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In my quest to find the best place in Louisville to see the Thunder fireworks show, I decided to venture out to see the 2010 show of the Thunder Over Louisville Slugger Field event. While the seats you don’t have to carry from your car and the actual restrooms are worth it if you plan to be downtown for a large portion of the day, you may want to head for the coast as the fireworks show approaches if you want to experience the effects of Thunder Over Louisville.
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In 2010, I watched Thunder Over Louisville from Slugger Field for the first time. We paid $ 35 a piece for tickets, and for that $ 35 we got a host of amenities: all-day access to royal restrooms, all-day seating, and entertainment through a baseball game and concert. If you’ve ever drugged lawn chairs on 14 city blocks and waited in line for 20 minutes to use a portable toilet without toilet paper, you’ll understand how appealing the Slugger Field amenities were.
Our seats were a bit disappointing. When we arrived we discovered that a structure was blocking our view of the river, something that was not mentioned when we bought the tickets. There was also no shade over our seats at any time of the day. What would have been a perfect day under a shady tree became a bit unbearable sometime in the afternoon due to the hot sun. Fortunately, there were shady areas with picnic tables that provided temporary relief from the sun.
You can venture in and out of the stadium as much as you like, so you can still enjoy the Chow Wagon, tourist shopping, and boardwalk walks. But if you just want to sit and read a book until the fireworks start, you have a comfortable seat to do so.
I was a little disappointed when the fireworks started because part of what I love about Thunder Over Louisville is how your chest beats with each explosion of the fireworks when you watch the show from the boardwalk, but you don’t really get that same Slugger experience Field. It ended up being a better experience for my 5 year old daughter who hates loud noises, she really enjoyed the show. But, if chest pounding is what you’re hoping for, you may be disappointed in the show even if you get a seat with a good view.
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Don’t let the seating chart convince you that you have good seats – we thought we had perfect seats until we arrived and realized there was a structure right next to our seats that completely blocked our view of the Second Street Bridge . The following sections and seats would have been the best places to see the show:
- 111, 110, 109, 108 and 107 – These seats are covered by an overhang that blocks the full view of the horizon in the higher rows, so the closer you can get to the lower rows, the better you can see the show.
- 106, 105 and 104 – any seat in these sections would be great.
- 212, 211, 210, 209 and 208 – These seats are second level and have a full view of the fireworks.
- Right-field bleachers: While these are probably the least comfortable seats in the entire stadium, they offer some of the best views in Thunder Over Louisville.
If I had to do it all over again I think I would have taken advantage of the restrooms and comfortable seating for the afternoon, but would have gone down to shore for the fireworks show. If this is what you plan to do, the following seats would be the best options, not for watching the show, but because they are covered and will keep you out of the rain and / or sun while you wait. the afternoon:
- Highest Rows 112-124: While these seats don’t offer a great view of Thunder Over Louisville, they are protected by an overhang that keeps you out of the rain and sun, offer a good view of the baseball game, and are close to concessions.
Pros
- Access to real bathrooms with real plumbing (you can flush the toilet and wash your hands).
- Comfortable seats for the whole afternoon.
- Fireworks are not as loud and can be less scary for young children.
- You can come and go as you please throughout the day, so you can enjoy all the festivities on the boardwalk.
Cons
- The number of seats that offer good views of the fireworks are vastly outnumbered by the number of seats that do not offer good views of the fireworks.
- Due to its distance from the river, you don’t really get the chest hitting experience that you get while standing on the river bank when fireworks go off.
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