Defending Our Turf
What's wrong with Cooper Stadium? Why not ask what's right with it? The capacity is ideal; large enough to accomodate dime-a-dog crowds without seeming abandoned other nights. Parking is plentiful and egress is easy. As for the cost, even box seats are only $8. Anyone wishing to replace that with a pricy, new park must be suffering from a severe edifice complex.
In Foul Grounds?
What many dislike about the stadium is its West Side locale: not a great place to visit and you wouldn't want to live there. But if the neighborhood ambience isn't attractive, the baseball ambience is. A mix of young families and older hardcore fans, Coop crowds are there to see and not to be seen.
Old or Traditional? You Make the Call
The Coop is the league's oldest facility, another alleged strike against it. But obviously, one's man trash is another's treasured heritage. Since the '70s, the Clippers have been a dominant team, while Willie Stargell and Enos Slaugher tramped these grounds for the Columbus Jets and RedBirds. Enhancing the connection to the past was the return to a grass field in 1999.