Which of the 10 Never Before Seen Facts on Oracle Park Will Impress You the Most? Those 10 Facts on Oracle Park are…
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10 Never Before Seen Facts on Oracle Park
Oracle Park is one of the league’s west coast stadiums every baseball fan has on their bucket list. In fact, the Giants stadium opened in 2000 and last hosted the All-Star Game in 2007. Any San Francisco fan that bleeds Giants Orange will know every information possible, from the team winning the World Series championships since 2010 to Matt Cain throwing a perfect game in 2012. However, there are new Oracle Park facts that many baseball supporters never knew or never heard of in their lives. For details on what facts baseball fans rarely knew about, please refer to 10 Never Before Seen Facts on Oracle Park below!
10: Kanye West’s Proposal to Kim Kardashian at Oracle Park
Kanye West’s marriage to Kim Kardashian was one of America’s top stories of the 2010s decade. The rapper and the television personality even formed a nickname called “Kimye.” But did you know that it all started at Oracle Park? In Fall 2013, Kanye decided to do something out of the box to get Kardashian to marry him. He spent over $6 million on renting out the then-AT&T Park in addition to buying an engagement ring, creating a fireworks display, and hiring a 50-member orchestra.
When the couple arrived on the field at the ballpark, Kanye got out the ring and showed Kardashian the centerfield video board. Then, the highlight making moment took place when the video board said “please marry me.” Afterwards, Kimye were married in 2014 but went their separate ways in 2022.
9: Dave Matthews Band Has Played the Most Shows at Oracle Park
It is not uncommon that live show concerts are taking place at baseball stadiums. Interestingly, there are teams that previously hosted live music shows. Those teams were the following: Pirates, Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles, Dodgers, Rangers, Cardinals, Brewers, and many more. Concerts can vary with either a post-game event or just a stand alone performance during the off-season. But did you know that the Dave Matthews Band has played the most shows at Oracle Park? And that doesn’t count singing at National Anthems or having themed nights.
For the Dave Matthews Band, they performed their first show at the then-Pacific Bell Park in Spring 2001. In fact, Dave Matthews and his band were the first artists to play a live music concert at the SF Giants stadium. 16 Years later, the band returned to the then-AT&T Park as part of the “Band Together Band Area” event with Metallica. The series of concerts were donating proceeds from ticket sales to those affected by the Northern California wildfires that took place that October. Following the live shows, the bands raised approximately $15 million in relief efforts.
8: SF Giants Stadium Previously had a Build-A-Bear Workshop® Store in the Outfield Concourse
Oracle Park usually has a couple team stores where fans can buy souvenirs as well as game programs. Also, baseball fans can use their money to buy food from concession stands and visit the outfield fan plaza. But believe it or not, the SF Giants stadium formerly housed a Build-A-Bear Workshop® store in the fan plaza. Opened in 2006, the one-of-a-kind shop allows children to get stuffed animals like the Lou Seal mascot and a Teddy Bear.
Normally, the Build-a-Bear Workshop® stores occupy their spaces inside shopping malls across the country. The Giants were one of the couple MLB teams to have such a store in their ballpark, joining the Nationals, Phillies, and Cardinals. Unfortunately, the Build-A-Bear Workshop® at the SF Giants ballpark is no longer available. In 2013, the Teddy Bear stand got replaced by the social media-themed coffee store called “@Café.”
7: Coca-Cola® Bottle (Left Field) was Supposed to Shoot Out Bubbles
The Coca-Cola® Bottle at the left field concourse is perhaps the most eye-catching feature at Oracle Park. The bottle has two slides where only children can ride through. In addition, the bottle’s exterior lights flash up in green whenever a Giants player hits a home run. However, what a lot of fans never knew was that there were supposed to be bubbles coming out of the bottle’s cap area. The bubbling effect was meant to envision the feel of a bottle opening up fizzy soda filled with bubbles. When the then-Pacific Bell Park first opened in the early 2000s, the Coca-Cola® bottle was expected to showcase its unique features.
Unfortunately, the bubbles effect was the only feature that wasn’t working as they weren’t coming out of the bottle’s cap. The other features, like the lighting in green effect and the slides, seem to be working just fine. Despite the team’s best efforts, the SF Giants eventually scrapped the bubble-shooting effect altogether and the bottle attraction is displayed as it is today. Well, look at the bright side! Having no bubbles is better than having no Coca-Cola® Bottle at all. Actually, the bottle almost didn’t happen for two reasons: (1) it would’ve blocked views of San Francisco Bay, and (2) city officials wanted a large peace sign in left field instead.
6: Oracle Park Used to Host Monster Jam® Truck Shows
The home for the San Francisco Giants would host non-baseball events one in a while, like live concerts and even marriage proposals. In fact, Oracle Park conducts stadium tours throughout the year (including the off-season). But did you know that Oracle Park used to host Monster Jam® truck shows? During the mid-2000s, the SF Giants stadium held monster truck rallies for several years. These types of shows have a reputation for having loud engines along with trucks doing amazing tricks like the freestyle jump.
