Before summer ended, we decided to take the girls to a Springfield Cardinals game at Hammons Field. Since we have three kids four-years-old-and-under, it made the most sense to purchase the General Admission Lawn tickets, which are only $7 and a low-risk, high-fun scenari0 (you don’t have to feel badly leaving the game early if needed, and your kids don’t have to sit in hard seats for several hours). And, kids three-and-under are FREE, which is nice, especially since they’re not going to pay too much attention to the game anyway. If you’d rather watch the game from another angle, tickets for the seats aren’t expensive either, and it seems like every seat is a good one at this park.
We brought a picnic blanket (no chairs allowed) and found a good place to sit on the grass with the other families. It wasn’t too crowded, especially being one of the last games of the season, and we had plenty of room for the girls to run around us and roll down the hill a little. You can’t bring coolers or outside food into the park, but we brought a few snacks for the kids, knowing that they might not want to eat some of the concession food. My husband and I, of course, ate our annual hot dog because “what else do you eat at a baseball game”?? Any bags you bring (in our case, the diaper bag) get checked when you come in, but they didn’t seem to mind that ours held snacks. Everyone is allowed to bring one water bottle in, so that’s helpful in case you don’t want to spend money on drinks.
I also read somewhere that strollers aren’t allowed, but I can’t find anywhere to confirm that. However, it’s not easy to have one anyway, whether you’re in seats or on the lawn since it’s pretty sloped.
The whole atmosphere was fun, friendly and energizing. So many people were wearing Cardinals shirts (Tip: there are lots of Springfield Cardinals shirts at thrift stores in the area if you don’t want to make a big investment in gear!), and everyone was having calm, clean fun. One of my favorite parts of MiLB games is the fun activities between innings, and Hammons Field didn’t disappoint. Plus, almost every game has a promotion (free bobbleheads anyone?) and some even have fireworks after the game. On Sundays, kids get free ice cream and can run the bases after the game. There were also lots of foul balls going all over the park, so bring a baseball glove if you want to try to catch one! Several of the kids were running after the ones that landed near us.
Baseball season is long and at a great time of the year to be outside, so try one of these games out! We can’t wait to go back next spring.
What You Need To Know:
- For more information on tickets, FAQs, promotions, and the season schedule, visit: https://www.milb.com/springfield
- You’ll most likely need to pay for parking, depending on when you go, and there are various places to park right around the park (most have signs with directions and fees).
- Kids 3 years old and under are FREE