Charlotte Knights – May 10, 2023
When I pulled my rental car out of my hotel parking lot after watching the Greensboro Grasshoppers in matinee action, fewer than 100 miles separated me from my first one-day, two-city doubleheader of the season.
I made the easy drive down I-85 between Greensboro and Charlotte in about an hour and a half, ending up in the Queen City in the middle of the afternoon. Before long, I’d parked my car, checked into my hotel, the Holiday Inn Charlotte-Center City (more on it later), and was enjoying a bit of air conditioning before it was time to walk over to Truist Field.
As I’d done the last time I visited Charlotte, I stayed in the city’s Uptown district. Charlotte is one of the most walkable cities I’ve ever visited on my baseball travels, and the ability to park my car and not have to think about it again until leaving two days later was nice.
My hotel was only about 10 minutes from the ballpark, which meant that not long after leaving my room, I was looking at this view:
And what a gorgeous view it is! It’s very easy to make the argument that Truist Field, home of the Knights, offers fans the best view in baseball. While a lot of people immediately cite PNC Park in Pittsburgh, I feel that I could argue pretty convincingly that the view in Charlotte is better. Or, at the very least, just as good.
That’s perhaps a debate for another day, but what wasn’t debatable was the fact that I was thrilled to be back at this ballpark — a place that I last visited in 2018 when it was known as BB&T BallPark. Whenever I enter a park, I always want to get busy exploring right away. At this park, though, I was content to hang out behind home plate for maybe five minutes and just take in the sights in front of me. When I finally did begin to explore, I started in the suite level. It offers a really good display of Knights artifacts that tell the story of the franchise and its most notable players. Here’s a look at one of the display cases:
There was also a Knights jersey signed by Sharon Robinson, the middle child of Jackie Robinson, from Jackie Robinson Day in 2018:
After taking a lap through the suite level, I went back down to the concourse and began a slow walk down the third base side — rarely taking my eyes away from the city skyline beyond the outfield fence.
One thing that I thought was neat was the food and drink rail that runs along the concourse. It makes for a handy place to put refreshments for fans who wish to stand, and also keeps them a few feet back from the fans who are sitting — because who likes the feeling of someone looming behind them, right? (Or pouring drinks down their back. I should know, as a kid once spilled a neon red slushie down the back of my shirt at a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders game.) Here’s how this area looks:
I eventually made it to the left field corner, where I took this shot of the bleacher seats:
Buying a ticket in this section gives you a good chance of snagging a home run, and a nice view of the action on the field, but you don’t get the skyline view unless you turn your head. What do you think? If I were buying season tickets at Truist Field, I’d certainly want to enjoy the view from home plate.
I made my way around the outfield and arrived at the home run seats in right field:
I spent a few minutes in this area, before continuing along the main concourse and walking over to the team shop. It’s one of the nicer team shops in the International League, and I was eager to browse the new items that are now available after the team changed its logo and colors after the 2022 season. I took some time to check out the new jerseys …
… and hats …
… and even a Truist Field pillow …
… before electing to buy a magnet that depicts Truist Field’s iconic view. I’ve recently started to buy magnets at each ballpark I visit, and was happy to find one with this ballpark’s most noteworthy sight.
Speaking of sights, how’s this one? This is the view that I enjoyed next from the third base concourse, in a panorama that doesn’t seem to do justice to the actual scene:
Upon taking that photo, I grabbed a seat along the concourse and just soaked it all in. There was still lots of exploring to do, and two games in which to do it, so I was content to relax and just be present in this glorious environment. I sat until that gates opened, and then took another lap of the concourse to enjoy the sights. Eventually, players began to appear on the field, and I returned to the third base side to watch Tyler Glasnow get warmed up. He was rehabbing for the Durham Bulls, and I took a spot a few rows up from the field and snapped photos like this one:
(The last time I saw Glasnow in person was in 2013. He was a heralded prospect in Pittsburgh’s system at that time, pitching for the West Virginia Power in just his second year of pro baseball. As I think back to that game, I realize it’s a decade ago. Yikes.)
With just a short amount of time until first pitch, I decided to grab something to eat. I’d barely eaten anything since my two loaded hot dogs for breakfast in Greensboro, so I had more of an appetite than usual. I’d enjoyed my food at Truist Field during my last visit, but wanted to try something new this time — and was drawn to the Tender and Smoky BBQ stand on the third base side. Its menu offered lots of appealing options, and I chose the chopped brisket bowl. It featured a trio of chopped brisket, mac and cheese and coleslaw, and looked like this:
The quality of everything was really good, but I found the serving size a bit small. As you might’ve noticed above, there was an odd open space in my bowl, which I think would’ve been better served with more brisket as the serving of meat honestly seemed a little sparse. If this bowl had been a little more loaded, it would’ve been one of my favorite meals from the last few years.
The game began while I was eating, and after I finished my meal, I settled into a seat on the third base side. One of the nice things about being on this side of the park, as you’ll see in the next photo, is that even when you aren’t turned to look at the skyline beyond the outfield fence, you have a nice backdrop of buildings beyond first base and the right field corner:
After a few innings, I went over to the Home Run Porch and stood directly behind the right field foul pole, which gave me this view as the sun began to set:
I then made a quick, between-innings return to the team shop, where I bought a 1:64 scale NASCAR diecast car of Noah Gragson. The car was noteworthy because of its Charlotte Knights livery. Gragson drove the real version of this car in the 2022 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and I’d had my eye on this diecast since it was released last year. I was relieved to see a large selection of them at the team shop, so I happily bought one for my collection and took it to the outfield for this photo:
The sky was so picturesque in the background of the above shot that I elected to sit in the outfield for an inning, even if that meant that the Charlotte skylight was out of sight behind me:
I next moved over to the grass berm behind left field. It’s probably the biggest berm I’ve ever seen at a ballpark, and offers a nice view of the game if you sit on the center field side of it. If you’re on the left field side, a picnic area and one of the video boards obstructs your view. Here’s the view from where I sat in the grass for an inning:
In the game’s closing innings, I moved to a seat on the third base side of home plate. As impressive as the skylight is during the daytime hours, it’s arguably even more beautiful as the sky darkens and the buildings’ lights come on. As soon as sat down, I knew that I was done exploring for the night. I wanted to sit and enjoy this perfect view until the game’s final out. Here’s the view when I first took my seat:
And here’s what the field looked like as the Knights celebrated a win:
Given how much I was enjoying the view, I was in no hurry to leave, and remained standing in the seating bowl until all of the players had left the field. Then, I slowly made my way along the third base concourse and out to the sidewalk via the gates beyond center field. From there, I turned and snapped this last shot of the ballpark:
After a long day with two ballgames in two cities, I was thankful that I had just a short walk back to my hotel. The hotel was just perfect for a baseball traveler — and, I’d argue, any other type of traveler. Not only was I close to the ballpark, but I was an easy walk to many different tourist attractions around the Uptown district. Walking between the hotel and ballpark gave me a chance to explore the city, which is something that always augments my travels.
I was not only thankful for its location, but also for its comfy bed — which beckoned me after a long and fun day of baseball.
If you’re planning a visit to Charlotte, be sure to check out the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority to learn everything you need to know about this city. Thanks to the CRVA for their help with my visit.
The Ballpark Guide 