Collegeballparks.com's Guide to the College World Series

What you need to know about the annual blow-out in Omaha

What is the CWS all about?

First and foremost, I blame ESPN.

CWS Stats

Where: Rosenblatt Stadium (sometimes nicknamed The Blatt) at the intersection of Interstate 80 and 13th Street, south of downtown Omaha, Nebraska

Stadium name: Named for Johnny Rosenblatt who pushed for stadium's construction in the 1940s. He was later mayor of Omaha 1954 - 1961.

CWS first held here: 1950, when the University of Texas (coached by legendary Bibb Falk) won the CWS.

Capacity: listed as 23,100, but crowds topping 29,000 have squeezed in here.

Price: $25 for box seats in the early rounds and $31 for the finals, $18/$25 for reserved, $9 for general admission ($6 apiece when purchased in advance in a book of 10).

Paid parking in stadium lots: none

Before ESPN and ESPN2 started its exhaustive coverage of the College World Series, seats for many of the games went unsold. It was actually possible to park next to the stadium. And while there was a lot of hustle and bustle surrounding the week-long event, people didn't characterize it as being a "zoo."

Today, "zoo" is an appropriate description for the event ... a fact made all the more ironic because the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo is so close to Rosenblatt Stadium that they share parking lots.

So ESPN is responsible for popularizing an event that truly is one of the great annual spectacles in the world of sports. It's just that a lot of fans didn't realize this until these heart-pounding (and addictive) contests started appearing on cable TV.

If you've attended College World Series -- or "CWS" for short -- games, you know how great this event is. If you haven't, I bet you've wondered if it would be worth the trouble to go to Omaha to witness it.

The answer is: it most definitely is worth it!

I have to admit that I had visited Rosenblatt Stadium a few times without ever attending a CWS. That's because it is also used by the Omaha Royals of the Pacific Coast League (don't ask me how cities like Nashville and Omaha can be in a league that has "Pacific Coast" in its title. They just are.), and I attempt to visit and photograph every baseball park in the Majors and affiliated Minors. Since the College World Series isn't "pro" baseball, I never made an attempt to attend.

That was a big mistake, because it is some of the most enjoyable baseball I've ever witnessed. Truly, it made me wish I'd been making an annual trek to Omaha every June to take it in.

And the time was even more enjoyable once I learned a few things about the way the Series works -- about tickets, parking, lodging, seats to avoid, etc. I'll let you in on these hints as we work our way through this photo essay. Have you uncovered some tips of your own? Send me an e-mail and I'll share them with others.

But before we dive into things to avoid and ways to be more efficient during your visit, let's start with a description of what this event is all about.

As it is currently configured, Division 1 baseball is played by over 300 colleges and universities that are members of the NCAA. Many -- but not all -- of the conferences play end-of-the-season tournaments. Once these are completed, the NCAA chooses 64 (increased from 48 in 1999) schools to participate in its post-season tournament. The 16 highest-rated schools (that have the facilities to accommodate post-season play) get to host a "Regional," in which three other teams must come to the home turf of these 16 for a double-elimination playoff held over a weekend. The 16 schools that survive then play in one of eight "Super Regionals" the following weekend. These have a best-of-three format. The eight winning teams move on to the College World Series in Omaha, whose games typically start the following Friday.

The NCAA divides these eight squads into two brackets, and over the first four games -- each game is referred to as a "session" by the NCAA -- all eight teams play once. The losing four teams then start playing "elimination" games, because once a team loses its second game in the beginning round of the CWS, it goes home. The two teams that emerge from the two brackets then face off in a best-of-three round to see which team is crowned as the champion. In both 2006 and 2007, the survivors of the two brackets were North Carolina and Oregon State. Both times, the Beavers of OSU won the College World Series by vanquishing the Tar Heels in this final best-of-three round.

The best things about the CWS

There is a lot to like about the games themselves and the atmosphere that surrounds them.

The overall sport of baseball is nothing without its history and traditions, and this holds true of the CWS as well. My favorite CWS traditions are:

1. The opening ceremonies the day before the games begin. They seem to get more lavish every year.

2. The introductions of all of the players prior to the games

3. Every time a team scores a run, the school's fight song is played on the PA system.

4. The fans in the right-field stands (photo below) chant taunts at those in the left-field stands, and vice versa. Hilarious.

5. I've written often about how much I hate blaring rock music at baseball games and how much I love the sound of an organ. The genuine article -- an old-style electronic organ played by "legendary" Lambert Bartak, who's been playing at Rosenblatt for decades -- fills the air with the sounds of baseball of yesteryear.

There are other wonderful things that I wouldn't exactly characterize as being "traditions," but are noteworthy all the same. For one thing, the fans are really, really into the games. After a month of spring training games and two and a half months of early-season Major and Minor League baseball games, it is a welcomed change to see fans on fire for their teams. Also, the video scoreboard (below left, with some buildings from downtown Omaha in the distance) is simply phenomenal. There's not a better, more "high res" screen in baseball. The iconic Road To Omaha statue (below right), created by local sculptor John Lajba, is photographed thousands of times during CWS week.

In addition, there is an incredible amount to see and do outside the stadium before and between games. Be sure to set aside time to take it all in.

