In this picture you can't even see the stadium, you can see a large fence in the background which is the back side of a driving range, and the stadium is on the other side of the range... and the line winds... ridiculous! So, no more unreserved seats for Tigers games unless the reserved seats are all sold out...So, on the way in to the stadium, I saw a bunch of flags that said "New Jingu, New Swallows". "New Swallows" I understood because they lost several players in the off-season, but I didn't know that Jingu was "new'. Jingu is my favorite stadium in the Tokyo area because it's small, it's old, and it's a great place to see a game, very nice sight lines, great atmosphere, so what's new? Well, 1st, and most important, they replaced the astro turf with brand new field turf! That is very good news! About time! Why they didn't go for grass, I'm not sure, it would have been the better choice, since it's an outdoor stadium, but of course, it's more expensive, so the field turf is OK I guess.
What else is new? Well, let me tell you! Not much. They also added new video screens in center field (it seems), and behind home. I think the one in center is new, I could be wrong, but it seems a bunch clearer and bigger than it used to be. The screen behind home is for sure new because now it shows what is on the big board in center instead of just displaying the score. Aside from those changes, the only other thing that seems to be different is that there are some new concourse shops. I'll give the renovation an B. I think the field change was great, they kept the basic feel of the stadium the same, with some minor improvements, the only thing that could have been better would be grass!
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