The Ripken Experience Elizabethtown

★★★Ryan H

Insufficient parking, and concessions closing way ahead of the last games in summer heat negate how incredible the facility is in general. Coming back to say how bad parking is if there is any amount of a delay.

★Cheryl Ziarko

Save your money and play a lot closer to home, if the experience is scoreboards that are not used, no announcement using the speakers on each backstop, limited selection gift shop and dirty restrooms….that the experience. Total waste of Money

★Jen Johannsen

This experience is a joke. We just got home from a “guaranteed” three game tournament. I understand weather is out of anyone’s control but the way they handled the situation today was abysmal. Our team was in the top 10 - gold bracket. There were 21 teams in our 13U age bracket. We had an 8am game delayed due to thunderstorms. The weather cleared at 11am. We received an “email” telling us we were booted from playing and they would only let the top 8 teams play. I get eliminating teams that didn’t qualify for the championship, and we’ve been that team before, but they limited 1 game! They couldn’t shorten all the games by 10 mins to let the entire gold bracket play? People spend a lot of money to travel and of course we spent another night in hotel fees to be told- sorry you aren’t playing. No flexibility, compassion or willingness to make things fair for all.

★★★★Mathew Powers

On its face, it's a terrific facility and tournament. Travel-ball players/parents can be spoiled, so I don't want to forget that kids are playing ball on turf fields with a lot of amenities; and that's fantastic. It is indeed a great facility. But, *compared* to our Ripken Experience at Myrtle Beach, and from what my friends have described to me at Pigeon Forge, I was a *bit* disappointed in the Ripken Experience in Elizabethtown. It just lacked the "bells and whistles" provided to us in our previous trip. (Again, I'm giving it 4 stars, so I don't want to sound harsh here). Whereas Myrtle included PA announcers every game, trivia and music between every inning, and otherwise offered a genuine "big league feel," the PA announcers at E-town were only available "here and there," the music was only on some fields and, because of the quad-field structure, music from one field bled to other fields including during the play, which was a little annoying at times. (Again, all of this is cool, but compared to Myrtle.... well, that's the point here.). Most of our games did not have PA announcing or mid-inning music at all, including in games without rain issues. The big issue was the concessions. The lines the first few days were just insane. Some people waited 45 minutes for food and..I mean, it's concession food. That needs to get fixed. That was bad. If I reviewed that one aspect of the tourney, it would get one-star. Also, the decisions on when to delay games in the rain was bizarre. Some teams pitched through driving rainstorms, throwing balls into screens and hitting kids, utterly unable to throw strikes. And then, the officials delayed the game after the half-inning concluded, meaning the opposing team came back to face conditions exceptionally better. Some lopsided games resulted as a result. (Again -- it's youth baseball and I'm only commenting on the negatives here. Four stars..four stars *smile*.) Myrtle also had a lovely store to shop where the E-town site just has a few racks at the entrance. Still cool stuff, but not nearly as cool or well set-up as other Ripken sites. Note: The fields are turf infield and grass outfield. Some people like that, some people did not. So, I only mention that for others to know. With all that being said, my son loved it and didn't want to leave. It is a GREAT facility and a wonderful place to watch baseball -- nice viewing areas!! Make no mistake; it's incredible that youth baseball has grown to provide opportunities like this to young athletes. I never had that until high school -- and that was only in the playoffs. But, week long travel tournaments are expensive and if someone asked me if the E-town Ripken Experience is worth it, I would say "no." I would recommend another Ripken event or one of the other competing venues/tournaments as there are many these days.

★★★★★Sarah Hill

This complex is beautiful! Very well maintained, clean, and perfect for our weekend tournament. Bleacher seating with canopy shades, great concessions, nice bathrooms, and turf fields. The little kids enjoyed the playground that was fenced in; and even had fencing on top so parents didn’t have to worry about wild balls hitting them. Umps were fair and staff was friendly.