Husky Ballpark
Seattle, WA
Review by Mike
Husky Ballpark is the home of the University of Washington Huskies of the NCAA Division I Big 10 Conference. This fine facility opened in 1998, but it looks like it might have debuted yesterday. The 2,500-seat venue is so sparkling and clean that one wonders if they allow people to even eat food in there. Oh, and it’s purple… very purple.
The stadium is set right on the shore of Union Bay, with views out to the water, where one can watch the legendary Huskies rowing team going through their strokes on a calm day. This area of the campus is jammed with sports venues, including the gigantic football stadium, the 1940s era hockey and basketball arena, soccer field, running track and the boathouse for the rowing team.
The ballpark features a single-level grandstand that wraps from beyond 1st base to beyond 3rd base with purple, fixed-back seating in the middle and metal bleachers extending down each line. There are no grassy berms or pathways to circle the field. A suite level perches above the grandstand with a press box and hospitality accommodations.
The outfield wall is decorated with banners celebrating past achievements and one retired jersey, that of two-time Cy Young Award winning pitcher Tim Lincecum. There are no concessions on the concourse above the seats. For that, you need to walk down the stairs and, essentially, outside the stadium to the outer concourse where you’ll find restrooms and foodstuffs.
The outside of the ballpark has banners that call out Husky greats of the past. One minor quibble is that the foul territory seems unnaturally large for a venue of this size. Perhaps it could have been made a little more intimate. Still, this is a ballpark befitting a major Division I university program, with a nice view, comfortable seating and enough purple to induce Barney flashbacks.
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2026
301
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