Safeco Field’S Fan Fare

FOOD

SafeDog just doesn’t sound right

Hope you’re not hooked on Kingdogs, because there are no such animals at Mariners games anymore.

The Safeco Field concession and catering service of Volume Services America apparently wanted no part of those precooked franks named after a bloated building. For that matter, don’t expect to find much that resembles Kingdome food at Safeco.

Oh, you’ll be able to order a Mariner Dog, but unlike a Kingdog, this gourmet tube steak will be heated in a convection oven and grilled just before serving. It will not be wrapped in foil to be kept warm, but rather served immediately on an open, fresh-baked bun.

And there will be plenty of concession stands selling peanuts in the shell. But you’ll also be able to order raw Puget Sound oysters in the half shell. Unlike the Kingdome, where the only places designed for cooking are restaurants, Safeco is set up for cooking at many stands. The food will be fresh - and hot. Burgers, sandwiches and sausages also will be grilled.

Baseball food traditionalists will be pleased to discover the 17 “Rolling Roof Refreshment” concession stands and more than 30 “Short Stop” kiosks that will offer ballpark fare.

Safeco also will serve up food flavors of the Northwest, such as salmon burgers, and Asian food (phad thai, sushi, sate, dim sum). Ivar’s Fish and Chips, Ezell’s Fried Chicken, Tacoma’s Porter’s Place Barbecue, Bavarian Meats, and Sakura Japanese Restaurant all will set up shop.

There will be gourmet sausages, pizza, tacos, Mexican food, grinder and pannini sandwiches and Caesar salads. For the adventurous, try an Ivar dog (fried whitefish in a hot dog bun).

Hand-scooped ice cream, baked cookies, strawberry shortcake, root beer floats, you name it, you can have it at Safeco.

Tully’s Coffee is supplying the java, and will have a retail store open year-round on First Avenue South. Pepsi has the corner on the soft drinks. Brands of beer will range from Budweiser to Red Hook. Beck’s, Fosters, Dos Equis, Sapporo, Amstel and Red Stripe will be among the many imports offered.

A cart in every corner

The ballpark will have 55 concession stands, 36 kiosks, one public restaurant, three members-only restaurant/lounges and a pub in the Bullpen Market area behind left field.

The Hit It Here Cafe & Terrace in right field is open to the public. The name refers to a retired Nike commercial urging Ken Griffey Jr. to “hit it here.” It probably won’t be long before the lefty slugger answers the request and bounces one off the windows or sails one onto the open patio.

Season-ticket holders and suite holders can make reservations before the game. For others, it’s first-come-first-serve. For more information, call 206-346-4545.

Two of the best places to head for food are the Home Plate Food Fare on the main concourse or the Bullpen Market at the main left-field gate.

This bullpen’s a winner

The Bullpen Market is expected to be one of the biggest gathering places, located inside the ballpark along Royal Brougham Way (between the Kingdome and Safeco Field).

The Market is directly behind the home and visiting bullpens and will open 3 hours before the game. The rest of the gates will open 90 minutes before the first pitch.

Fans eating in the market’s Bullpen Pub will be able to peek into the visitors’ bullpen through knotholes in the wall.

There will be lots of food places to choose from as well as interactive games (speed pitch, batting cages, etc.) to play. If you bought a personalized brick to support the new ballpark, you’ll find it out here at the Royal Brougham Fan Walk.

Kids corner center field

The Kids Zone, located in the center-field plaza, features Moose’s Munchies concession stand and a children’s playfield. The menu offers small-sized portions of hot dogs, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Popsicles, cookies, etc. The Kids Clubhouse, complete with Mariners Moose items, is located next to the Kids Zone.

Although there will be Safeco employees at the playfield, this is not a place to drop off the kids for a couple of innings. Children must be under parental guidance at all times.

The lunch-pail league

Bringing your own food is allowed. If you feel like getting away from the action, the open space in the upper deck down the first-base line (looking beyond the left-field wall) is the best patio in Seattle in terms of panoramic beauty.

TICKETS AND SEAT LOCATION

Unlike the Jake …

Let’s dispel any rumors that buying tickets will be impossible for all 42 games this season at Safeco Field. Only six games reportedly are sold out: July 15-18, which is the opening series against the San Diego Padres, followed by the Sunday game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Aug. 7-8 vs. the New York Yankees, also on a weekend.

The Mariners capped their season ticket sales at 24,000 and had sold 20,623 as of last weekend. Single-season tickets continue to sell and single-game sales are sure to pick up after the selling of the “Safeco experience” becomes reality.

