Review: SRP Park an absolute gem...in progress

Panoramic view of SRP Park from behind home plate

"It feels like you're in the big leagues," was how one fan put it upon entering North Augusta's new SRP Park for the first time.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" said another.

After years in the making (that seemed like decades for those of us who covered the whole process) SRP Park is now open for business. It's primary function is to serve as the home of the Augusta GreenJackets, the Low Class-A affiliate for the San Francisco Giants. It will also host concerts and other events.

I attended the first sold out event when the University of Georgia defeated Clemson, then returned for two GreenJackets games during their first homestand in the new park including Opening Night.

For those who don't know, I am something of a ballpark aficionado. I spend a lot of time and money in and on ballparks. I attend Braves spring training every March, spend many summer Saturdays at SunTrust Park in Atlanta and usually try to make my way to a new major league park at some point each summer. So, with that said, I have a few thoughts on SRP:

Parking
There has been much hand-wringing about the parking situation at SRP Park leading up to its inaugural season. Much like SunTrust it appears the angst was unfounded. We had no trouble parking in the "Blue Deck" for the UGA/Clemson game (and this was after the game started) or in the "Purple Lot" (North Augusta Municipal Building) for the Thursday game. One main difference this year: parking will cost you. Each lot cost us $5. You can take your chances elsewhere for free.

With the possible exception of the Jake Owen concert on May 19th the park doesn't figure to see any bigger crowds than it did during its first week. That means parking generally shouldn't be an issue. There are also more than enough golf carts to shuttle you from wherever you park to the main gate. You can also chose to make the short walk from your parking spot. Either way you get a nice, scenic route through the marshes that surround the Savannah River.

Initially I had visions of hanging out in downtown Augusta before games and then walking across the 13th Street bridge much like Pittsburgh Pirates fans do with the Roberto Clemente Bridge across the Allegheny River. But due to where SRP Park sits in relation to the bridge you would basically have to walk a large circle around the park if you took the bridge route. Here's hoping that eventually a water taxi is employed to drop you off at the Riverside Village once everything is completed. Or they could build a pedestrian ramp from the 13th Street Bridge down to the park.

Main gate entering SRP Park

Entry
The main gate is the first thing you encounter when you get out of your golf cart shuttle. It is immediately impressive and the first thing that popped in my mind was, "we're not at Lake Olmstead any more". Lake Olmstead Stadium was an underrated park in my opinion, but SRP is on a completely different level. The color choices and architecture of the entry gate give it a crisp look that is both modern and classic.

I bought tickets in advance and utilized the mobile entry method. For those not familiar that means my tickets were on my phone. I'm generally not a fan of this because I like ticket stubs as souvenirs, but this seemed the most efficient method. We spent a grand total of about 60 seconds in line for two sold-out events. That's pretty remarkable.

Once inside you find yourself on a wide open concourse behind home plate. One of my favorite aspects of the new park is that you can see the game from virtually anywhere. Open concourses are nothing new at the major league level, but this is a massive upgrade over Lake Olmstead. As soon as you're in the gate you're "in" the game.

Game Experience
First, the bad news: Concession lines have been an absolute nightmare. I've seen shorter lines for Disney rides:

During the games we went to management ended up sending vendors down the line with boxes of beer and hot dogs selling to anyone fortunate enough to have cash. But people were literally buying beers and then going back to the end of the line figuring that by the time they finished their first purchase they might be near the front of the line again. I'll be curious to see if adjustments have been made while the team was on the road.

Now the good news, and there is a lot of it. This park gave me the same sensation that I get when I'm at Augusta National Golf Club. I kept thinking to myself, "is this really in Augusta?" It's not, of course. Augusta city leaders whiffed on the opportunity to have this gem on their riverfront so it sits in North Augusta. The concourse that surrounds the ballpark, complete with food-and-drink rails, makes "standing room only" seats quite possibly the most attractive option. (Some beverage kiosks out there would probably alleviate some of the congestion at the concession stands).

There are so many different vantage points. You can stand behind the lower level seats behind home plate, or atop the outfield wall, or take the kids to the play area beyond the centerfield wall. If you picked this ballpark up and placed it in the state of Florida it would immediately be one of the nicer spring training parks in existence. The Braves would do well to take notes for the new complex they are building in the Sarasota area.

We only sat in our seats for a couple of innings due to the fact that the people behind us were, shall we say, very hydrated and kind of obnoxious. But, truthfully, this is a place to be explored. And it's only going to get better when Southbound Smokehouse and Sweetwater open down the right field line.

The only frustrating thing about standing-room tickets is that, eventually, you'd like to sit for a spell.
There are high top tables on the concourse behind the lower level seats that provide a great vantage point. We ended up spending an entire game there without ever going to our seats.

High top table behind third base line seats

There are also a number of tables in the right field area. They were virtually empty for both GreenJackets games we went to, but it appears it's some sort of private area since I can't find them for sale on the team's web site. Either way very few people appeared to be using this "party deck" and I can only imagine the enhanced atmosphere if they were to open it up to the public, even if only for the last few innings of games.

Empty tables on right field deck

But the good far outweighs the bad. Another major improvement is the scoreboard. Anyone who spent any time at Lake Olmstead knows the scoreboard there was hit-or-miss during the park's later years. Sometimes you had to look at your phone to know what was going on. SRP features a massive video board above the left field wall. My only suggestion here would be to keep the stats and info up instead of video replays. The replays are shot from such a wide angle you can't really tell what's going on. If, at some point, they can employ multiple cameras then it might work.

New video board above left field wall, along with unfinished office/apartment building

One of my favorite features is the LED lighting that lines the overhang from first to third base. They can change the lights for whatever is going on. During the Georgia-Clemson game it alternated between orange, purple, red and black. For the Jackets game it was mostly green. During the national anthem it waved red, white and blue.

Green LED light display lines the SRP Park facade

Conclusion
The issues I've mentioned can easily be attributed to growing pains and will probably be worked out over time. My goal here is just for you to be prepared. My main takeaway is that this park is an absolute game changer for the CSRA. I can't help but think there are a lot of Augusta city leaders looking across the river thinking, "man, that could have been us."

Meanwhile there is still nothing to do on Augusta's riverfront after dark. That's why so many drive to Charleston, Savannah and other ports-of-call on weekends. But SRP Park may keep a few of those people here. And once the entire Riverside Village is complete a few people may actually drive from Charleston and Savannah to North Augusta.

Long term I can see Augusta upgrading from Low Class-A to a Double-A affliate. That level is basically Major League Baseball's waiting room. This park deserves that.

It already feels like we're in the big leagues.