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BANK ONE BALLPARK
Phoenix, Ariz.
Opened: 1998
Capacity: 49,033
Average Ticket Price: $19.24
Avg. Cost of Concessions & Souvenirs: $69.01
Pluses:
Stadium is located within walking distance of downtown Phoenix; more than 30,000 parking spaces are available within a 15-minute walk of the ballpark; shuttle buses available to park from Tucson.

Minuses:
Little public transportation to the stadium; downtown traffic often as congested as a head cold; while team-run parking costs a thrifty $8-$10, the D'backs operate fewer than 2,000 spaces.
There's no better way to cool off while watching a baseball game on a hot day in Arizona than by taking a dip in the center field pool.
Photo by AP
Swimming pool in centerfield can be rented for parties of 35 people; Playhouse behind center field scoreboard offers a variety of baseball-related interactive video games for kids of all ages; a bevy of handicapped-accessible seating (987); plentiful restroom facilities and concession stands (68).
The Diamondbacks' home is no different than those of most Arizonans: it has a pool and central air-conditioning. Those are two of the B.O.B's coolest features. The retractable roof guarantees that most games are played in a twilight setting, which has an oddly soothing effect on the crowd. Unless it's Game 7 of the World Series against the Yankees, this is one laid-back scene. -- John Walters  
Fifteen years ago downtown Phoenix was a graveyard at night, home to a bus depot and myriad transients. The 1998 opening of the B.O.B. (and neighboring America West Arena, which debuted five years earlier) changed everything. Dozens of watering holes surround the ballpark, including the ever-popular Alice Cooperstown (home to the 2-foot long hot dog, The Big Unit) and the Leinenkugel Ballyard Brewery. Now central Phoenix is a popular destination even if you don't have tickets to the game. --John Walters  
2005 Record: 61-72 (all statistics through Aug. 29)
Players worth price of admission: Troy Glaus (.263 BA, 29 HR, 82 RBI), Shawn Green (.291 BA, 21 HR, 70 RBI), Luis Gonzalez (.276 BA. 19 HR, 68 RBI).  
The pool, the retractable roof, the bars sprouting about the neighborhood - the B.O.B. is a spectacle in the desert. But with so much to do, does anyone care about the team's lack of direction? Sure, life at the park is easy but, as fans in any of the new pleasure palaces are in danger of finding out, it's easy to be lulled into a state of complacency only to wake up one day and find your team's immediate future is dim.  

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