New Orleans Baby Cakes

I'm not a sports fan, however I attended a Baby Cakes game last week with some friends. Although it was about 200 degrees, the event itself was fun and affordable! Our tickets were not expensive and ended up being the 2nd row behind home plate!! What I was most impressed with though were the drink options! I walked around looking for a stand that might serve something other than beer. Not only did I find it, but they have frozen drinks, craft beers, speciality cocktails, beer alternatives-like spiked seltzer and what appeared to be a fully stocked bar!! The bartender was so nice and when I visited, there was no line!Parking was also easy breezy, we parked close to the entrance and it costs $5!

I really wanted to love this stadium more but when you go to a Tuesday night game and only have one concession stand opened with limited options it makes for a hungry game.I get it that it is early in the season but if yiu are offering reduced food and services then the tickets should be discounted as well.I mean I payed 15 for behind first base but could have really gotten the cheapest seats and sat anywhere.

The "Shrine on Airline" is a pretty decent stadium for a minor league ball club. The stadium itself is fairly modern, with close seating to the field all around the place. I don't think there's a bad seat in the house.There are some great food options, including king cake fries (funnel fries with colored sugar and icing), jambalaya, po'boys, and other treats. The prices are not too exorbitant, which helps. I got a frozen cocktail for $5, which I can't say about any other stadium I've ever been to.Parking was a breeze, and we were right next to the gate, even though we arrived a few minutes after the game started. It wasn't packed there, so that probably helped, but the lot wasn't that enormous. Traffic around the stadium was also pretty light, but again... it was a quiet night.The team itself... well... they're a minor league club. You get what you get. Some of these guys will go on to the majors, and some won't. It's as simple as that.I'd definitely go back if I were in the area and had a free evening. You can still hang out on Bourbon Street when you're done at the game, so don't let that hold you up from experiencing a night out at the park!

Baby Cakes Baseball make for a fun environment. You can get some local southern Louisiana dishes and enjoy great seats for cheap.

"The Shrine on Airline" as Zephyr Field is known could really use a better marketing director and/or budget. As a matter of fact they should hire me. I've been to 5-6 other minor league parks and 16 major league ones, it baffles me why this place isn't better. Let me dissect the issues.1) It's in the burbs. I don't think this is fixable but cities like Louisville, Memphis, Indianapolis have downtown ballparks that are awesome. Nola really doesn't have the room to pull this off and I'm sure the Z's like the family friendly crowds that Metairie can deliver so I'll digress on this point.2) Food- WTF!?! This is New Orleans yet all I see is BBQ, pizza, and other crap. I did see a Boudreaux's sausage so that may be the only option. Why not be like the airport and team up with a few local restaurateurs? It worked wonders for the airport and could be for the ball park as well. We have tons of festivals in this city, they could use the same methods at the ball park. Don't get me started on the fact that they serve Pepsi products. Nothing more second rate than that. The snowball stand was a nice touch3) I saw Bud, Coors and Miller. Again I say WTF!?!?! Where's Abita? Where's Nola Brewing? Covington Brewing? Come on. Get some real beer and stay local! 4) The Name- absolutely awful. The team came from Denver when they got an MLB name, and we just kept the Zephyrs. Why? People like to use an old roller coaster at Pontchartrain Beach as the reason for the name. That's not the case and even if it was, it's terrible. Minor League teams have to be qwerky and changing the name to the New Orleans Nutria would be perfect! They already have one as the mascot. The hat sales alone would be worth it having an orange toothed rat on the front. I'd wear one. Biloxi just got a team last year and named it The Shuckers. Their emblem on the cap is of an oyster in this shell holding a bat. It's brilliant. The Chattanooga Lookouts with those emoji eyes on their hat, also brilliant. The Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs have strips of bacon on their hats. These teams get it.....we don't. El Paso Chihuahuas!!!!!I love baseball and I love the fact that the Z's are here. They have been here 20 plus years and still don't feel like New Orleans as they should. Some simple fun tweaks could change all that. I await their call and I'll make it happen.

