Portland Sea Dogs

Hey all,

Am thinking of going to a Portland Sea Dogs game when I hit the east coast in a couple of weeks. Anybody ever been to one of their games? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Bill

I live in maine, and its a great stadium and great atmosphere. definitely encourage going to a game or two, 8 dollars for nose bleeds and 20 for front row, so very affordable!

Thanks for the reply! Looking forward to catching a game (and to visiting your state).

Bill

My fiancée and I were pleasantly surprised by Portland---very nice atmosphere in bars and cafes, friendly folks. We did have one hiccup: we had planned for our trip to have our gourmet dinner there, but all the nicest restaurants were booked till late---it was probably weekend, can't remember, but I would suggest you make reservations if you want to try those fancy restaurants.

This said, we ended up in some casual place on the port eating lobsters and corns...they are serving on very long tables, so we finished the evening by discussing with other visiting folks who were quite interesting--we had a great night.

One last thing, though. The taste of those famous Maine corns are not even close to the corns we have here in Quebec!!!

Merci Marc ! Now you have me salivating for great food. Even if I am not the biggest fan of "maïs", I'll give it a shot on your say-so. La prochaine fois, Québec, la Belle Province, c'est promis.

Got my tickets already for a Saturday day game -- the way baseball was meant to be played.

If you want a fancier place to eat, most people go to Dimillo's floating restaurant. Not far away by the waterfront is Flatbread Company for pizza and beers if you want more casual. Hadlock Field is a great place to watch a game. The Red Sox top prospects won't arrive in time for your visit, unfortunately. Concessions are always good as are the sight lines. Get there a little early, there are little $5 lots to park but they fill up quickly. Parking can be an issue closer to game time. Have fun!

Thanks for all the tips. Just got back from my trip (which included a 4-inch snowstorm on the 26th of April). Hadlock Field was as wonderful as everyone suggested -- and the beer is marvelous and the between inning fun was what you want at a minor league game. The Sea Dogs won (a rarity this year) in a crisp two and a half hour game, beating the Reading Fightin' Phils. The Sea Dogs don't have much obvious talent (Sturgeon in left looks like he has some promise and the starting pitcher Haley had some nice movement on his pitches). On the other hand, the Phillies shortstop, J.P. Crawford, is going to be a tremendous player -- he didn't do much offensively during the game, but what defensive chops! Great positioning, a laser for an arm, and that look that says, "Hit the ball to me." You want to watch just him -- he's that good.

Portland is a great city, at least the kind of city I like -- a bit grimy around the edges, but with a superb museum, a vibrant theatre (the Portland Stage did Dario Fo's "They Won't Pay, We Won't Pay"), great restaurants (Walter's is a top-notch table -- a bit pricy but well worth it), including The Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth, fabulous views. If it weren't so far away, I'd be there as often as I could.

Bill