Unfortunately, Monster Jam® has not returned to Oracle Park since 2007. Perhaps the main reason was due to California’s lack of rainy weather. Normally, the monster truck rallies are played in wet mud. Since San Francisco doesn’t get as much rain as any other city, the ballpark made it difficult for Monster Jam® to continue forward on the SF Giants’ home turf.
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5: SF Giants Stadium is the Only MLB Ballpark to Have a Bowling Alley
The waterfront stadium is famous for its Coca-Cola® Bottle along with the huge 1900s glove in left field. In addition, Oracle Park has a “Splash Hits” counter located in right field. But believe it or not, Oracle Park is the only MLB stadium to have a real bowling alley. In a secret room located at the 3rd base side of the suite level, the Gotham Game Room has a two-lane bowling alley that comes with bowling shoes and a nearby bar area. Also, the Gotham Game Room has a pool table as well as arcade-style video games.
The suite level space was named in honor of the Giants’ first team name, the New York Gothams, before changing their name to the New York Giants in the late 1800s. By the way, the Gotham Game Room is not to be confused with the Gotham Clubhouse dining section located behind the right field out-of-town scoreboard.
4: There’s an Aquarium with Live Fish at Oracle Park
The Fan Plaza at left field is probably the most visited gathering space at Oracle Park. The plaza has the Green Bottle with two slides along with a gigantic 1900s baseball mitt. As we mentioned earlier in the article, the Fan Plaza previously housed a Build-A-Bear Workshop® where the @Cafe coffee stand sits today. But did you know that there’s also a live aquarium at the plaza? Located to the right of the Ghirardelli® Ice Cream stand at left field is the Kid Zone that looks like a miniature version of Oracle Park.
Inside the right field wall of the Kids Zone is a live fish aquarium that debuted in 2017. By the way, the aquarium is only accessible during game days and not during stadium tours. In any event of non-baseball activities, the fish tanks would be covered to protect the animal species from the bright sun. Oracle Park is not the only MLB stadium to host a live aquarium as LoanDepot Park in Miami had one behind home plate.
3: Fans Can Get a Piece of Candlestick Park at the SF Giants Stadium
Candlestick Park was the home for the Giants for nearly 40 years before the team moved to their downtown waterfront stadium. Another thing to remember is that the former venue hosted the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers until its final season in 2013. The now-demolished stadium has made great memories like hosting the 1989 World Series (despite the earthquake) and being the home for multi-Super Bowl champions Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. But today, fans can get a piece of Candlestick Park at Oracle Park.
Located at the outfield concourse close to the replica trolley car are four orange seats from Candlestick Park. Fans can actually sit in those seats while waiting for their turn to check out the trolley car. Next to those four orange seats is a sign that tells a brief history of Candlestick Park.
2: Oracle Park had a Moving Sign Connected to Right Field! Well, Sort of!
When baseball fans come to Oracle Park, they remember some of the features like the Green Bottle at left field and the McCovey Cove at right field. If spectators had seats at the first base side, they could see the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. But here’s what baseball fanatics probably didn’t remember! During the then-Pacific Bell Park’s first season, there was a moving mechanical man named Rusty. The 14-foot tall mechanical man was located at the right field wall and the sign would move for every SF Giants home run. Rusty’s movements were the following: pitching, running, sliding, and gliding backwards.
Unfortunately, Rusty was short-lived due to technical difficulties on the mechanical sign. During games, the sign either moved very slowly or didn’t move at all. After the first season, Rusty the mechanical man was gone for good. For the record, the sign wasn’t the only thing that broke down during the park’s first years. As we said earlier in the article, the bubbles effect from the green bottle at left field didn’t go on as planned.
1: SF Giants Stadium is the Youngest MLB Ballpark to Host a Perfect Game
Oracle Park hosted many of the SF Giants’ great achievements during the 2010s. The Giants won three World Series championships in 2010, 2012, and 2014. Also, the waterfront stadium hosted three no-hitters in its history: Jonathan Sanchez in 2009, Matt Cain in 2012, and Tim Lincecum in 2014. But when Matt Cain threw his no-no in 2012, Oracle Park became the youngest MLB stadium to ever host a perfect game. For those who don’t know, a perfect game takes place when a pitcher goes through nine innings without giving up a hit or giving up a baserunner via walk or hit by pitch. To add on to the fact, there can’t be fielding errors during a perfect game.
Anyway, in June 2012, Matt Cain threw the SF Giants’ first perfect game in franchise history vs. Houston Astros. Cain made 14 strikeouts, which tied the all-time record for a perfect game (Sandy Koufax vs. Cubs in 1965). However, Cain’s perfect game was nearly tainted before Gregor Blanco made a diving catch in the outfield in the 7th inning. 2012 turned out to be the year of perfect games as MLB also saw the ones from Philp Humber (White Sox) and Felix Hernandez (Mariners).
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