Mercer County Waterfront Park

Food:

• 2 huge concession stands featuring the “Thunder Dog” (most economical, good quality hot dog in the minors), chicken sandwiches, nachos, onion rings, fries, etc.  Very good selection of food for a Major of Minor League Stadium! 
• Various other smaller concession stands (ice cream, Italian Ice, “kidcession” stand- low prices)

Parking:

• Parking is a $2 (in 2008) and is close to the stadium

Seating/Stadium Design:

Waterfront Park is situated adjacent to the Delaware River.  This stadium is a lot closer to the water than Campbell’s Field, which is also located next to the Delaware, but the river can barely be seen.  It's frustrating because there is such a beautiful natural feature that is not incorporated as well as it could have been. If you look closely, the river can be seen over the right field fence and along the concourse on the 1st baseline.  They have purposely kept the billboards only one tier high in right field only, in order for fans to be able to see the water.  Speaking of billboards, I realize they are a necessity for funding a Minor League baseball stadium, but for some reason these ads just looked like a mess in left field.  Not one advertisement seemed to stick out , it was just a bunch of signs plastered together.  Minor League stadiums need to come up with a better way to display advertisements.  This is one of the worst I have seen in a Minor League park.  It seemed to take away from the overall architecture and design of the stadium.  It was also hard to tell where the “homerun” line was in the two tiered sections of the fence. This park still definitely ranks high among minor league parks, but it seemed to be missing something…I can’t quite figure out what, but something was lacking.

• Walkways and seats are spacious, although there is a useless middle concourse dividing the seating areas.
• Luxury suites on the upper level
• This park would look real nice with a 360 degree concourse with views of the water. Maybe some day.

Atmosphere/Character:

The stadium was filled with a family atmosphere and that was evident with the in-between innings contests.   One unique contest was an “Old Navy” sponsored contest where 3 beach balls were thrown into the stands, when the music stopped the person holding the ball won a prize, along with the rest of their row. 

Sound effects and crowd rallying efforts were minimal.  The fans were into the game, despite their being many kids there. These kids were actually watching the game unlike at places such as Somerset where the kids are just there to misbehave.

• 2 Mascot's- "Boomer" and "Strike". I don't usually like mascots, but I like these two.
• "Batdog", a golden retriever, retrieves bats during the first inning.
• Waterfront Park could have a little more character if the Delaware River could be seen from the stands better.

Recognition of Team's History and/or MLB's Affiliate:

• Banners outside the stadium honoring former Trenton Thunder players who have made it to the big leagues.
• New York Yankees logo on the field.

Review is based on visits on 7/13/02 and 7/9/08. Click on the date for game photos.

Overall Rating:

Questions? Comments? E-Mail me:amanda@baseballstadiumreviews.com