Charlotte Knights' June trip to Indy & Louisville

[maurice]

The Knights have back-to-back, 4-game sets in Indy (http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=t484) and Louisville (http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=t416), beginning Friday, June 1st. Both cities have great ballparks adjacent to their downtowns and waterfront parks. Indy is about a 3-hour drive from the Cell, and Louisville is another 2 hours or so down I-65 from Indy.

Fri., 6/1 - 7:00 p.m. - CHR @ Ind - Fireworks
Sat., 6/2 - 7:00 p.m. - CHR @ Ind - Autographs
Sun., 6/3 - 2:00 p.m. - CHR @ Ind - Golf umbrellas
Mon., 6/4 - 7:00 p.m. - CHR @ Ind - $1 hotdogs, etc.
Tue., 6/5 - 7:05 p.m. - CHR @ Lou - $1 hotdogs, etc.
Wed., 6/6 - 7:05 p.m. - CHR @ Lou - Radio Disney
Thu., 6/7 - 7:05 p.m. - CHR @ Lou - Pre-game music
Fri., 6/8 - 7:05 p.m. - CHR @ Lou - Fireworks, etc.

[LuvSox]

Kewl. Indy has a nice park.

[maurice]

The Indianapolis Jndjans play at lovely Victory Field:
http://www.minorleagueballparks.com/vfcf.jpg

Tickets are $9 or $13, and parking is $4 or $5. Concessions are pretty standard ballpark fare. The park is located just west of downtown Indy and just east of White River State Park. map (http://www.indydt.com/dtmap.html)

The State Park has a nice zoo (http://www.indydt.com/dtmap.html) and botanical garden. It also is the end point of the downtown canal walk (http://www.discovercanal.com/):
http://www.world-guides.com/images/indianapolis/indianapolis_canal_walk2.jpg

The canal walk runs past numerous government buldings and museums, including the State Museum and the NCAA Hall of Champions.

Downtown Indy features several impressive war memorials like this one:
http://www.world-guides.com/images/indianapolis/indianapolis_wwar_memorial2.jpg
There also are many hotels, and lots of places to eat or shop, especially in and near the Circle Centre Mall (http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=163).

All of this is within walking distance of the ballpark.

[McDoofus]

Damn, if we still had money left over from our Toledo trip I'd so go. It was so worth it and I have the feeling Indy would be, too. We'll see what happens.

[maurice]

Indy is close enough that you can make a day trip to the Sunday game and still be back home at a decent hour.

[maurice]

The Bats play at Louisville Slugger field:
http://www.floodcontrolam.com/images/louisville1-1.jpg

Tickets are $6 to $10, and parking is pretty scattered. If you have kids, the reserved seating behind the LF lawn area is great. That also puts you close to the awesome BBQ concession on the LF concourse.

Nearby, the waterfront park runs along the Ohio River. map (http://www.louisvilleky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/F7C17EAF-4814-4B2B-8556-0820056495A6/0/wpmaplg.jpg)
You can take boat ride on the Belle of Louisville:
http://www.countryinns.com/chi/images/hotels/KYLOUCTY/area3_450.jpg

Other downtown attractions include the Louisville Slugger Museum (http://www.sluggermuseum.org/) & Factory, the Frazier Arms Museum (http://www.frazierarmsmuseum.org/), the Muhammad Ali Center (http://www.alicenter.org/), and the 4th Street (http://www.4thstlive.com) live music venues.

Finally, Louisville also is famous for Churchill Downs:
http://www.nationaltrust.org/magazine/_images/story/churchill-downs.jpg

[maurice]

The series in Indy starts tomorrow.

I'll probably catch 4 of 5 of the 8 games.

[maurice]

I just wanted to jot a few things down for future reference, since the Knights make this trip twice a year.

We stayed at the Residence Inn (http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sdfgj-residence-inn-louisville-downtown/) in downtown Louisville, which is less than a block from the ballpark. It's a nice, newer property. It's also apartment-style, so you get your own kitchen and such, which is great for families. Buffet breakfast is included and they have free beverages and snacks Monday through Thursday evening.

Louisville also has an excellent, locally owned restaurant scene. Nearby options include Primo (http://www.primorestaurant.net/) and Artemisia (http://www.artemisiarestaurant.com/), both on Market Street within walking distance of the park.

- - -

As for Indy, we discovered that you can park for free in the State Park across from Victory Field, if you get there hours before game time. This was not a problem for us, since there is so much to do within walking distance of the park. We just spent a couple hours at the zoo, watched the dolphin show, and strolled along the canal.