Inside AT&T Park’s Gotham Club, a baseball VIP experience like no other
SAN FRANCISCO — The door is like many at AT&T Park — it’s nondescript and it doesn’t look like it goes anywhere special. Maybe it’s a maintenance closet?
There’s a sign to the right of the door that doesn’t make too much sense to the average person. It reads, “Suite B2 Electrical and IDF Rooms.” In the middle of the door is a square with two crossed bats and “GC 1883.” If you were walking on AT&T Park’s suite level and didn’t know better, you’d keep on walking.
Heck, if you happened to open the door and look, you’d just see a blank grey wall. If you turned your head, though, and looked the other direction, you’d see a host stand and service staff dressed in black, welcoming you to The Gotham Club.
It’s hidden in plain sight, but behind that door is a VIP experience unlike any other in MLB. All baseball eyes are on AT&T Park this weekend with the Giants hosting the World Series, but people watching at home won’t know this even exists. It’s a sort of baseball country club for diehard San Francisco Giants fans who shell out a nice chunk of change for a members-only pre- and post-game hangout space. There’s nothing else like this in MLB, Gotham Club reps say.
They call this The Game Room, it’s part of The Gotham Club experience, with a two-lane bowling alley, a pool table, vintage arcade games, a bar, black-and-white baseball photos on the wall and music from 60 years ago. The bowling alley, in true baseball fashion, counts mph on each roll.
There’s also The Clubhouse, another part of the Gotham Club. That too is hidden in plain sight. It’s behind the out-of-town scoreboard in AT&T’s right field. There’s a large bar there that looks out into the area Hunter Pence patrols, there’s a fancy dining room with a view that overlooks McCovey Cove and there are even more vintage baseball photos and posters.
“This is a hidden gem,” says Mike Kremko, watching from a window as the field gets prepared for another day of October baseball.
Because most people don’t even know it exists, The Gotham Club has a speakeasy vibe.
“That’s exactly what it feels like when we’re in here,” says Valerie Hill, sitting next to Kremko, with a pair of drinks in front of them.
The Gotham Club takes it name from Giants’ history. They were the New York Gothams from 1883 to 1885 (hence the aforementioned “GC 1883”), before becoming the New York Giants. The club mixes the Giants’ New York and San Francisco histories well.
The Game Room, for instance, is inspired by John McGraw and Christy Mathewson. McGraw owned pool halls and bowling alleys in the 1900s, and bowling became popular with his teammates at the time. Mathewson, meanwhile, was a skilled checkers player. The Clubhouse is inspired by the players’ clubhouse at The Polo Grounds, which was in the outfield and had windows looking out toward the field.
There’s also another source of inspiration: Club 33 at Disneyland, a members-only “secret” club that’s in New Orleans Square. When the Giants were trying to do something new, they didn’t look around baseball. They looked outside of it. Disney fans have learned a lot more about Club 33 in recent years, but AT&T Park’s Gotham Club is still a secret to many. Members, however, love it. So much so that some of the posters and photos in the club are borrowed from members. Recent playoff games have seen as many 600 people filtering through the club. They even show up to watch road games from The Gotham Club.
Two fans were standing in front of one Gotham Club photo wall recently, rewinding through history.
“‘Sixty-nine!” one of them exclaimed, referring to the 1969 club, which played in the brand-new-at-the-time NL West.
“Look at Kruk back in the day,” the other said, referring to Mike Krukow, the former Giants pitcher and current Giants broadcaster.
There’s a wall of baseball bats in The Clubhouse inscribed with members’ names — a different version of the commemorative bricks that many stadiums have. Gotham Club membership is limited to 1,000 fans. The Game Room opened this spring. The Clubhouse opened in July. As the Giants ride another successful postseason run into October, there are about 100 Gotham Club spaces left. Once they fill up, there will be a waiting list for new members.
At this point, you’re probably wondering what all this costs. New members pay a $2,500 initiation fee and then have annual dues of $1,250-$1,750. That’s good for a member and a guest. Five-person and 10-person memberships are available too. Respectively, they have $10,000 and $20,000 initiation fees with $5,000 and $10,000 annual dues. So, it’s a lot more expensive than a ballpark beer and a hot dog.
The Gotham Club has other benefits too. Members have a private entrance into the park, meaning fewer lines and no madness on giveaway days. They can watch Giants batting practice either from the Clubhouse or from the right-field warning track. They call that area The Bullpen, the third Gotham Club venue. It has a bar too. If members watch from the field, they get to walk across the field to their seats.
Gary Rossiter, a Giants season-ticket holder and Gotham Club member, says it’s a great way to entertain clients for his business. Think they’re not impressed by visiting a hush-hush club? But above all, Rossiter says, he values the baseball camaraderie in The Gotham Club.
“There are like-minded souls here,” he says. “Good baseball fans.”
As such, he says he enjoys being able to get close to the out-of-town scoreboard. He laughs and fiddles with a scoreboard plate sitting near his feet.
“I can change the score if I want,” he jokes.
He could make the Dodgers lose whenever he wants.
“That’s right,” Rossiter laughs. “It’s a perfect world.”
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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
