RSVP Montgomery

Brad Spear

Growing up in the small town of Lapine, Alabama (about 30 miles south of Montgomery), my summers were not easily filled with fun activities. Sure, we found ways to have fun – like digging a hole in the backyard and filling it with the water hose, essentially creating our own “pond.” It was a pool or a pond really, depending on what was good for us at that particular time. Such creativity wasn’t always appreciated by the parents, but we had to find our own entertainment.

Go back about a decade or so, and the people of Montgomery were struggling with a similar issue – not much to do in town, even less to do in downtown. Lucky for us, the Montgomery Biscuits and Riverwalk stadium changed all that. Some pretty intelligent minds recognized that just making downtown Montgomery beautiful again would not fix the issue. There had to be an anchor – one that would effectively draw crowds out to see all the hard work. Without it, the revitalization would never be successful. Without revitalization, downtown Montgomery would remain a vastly vacant business district.

Enter Double-A baseball, a unique stadium, and draft beer. Sure, that last one was huge for all of Montgomery, but it was extremely important for a successful baseball organization. Personally speaking, Thirsty Thursdays can become ritualistic. However, the stadium has character all its own. There are only 30 cities in the U.S. with Double-A baseball. Few of them nestle up close to a river. Add to that the fact that Riverwalk is carved out of a train shed that is over a century old, and most of the other Double-A ballparks fail to compare.

I’ve been to 20+ games in the last few years. While I haven’t viewed the field from each of the 4,500 seats, I have been in just about every section. There really is not a bad seat in the house. The company I work for is a big supporter of Biscuits baseball, so I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy a game from one of the 20 suites. Walking into an air-conditioned room with great food and cold beverages while still watching the baseball – that’s about as luxurious as I can get. Of course, most of my trips to Riverwalk have found me behind first or third base. The prices are certainly affordable, and you can easily get close enough to heckle the opposing pitcher (not speaking from experience). If you are going for maximum cost effectiveness, there’s always the lawn. It’s only $8. Bring yourself a blanket or folding chair and keep your eyes open – you’ll have a really good chance to catch a foul ball. If you have kids, the lawn would work out nicely as they can run around some. Regardless of your seats, if you bring children, they will definitely want to spend some serious time at the children’s playground. My son would grow roots there if I allowed it - he gets pretty excited when I tell him we are going to see the Biscuits.

Yes, the Montgomery Biscuits. When I first heard the name, I must admit, I wasn’t the biggest fan. After visiting the stadium, watching some games, and thoroughly enjoying myself, I quickly came to like it. And then it happened – I saw the little cross-eyed biscuit guy with the plat of butter tongue. I was hooked. Remembering back to those summer days of my childhood, my mom always took the time to make us a real breakfast. This may reveal too much about how my mind works, but I was the first kid out of bed when the smell of homemade biscuits disseminated throughout the house. They say you can’t miss something until it’s gone. Unfortunately, the biscuits I make these days come out of a can. With about two months of baseball left, there’s no time to wait – go get you some Biscuits!

Go Back >