually outside the ballpark: right-center field abuts the street, and instead of putting up a wall or fence cutting off the ballpark, the designed opted to put up screens. Since the playing field is below grade, fans can watch the game from outside the ballpark, looking down at the action from Nationwide Boulevard. The Giants do this to great effect at AT&T Park; the Clippers do the same in Huntington Park.

The second and third levels of the grandstand hook around the foul pole and extend into right field, above these field-level screens. This area features bar seating and drink rails. You still have a clear view of the entire field, even on the third level. We imagine these seats will evolve into a prime spots for twentysomethings to meet; the seating is intimate and made for small groups, a la a sports bar.

Of course, there’s a real sports bar at the ballpark, and it’s a doozy. The Arena District of downtown Columbus is a mix of the old and the new, with plenty of older industrial and warehouse spaces mixing in with new parking ramps, office space and condos. When we approached the ballpark, we assumed the AEP Pavilion located beyond the left-field bleacher seating and concourse had been there for decades, although it is a freestanding building constructed along with the ballpark. On the first floor of the building are the team shop and concession stands. On the third level are a group area and a separate concessions area, along with rooftop bleachers – two more discrete areas that do not make fans feel cut off from the rest of the ballpark.

The second level contains the noteworthy sports bar (called, fittingly, the Left Field Bar & Grille), featuring a long bar, plenty of tables, and six balconies jutting over the concourse. This space also features the largest collection of sports memorabilia we’ve seen displayed at a ballpark outside of a designated museum. Every aspect of Columbus baseball history is lovingly detailed in the hundreds and hundreds of photos, playing equipment (some used almost a century ago) and other flotsam displayed in cases and on the walls. The Clippers and predecessors spent long stints as Yankees and Cardinals farm teams, while the area also hosted Negro Leagues teams. (When we asked Santry how long it took to put together the collection, his comeback was quick: “Forty years.”) Each era of Columbus baseball is lovingly detailed on pillar displays, with players like Bill Wright – one of the many Negro Leagues players never receiving their due in baseball history – highlighted. The trip through Columbus baseball history begin in the staircase leading up to the second level, where hand-painted murals featuring the faces of Yankees prospects are hung, reclaimed from Cooper Stadium, the team’s former home and one of the great historic venues of baseball.