Thanks to Canadian Jenn we had a bunch of tickets to the Zephyrs this evening, a group of yelpers took ourselves out to the ballgame. We specifically chose a Thursday night, because they do a promotion called "Thirsty Thursday" where the entertainment includes watching determined I-just-turned-21 year olds attempting to carry five tiny, overflowing $1 cups of draft beer back to their seats (while the older and wiser people in the crowd just sucked it up and bought one giant $4 draft beer).My only actual complaint about the game (aside from having to drive allllll the way down Airline Highway to get there) was the fact that they charge you $5 to park in the GIANT PARKING LOT that was clearly intended for people going to the stadium. That's money I could've spent on beer, people. Le sigh. Other than the pay-to-park-in-our-parking-lot thing, a Zephyrs game is a lovely way to spend a beautiful spring evening with friends, especially if you're looking for something outside the traditional neighborhood bar circuit. If you have the attention span to sit through an entire game, I hear you'll be rewarded with fireworks at the end. Though, that's possibly just a myth. I couldn't say for sure.

Keep in mind, I have yet to actually *pay* to see a Zephyr's Game. I always find myself with free tickets.One time last year was a pool party, which was actually pretty awesome since we had a swimming pool and food to keep us occupied. Baseball itself is rather dull, so a pool party is a genius way to keep everyone awake.The other times, we just had regular tickets. I don't think I have stayed for a whole game yet, although we ALMOST did it last night. I mean, they were losing 6-0 in the first inning, and then nothing happened for the next 2 hours. I think we ended up leaving in the 8th inning, so I do give myself some major credit for sticking it out that long. More importantly, kudos to my 18 month old daughter for not getting bored, tired, and throwing a tantrum, as I fully expected it.If I were reviewing baseball as a sport, this would be a 1 star review. However, I'm reviewing the Zephyr's baseball game, so it gets 3 stars. There is enough non-baseball stuff going on to keep us non-baseball fans entertained for almost the entire 3 hours of a game. Oh, and although I didn't get a chance to wander the entire stadium, it looks like there are numerous food choices. Try the catfish boat at the vendor with all of the fried food - you won't be disappointed.Btw, cheap wine on wednesdays (because wine and baseball are an awesome pair) and cheap beer on thursdays.

Roller-coaster's NameInspires Farm-League ClubWhere Boudreaux Pumps-Up Home Crowd#NOLA_Haiku

I love the atmosphere here. I went to a Friday game in April. It was a little chilly, but better than too hot I think. My friend and I were walking up to the window to get tickets when someone stopped us and said he had 2 extra--"They're bad seats anyway," he says. "Well, I was going to go spend money for bad seats, so yeah I'll take those for free!" I'd like to take a moment to thank the good people all over this fair city for putting up with--and sometimes even laughing at--my terrible jokes.Anyway, after encountering a series on increasingly friendly people, we finally made it to our seats--about 15 rows behind home plate! What?! I don't know much about where good seats are, but these seemed awesome. Only downside was there were scouts sitting a couple seats down eating--and spitting out--sunflower seeds for the Entire. Game. That was gross. But heck, I'll take the free tickets any day.To go along with the win, we got decently-priced beers, hot dogs, little competitions between innings to keep the fans interested, and a free fireworks show at the end! Very fun and family-friendly atmosphere. Highly recommended!

We had a fun time at the ballpark tonight. It was our first Triple A game. I can definitely see why the team is moving to another city. The attendance was very low. I have been to Double A baseball games on a week night with better attendance than this. The ticket price was reasonable. The park was nice and clean. The restrooms were clean. For a Triple A team, their gift and souvenir shop was horrid. No men's T-shirts were to be found. They had plenty of caps but mostly all adjustable and none fitted. The air conditioner was leaking so it was quite warm and the air smelled foul. Their activities with the fans in between innings were awful. I've seen much better in Birmingham and Pensacola. Only half of the concession stands were open and the prices were outrageous. I mean $6 for a souvenir cup and no discounted price for refill? Every other ball park I've been to (and that's a lot) offers something like that. My niece ordered nachos which were over $6 and the chips were stale. The only saving grace was the ballgame itself. Plenty of action. The Babycakes won, we had great seats and good company.