Grant grad Chris Downey visits every MLB stadium

Chris Downey, a former Grant grad, has visited each of the 30 Major League Baseball stadiums. He visited his 30th and final stadium during the 2019 baseball season, and with the 2020 season’s postponement, it’s a good thing he finished his tour last season!

Downey, who is currently living in Kearney while he finishes his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska Lincoln, works as a territory sales manager.

Whether he was playing sports or watching them, sports have always been a hobby of Downey’s.

“Every man’s gotta have a hobby,” said Downey. “I don’t hunt, I don’t fish, my golf game isn’t great. But I’ve always enjoyed sports.”

Besides his tour of the MLB stadiums, Downey has been to four Super Bowl games, one World Series game, NASCAR events and Final Four basketball championship games.

Originally, he was just taking customers to baseball games if he was in a town where a baseball game was going on.

“It was a great, great way to pass the time and get away from the daily grind of business,” Downey said.

He has been to 27 games at Chase Field to see his favorite team play, nine games at Minutemaid Park, five games at Coors Field, four games at Petco Park, two games at Citi Field and two games at Kauffman Stadium.

The first stadium Downey visited was Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, back when he was in junior high. The last stadium was Rogers Centre where the Toronto Bluejays play, in July of 2019.

A memorable game for Downey was game four of the World Series in New York at Citi Field with his girlfriend, Sara. The Kansas City Royals played the New York Mets before going on to win the World Series.

Sara, a sports fan herself, also accompanied Downey to several more games in his tour, including a game at Marlin Park, Roger’s Center and Fenway Park.

Some of his best memories from all the baseball games he has attended include catching a foul ball in Pheonix, seeing Sammy Sosa play in 2006, seeing Barry Bonds in 2007 and seeing Ken Griffey Jr. in 2010.

Of the 30 ballparks, Downey found the best atmosphere as far as tradition is Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Another park with a great atmosphere is Fenway Park. Downey described the fans as passionate and the field as beautiful.

“It’s a museum in itself, both Fenway and Wrigley Park,” Downey noted.

On the flip side, Downey rates Marlins Park, where the former Orange Bowl stadium was once located, the worst in terms of atmosphere. He didn’t find the fans to be passionate, though the park was beautiful.

“The night we were there, there were 7,000 fans,” Downey said of the stadium that can hold nearly 37,000 people. “I guess there’s just too much more to do in Miami.”

Marlins Park itself, though, receives a good rating from Downey. With a restaurant and pool out in centerfield, both of which he had the pleasure of testing out, this stadium is another he regards as beautiful.

Milwaukee Brewers have the most passionate fans, according to Downey. In 2018, he took a customer to a game at Miller Park at 2 p.m. on a Tuesday thinking it would be relatively calm. The game was sold out.

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