Chicago Dogs Opening Day at Impact Field

Disclosure: I was invited to as a guest to attend The Chicago Dogs opening day at Impact Field on May 25, 2018. The following opinions are my own.

There is a new sports team in town. The Chicago Dogs baseball team recently opened their first season at the brand new $63 million IMPACT Field development in Rosemont, IL. The stadium is a 6,300 seat baseball field with a 10,000 person concert capacity. The concourse is includes open views of the field, concessions, and area surrounding the stadium. There is also an attached parking garage with 850 parking spaces.

Attending @TheChicagoDogs #OpeningDay with @skywaitress. Incredible new field. Thanks for the invite! #ChicagoDogs @ImpactMyBiz pic.twitter.com/tJP50zFwvi

— Joel Gratcyk (@joelgratcyk) May 25, 2018

Abigail and I attended opening day on Friday, May 25, 2018. The energy in the crowd was pretty fantastic. There was a wide range of families, singles, retirees, and media.

There was a live band playing outside the main gates into the stadium. The line moved quickly into the stadium and security was professional.

We spent a good part of the first inning in line for concessions. That time waiting gave us a clear view of what its like to be in the club house above the main concourse. This was our view from below looking up.

Our tickets/seats were close to the field. I don’t think there is really a bad seat in the house.

There was an ongoing joke throughout the whole game about how there is “no ketchup on hotdogs at Impact Field.” This is a photo of the ketchup running onto the field just before he/she was carted off by security.

There are areas all around the stadium to stand and eat your food if you don’t want to cart everything back to your seats. The hot dogs we got were luke-warm when we got them.

The beers available on site, that I noticed, included Miller Lite, Coors Lite, Linnie’s Summer Shandy and 1867. This is disappointing. There are many local Chicago craft brewers who would be a perfect fit for an “independent” team like the Chicago Dogs. The bills, however, do get paid more reliably by the mass produced macro brewers.

There is a well stocked merchandise shop.

The shop seemed to be busy the whole night.

There is plenty of room to walk around during the game if you want to stretch your legs are get a different view of the ballpark.

There are plenty of activities for the kids before and during the game.

There are also spots around the concourse to sit and eat. Some are first come first served and others can be reserved by groups.

The main video screen even has instant replays when needed. I found it amusing that this camera guy was getting bothered by fans because he was just out in the open. Poor guy.

My date for the night, SkyWaitress, had a blast.

This is such a beautiful new stadium. I hope to make it back to several more of the 50 scheduled home games this inaugural season. Check out some of the upcoming special themed night listed below.

The Chicago Dogs 2018 Inaugural Season includes regular daily promotions on game days:

• $3 bottomless popcorn
• $3 bottomless fountain drinks
• Game Day USA Top Dog Youth skills competition (Ages 8 – 15)
• Post-game autographs