Out-of-town fans can buy tickets at all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, including select Rite-Aid stores in Spokane, or by telephoning (206) 622-HITS (4487).

Don’t dare call them cheap seats

Naturally, many of the choice seats (Charter Club, Diamond Club, Terrace Club) have been snatched up by season-ticket holders, but there isn’t a bad seat in the house - and that includes the two bleacher sections.

The average ticket price is approximately $19.

There are 8,430 lower box seats ($28), so you might be able buy seats in the outer limits of the infield. If you’re determined to sit in the lower bowl (and you’re not of the elite chartered seat license or Diamond Club ilk), the $25 field seats down the baselines are available for some games. The lower outfield reserved seats cost $16.

The Terrace Club seat (the second deck) comes with food service and a $33 pricetag. Less than 200 of the 4,342 remain, so forget about it, although it doesn’t cost a thing to ask about availability.

The 16,000 third-level seats range in price from $16 to $13.

The best bargains are the bleachers. The 1,847 left-field seats cost $7 each and sit in the sunniest spot of the ballpark under the big Safeco Field sign. There are also 1,837 $5 center-field bleacher seats, which won’t be sold in advance until everything else is sold out.

There are two family sections (sections 103 and 342) where no alcohol will be sold or brought in.

More than 1,000 seats will be set aside for disabled people.

How suite it could be

As you focus your binoculars from your aerial-view seat into the private suites, remember this, you don’t have to be left out in 300-level land. But it’ll cost you.

There are 69 private suites, six available for shortterm rental. A group suite, located on the suite level high above the Hit It Here Cafe, can accommodate 40 people and comes with a $2,900 price tag.

A luxury suite ranges in price from $1,300 to $2,200 depending on the location. It will seat you - plus 15 of your closest friends.

For rental information, call 206-346-4001.

Keeping company with Yankee Stadium

Safeco will have the second-most expensive ticket in baseball.

Among the 382 Diamond Club seats behind home plate will be 28 first-row seats costing $195 per game.

The only more-expensive baseball tickets are the 60 Legends Box seats in the first row at Yankee Stadium, which cost $197.53 (sold at $16,000 each as season tickets for the 81 home games).

Hutchinson was here

An image of the late Franklin High, Seattle Rainiers and Detroit Tigers standout Fred Hutchinson is molded into the ends of each row of seats. On half of the seats, Hutchinson is throwing left-handed. This is not an error. The folks at Safeco wanted every image to be pointed to the field and in order to do that, they reversed the mold.

The actual seats

There are three different seat styles as well as metal bleachers.

There are 19-inch standard, 22-inch standard and 22-inch padded seats reserved for suite and Diamond Club fannies.

Each seat has a cupholder (complete with advertisement) mounted onto the seat in front.

There are fewer seats in each row (12-16 vs. 28 in the Kingdome), so fans will never be more than eight seats away from the aisle. The legroom is noticeably longer. Some seats are positioned at 11-degree angles so fans won’t be focusing on second base.

The players’ seats

Unlike the Kingdome, the Mariners’ cedar-lined dugout will be on the first-base side. Their new digs will be closer to the loading dock (deliveries, bats, luggage, etc.) and closer to the parking garage.

Manager Lou Piniella likes it that way. That’s how it is at Yankee Stadium.

THE ROOF

An umbrella fit for Seattle

Fact No. 1. The retractable dome was not designed to seal Safeco and keep you toasty warm during those night games in April.

But you will stay dry.

Think of it as a $60 million, 8.9-acre, 11,000-ton umbrella that covers the playing field and seating area but will not interfere with the open-air environment. The three-panel industrial-looking monster hangs over the railroad yard south of the stadium, but does not take away from the beauty inside the ballpark.

The panels work together, but are not attached to each other and move independently. The largest panel is in the center and towers 224 feet above the playing field. Ground level to the highest truss measures 275 feet, roughly the same height as the Kingdome.

The roof is designed to withstand and function in 70 mph winds.

How long until the drizzle disappears?

It will take an average of 20 minutes to open and close the roof. On a calm day, the panels can move into position in 8 minutes.

Who makes the call?

The roof position is determined by head groundskeeper Steve Peeler and Tony Pereira, director of operations of Safeco Field. At game time, the umpire crew chief takes control of the field. The Mariners’ guideline is the roof closure likely will be done at the end of a half inning. However, the umpire is the ultimate authority and could choose to do so while play continues, although it’s unlikely.

Don’t forget to bring your blanket

Unlike the Kingdome’s 68- to 72-degree constant temperature, Safeco is not climate-controlled.

Wind-tunnel tests showed that most of the bad weather during baseball season comes out of the south, so the lower deck was built high, putting the wind at fans’ backs.