Unlike at, say, the Major League All Star Game or the Super Bowl, you don't have to purchase a ticket to get into the "Fan Fest" area. There are some interesting events and games there. Plus, big-name former players are booked by some of the sponsors to greet fans. Below is Robin Ventura, who was a star at the CWS while a player at Oklahoma State before going on to a solid big-league career, signing autographs at the State Farm tent.

Yes, there's a lot to like, but now let's look at the other side of the CWS coin ...

Things I could do without

In an event of this magnitude, there are certainly going to be elements that aren't optimal. Some are things that are unavoidable, while others really can be improved upon by the organizers of this event.

1. The use of "Men's"

This one bugs me. I can really do without the NCAA's new-found insistence on emphasizing the word Men's in the title of the whole event. For decades, this wonderful, magical week was referred to simply as the College World Series. Everyone knew that men played these baseball games. However, now that the NCAA is trying its best to promote the women's softball championships that are held in Oklahoma City each spring, they feel it's necessary to differentiate the two "World Series," as if putting an adjective in front of the baseball event will somehow elevate the softball event. Simply silly.

2. Not enough gates

There are simply too few entry gates at CWS games. It's not that Rosenblatt has too few gates. It's that a couple of them aren't utilized at all -- putting way too much pressure on the ones that are used. The two lines for General Admission entry -- one in right field and one in left -- are incredibly long, and the mass of humanity (that holds all the box and reserved seats) that attempts to squeeze in the main gate is ridiculous. The latter problem is especially bad when the throngs are trying to enter the late "session" each day (shown in the photo below), because most fans attend both games each day, but the stadium is cleared after each game. This leaves a lot of people needing to re-enter in a fairly short period of time. Really, more points of entry need to be utilized to reduce the wait.

3. The sham that is "single session tickets going on sale"

The CWS website touts that tickets for single sessions go on sale at such and such a time on such and such a date. What a crock! I connected with a Ticket Master operator a couple of minutes before this magical moment, so I was in a superior position to get the very best available seats. The problem is next to nothing is "available." After 20 minutes of searching, the Ticket Master rep couldn't find even a single game where my four family members could sit together, and for only two games could we find two sets of two seats together. While the rep on the phone was looking, I was doing the same on Ticket Master's website. I couldn't find any seats together. This means that thousands and thousands of seats are held back by the CWS people for tour operators, the eight schools that will one day qualify for the tournament and (this kills me) for sale the day of the game! Why?

Don't waste your time attempting to get single-game tickets online or by calling Ticketmaster the day they go on sale. Almost nothing is available. You might as well show up at Rosenblatt before 10:00 a.m., when the box office opens, on the day you want to attend games. Tickets that were (inexplicably) held back are put on sale then.

4. The cost of lodging

Perhaps you've actually read the fine print on the back of hotel doors. Typically, this will tell you the most that can be charged for your room when there's a "special event." Well, in the Omaha area, there is no event that is "specialer" than the College World Series! This means that hotels increase the cost of their rooms by anywhere from 50 to 100%. Ouch.

No, not everything is perfect at the College World Series, but if you are aware of the roadblocks you're likely to face, and you practice the "five p's," you'll have a great time ...

The five "p's"

A youth leader at my church back East used to love saying, "Remember the five p's: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance."

And planning appropriately for your trip to the CWS can make all the difference in the world to how much you enjoy your experience. This is true not only about lodging (see Hint #3 above) but also tickets. If you'll be going for the entire eight or nine days, then by all means purchase a "season ticket" for the entire shootin' match -- even if you don't intend to attend every game. You'll have no trouble unloading any tickets you won't be using. As mentioned above, obtaining reserved seats for single games ahead of time is nearly impossible.

Where you sit in Rosenblatt really makes a big difference. For the evening games -- which is when all of the championship-round games are played -- the setting sun is absolutely blinding to fans in right field and down the first-base line (see photo below).

If you'll be attending two games in one day -- which is absolutely the way to do it, so you can see all of the teams play -- plan ahead how you'll be spending your time between games. After all, they clear out the stadium between games, because each "session" requires its own ticket. Before the first game of the day, scout out which souvenir tents you'll want to come back to and when the former big leaguers will be signing autographs.

Also, remember that the evening games start at 6:00 local time, meaning you might want to eat before going back in the park for the second session of the day.

So with a little planning -- both way in advance and on the day of the games you want to attend -- you'll enjoy yourself immensely ...

The future of the CWS

There is a great deal of talk about Omaha building a new ballpark downtown. Not only would it be the home of the College World Series, it would also house the Omaha Royals. Undoubtedly, it would have fewer seats -- but far more luxury suites -- than Rosenblatt.

This would be a very, very good thing for the Royals, who currently play their home games in a two-thirds-empty Rosenblatt. In my opinion, it would be a very bad thing for the CWS, since it would cause an even bigger crunch for tickets than now. Sure, the CWS would sell out every luxury box it could possibly get its hands on, but the average fan would be left on the outside with even less access to seats than is currently the case.

I hope the city of Omaha doesn't pull the trigger on a new stadium. To me, the CWS simply belongs at Rosenblatt Stadium. Yes, it's a hassle to attend games here, but it is worth every bit of the aggravation ... especially when you know our hints above!

Go to the College Ballparks home page