Photo Essay: Touring Safeco Field and Watching A Mariners Game

Last Updated on May 25, 2018

We took a trip with extended family to Seattle and seeing that we are huge baseball fans (well, with the exception of Darcy – he is all hockey, all the time), we knew that we had to go to a Mariners game and take a behind-the-scenes tour of Safeco Field.

The behind-the-scenes access we had during the tour was incredible. Not only were we able to roam around, but we also got access to the owners box, the press room, dugouts, and were able to stand on the field itself (the dirt portion, anyway). It was so surreal getting an up-close look of what we see from the television screen. We loved seeing all the memorabilia hanging on the walls and getting to walk in the footsteps of a real MLB player and VIP Guest.

Our tour guide was beyond knowledgeable. He had so much information to tell and so many stories to share about the stadium itself and what goes on within it’s walls. It was really cool getting to walk around the nearly-empty stadium and then see the stadium full of ball fans during the ball game.

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The press box – the wall is framed where a ball actually hit!

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Safeco Field Facts:

  • The Inaugural Game was on July 15, 1999
  • The ballpark’s one-of-a-kind retractable roof is designed to cover but not enclose (“umbrella”) the ballpark, thus preserving an open-air environment.
  • Safeco Field features one of the most comprehensive scoreboard systems in Major League Baseball, including 11 electronic displays. The field also has and an old-fashioned, hand-operated scoreboard in left field.
  • Nintendo’s late owner Hiroshi Yamauchi helped keep the Mariners in Seattle when he stepped in and purchased the team in 1992 just as a favour to the Seattle area; he didn’t even like baseball.  He wanted to help keep Major League Baseball in Seattle as a ‘gesture of goodwill to the citizens of the Pacific Northwest’ .

The Tour

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Owner’s Box
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Learning about the stadium

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Getting On The Field

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My Dad and siblings – just missing my sister who is in Alberta.
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It was so neat to step out onto the dirt!
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The whole Seattle weekend crew

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Mariners Game Fun

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When entering for the game, the security guard heard that it was the first Mariners game for our daughters, and she directed us to Guest Services for a special certificate and player card for each.

The atmosphere at the Mariners game is very laid-back as everyone has a good time. Unfortunately the game we went to, the Mariners lost 6-3 in extra innings to the Chicago White Socks, but it was an enjoyable game nonetheless.

Seating is perfect – you can’t have a bad seat in the stadium, and we have sat in several different sections.  Also, the stadium is gorgeous with views of the city skyline. We loved wandering the stadium and seeing the game from different vantage points, having a photo with the Moose, trying our arm at pitching, and seeing all the different art at each stadium entrance.

Stadium Art

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Have you done a stadium tour at another ball field? What did you think?