Mackinac Bridge

Mackinac Bridge
Mackinac Bridge, taken from the ferry on the way to Mackinac Island.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Lexington Legends


The Lexington Legends have been around for several years now. They have been a single A team for the Houston Astros the entire time.

The Stadium
Applebee's Park is a very nice, clean place to see a game. It has a bit of a horse stable theme going on. It feels very Kentucky. There are plenty of concessions. I personally like the guy cooking the pulled pork sandwiches near the batting cages. Kettle corn is big here too.Outside of the park before games usually has a festive feel to it. More festive in general than a single A park. Cornhole and live music are common. Chipotle has given out chips and salsa before games in the past.
The park is comfortable. There are very affordable bleacher seats in the outfield. There are some grassy lawn seats, but the lawn areas aren't as big as I have seen in many other parks.
The park can hold 6-7,000 people. It does have a bit more of a formal feel to it than some parks. Some may like this. There is the Maker's Mark Club. It is a nice restaurant that tries to sell itself in an exclusive way. You need a special sticker to walk through. There are a ton of ushers too who are generally friendly, but they can get in the way. I appreciate ushers getting people to their correct seat, and asking people not in the right one to move along. I have had one tell me TWICE that I was setting in the wrong seat and ask me to move. I had to pull my ticket out to show her that I was indeed in my correct seat.
The park also has staff walk around holding up add signs during the game.
The Legends have their main mascot, Big L. He is very likable, and has been known to pull pranks on unaware fans. Big L is a bit more mischivious than most mascots.

The area
There is not a lot going on around outside of the park. If you are coming in from out of town, I would suggest staying downtown.

Why go
The Legends offer a very nice, family friendly atmosphere. I know a lot of people who go to games who aren't even baseball fans. They have some fun, affordable promotions too, like quarter hot dog night (lines can get long for these promotions though). When UK is not playing basketball, a Legends game is about the most exciting thing going on in town.

Why not go
I am a bit biased here. The Legends are my home team, and I love them. This is my team. I probably went to more than 30 games last year. I almost hate to say anything bad about them. If you hate the loud announcer DJ types you might not want to go. Their announcer is more likable than most, but he will be talking/announcing in between half innings. They have an obnoxious crew that helps host between inning contests. There is the very annoying "which section can scream the loudest" contest.
Oh, I love Big L, but the team needs a big muppet mascot too. You know you love them!

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