When the Arizona Diamondbacks return Friday to host the Cincinnati Reds, they'll be doing so in a ballpark recently ranked 24th by USA TODAY Sports.
Chase Field was built to be the home of the Diamondbacks, and it has been for all 29 Diamondbacks seasons. Perhaps 29 seasons in action contributed to Chase Field being low on Gabe Lacques' list.
That is because Lacques ranked these stadiums "by staying power."
"In short, better a ballpark last 115 seasons than 20," Lacques wrote.
Still, Chase Field showed staying power right away, as the stadium (originally called Bank One Ballpark) was innovative in launching with a retractable roof. Lacques even called the retractable roof "a multi-billion dollar concept in the 21st century."
Therefore, while Chase
Field typically does not carry the reputation of being a top-tier stadium in Major League Baseball, ranking it behind 13 stadiums that have been around for a shorter time than Chase Field does not add up.
"A perfectly good place to catch a game," is how Lacques himself even described the ballpark. "Particularly if you yearn for late-‘90s trappings and using someone else’s AC in the dead of a desert summer."
Using someone else's AC in a Phoenix summer sounds amazing to anyone who has ever been in a Phoenix summer for even a second. Perhaps Lacques' "late-'90s" comment suggested Chase Field is outdated.
But the retractable roof and the fact that it's the only MLB stadium with a swimming pool to watch the game from counter that. (And there is nothing more Phoenix-themed than finding creative ways to shield from the sun, and then cooling down in the pool.)
Some stadiums toward the top of Lacques' list are rarely debated. The bricks and ivy at Wrigley Field (No. 2 in the ranking) and McCovey Cove at Oracle Park (No. 4 in the ranking) create iconic value in baseball fans' minds that is tough to beat, for Chase Field or for anyone.
But how many of the stadiums listed ahead of Chase Field have hosted 18 World Baseball Classic games? Zero.
Baseball matters in Arizona, and Chase Field has been a strong host.
A state-themed stadium in a state that houses many scouts, spring training, the World Baseball Classic and Major League Baseball should unquestionably be ranked better than the 20s range in a stadium ranking.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Chase Field receives back-seat ranking from USA TODAY. Why it's wrong