Always keep in mind, however, that this is an open-air ballpark. It will get cold.

LITTLE THINGS WILL MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

No stalling in the bathroom lines

Ladies, the first thing you’ll be happy to hear is that there are 36 women’s restrooms at Safeco compared to 23 in the Kingdome.

There are also 35 men’s and seven family restrooms (unisex, one toilet). All public restrooms are handicapped-accessible.

There are more toilets for women than there are total toilets in the Kingdome.

A fan and his money are soon parted

There will be one point of sale (concession stand, kiosks) for every 175 fans. The ratio at a Kingdome baseball game was 1-to-251. The average at new ballparks is one point of sale for every 200-250 fans.

Need a lift?

Safeco has nine public elevators to all levels and six escalators. The two escalators at the home-plate entrance and the two at the left-field entrance have access to the main level. The escalators on the first- and third-base sides access all levels. The Kingdome has three elevators and no escalators.

Dying for a smoke?

It won’t be like the Kingdome, where smokers hang out on any old ramp and grab a quickie, but there will be two landings in the right-field and left-field corners where smoking is permitted. The areas will have speakers for fans to keep up with the game.

Fans are not permitted to smoke or chew tobacco at the seats, concession stands, restaurants or restrooms.

So you wanna wear No. 24 on your back

The Mariners Flagship Team Store opened Monday and will be open year-round with a street entrance on First Avenue South and inside the ballpark. The store has two entrances inside the ballpark’s left-field gate. It promises to offer one of the largest selections of Mariners merchandise as well as caps of teams throughout the Northwest. For those who go for a personalized jersey, you can order it and wait. There will be 12 other merchandise stands throughout the ballpark.

As for prices, the Mariners said they will be competitive with merchandise sold at the Bon Marche, Sears, JC Penney and other retailers throughout the region.

PARKING

Park it here

The ballpark will be different, but the headache over where to park won’t change.

Parking will be expensive and somewhat limited. Expect to pay from $10 to $25, depending on the demand or as one garage attendant put it, “the importance of the event.”

There is a 2,100-space indoor garage south of Safeco Field, but those spots are reserved for season-ticket holders. Because of height restrictions, the garage cannot accommodate RVs or oversized vans.

Among the bigger lots

The Kingdome North lot is open for season-ticket holders, chartered buses and RVs. Information: 206-296-3100.

Pier 37: Alaska Way at Royal Brougham. Holds up to 2,000 vehicles. Information: 1-800-562-5027.

All in all, there are about 4,000 parking spaces close to the ballpark, so if you have a favorite spot, keep it.

There also is special Metro bus service to outlying park-and-ride lots as well as service through downtown in the Free Ride Zone to and from South Jackson, a short walk from the left-field gate at First and Royal Brougham. For further information, telephone Metro at (206) 553-3000 or log onto the Web site at transit.metrokc.gov.

About 2,000 more spaces will open next season. The Kingdome South lot has become a construction site for the Exhibition Center and parking garage and therefore is not available this year.

THE SCOREBOARD

Scoreboard watching made easy

So you need to know who got the save for the Tigers and can’t wait until you reach home and turn on SportsCenter? Not a problem for Safeco Field fans, who will be surrounded by 11 modern scoreboards and one that would make the patriarchs of baseball information - Alfred Spink (The Sporting News), Francis Richter (Sporting Life) and Henry Chadwick (father of scoring) - feel right at home.

The grandest of them all will stand 56 feet high and 190 feet wide and tower over center field. It will display the lineups of both teams, who’s up, who’s on deck and the next two batters. The batter’s statistics will be updated and displayed during every at-bat.

The main scoreboard will be able to instantly show replays and tap into broadcast and video feeds of other games in progress. It also will provide fans with other information and entertainment.

A Rotisserie leaguer’s fantasy

The out-of-town scoreboard, located in left field, stands 12 feet, 6 inches high and 101 feet wide. The board will show current innings, scores and pitchers for games in progress in both the American and National leagues. A reader panel will highlight news and notes from around the majors.

Was that a fastball or a slider?

Two play-by-play scoreboards located along the first- and third-base lines, the first of their kind in major league baseball, will display a running summary of plays.

Four auxiliary displays, also along the baselines, will show player at-bat information, pitch speed and type, out-of-town and additional in-game-progress information.

Three community relations boards in right field will display information about the Mariners K’s for Kids and Home Runs That Help programs. It also will show greetings and messages from visiting groups as well as graphics and animation.

They even stole a line from Fenway Park

A old-fashioned, hand-operated scoreboard in left field will display the linescore of the game in progress.