Minute Maid Park From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Minute Maid Park The Juice Box Former names The Ballpark at Union Station (2000) Enron Field (2000-2002) Astros Field (February 2002- July 2002) Location 501 Crawford Street Houston, Texas 77002 Coordinates 29°45′25″N 95°21′19″W / 29.75694°N 95.35528°W / 29.75694; -95.35528 Broke ground November 1, 1997 Opened March 30, 2000 (Exhibition) April 7, 2000 (Regular Season) Owner Harris County-Houston Sports Authority Surface Grass Construction cost $250 million Architect HOK Sport Capacity 40,950 (2000) Field dimensions Left Field - 315 ft (96 m) Left-Center - 362 ft (110 m) Left-Center (deep) - 404 ft (123 m) Center Field - 436 ft (133 m) Right-Center - 373 ft (114 m) Right Field - 326 ft (99 m) Tenants Houston Astros (MLB) (2000-present) Minute Maid Park (formerly The Ballpark at Union Station, Enron Field, and Astros Field) is a ballpark in Houston, Texas, United States that opened in 2000 to house the Houston Astros. The ballpark was Houston's first retractable-roofed stadium, protecting fans and athletes from Houston's notoriously humid weather as its predecessor, the Astrodome, did, but allowing fans to also enjoy outdoor baseball; something they couldn't do in the Astrodome. The ballpark also features a grass field, compared to the Astrodome's artificial AstroTurf, which was generally disliked by professional baseball players. The largest entrance to the park is inside what was once Houston's Union Station, and the left-field side of the stadium features a train as homage to the site's history. The train moves along a track on top of the length of the exterior wall beyond left field whenever an Astros player hits a home run, or when the Astros win a game. The engine's tender, traditionally used to carry coal, is filled with giant oranges in tribute to Minute Maid's most famous product, orange juice. Contents [hide] 1 Previous names 2 Features 2.1 2004 2.2 2006 2.3 2008 3 Gallery 4 Major events 5 Ballpark firsts 6 Events other than baseball 7 References 8 Notes [edit] Previous names Exterior of Minute Maid ParkThe ballpark was first christened as Enron Field on April 9, 1999, with naming rights sold to the Houston energy and financial trading company in a 30 year, $100 million deal. Astros management faced a public relations nightmare when the energy corporation went bankrupt in the midst of one of the biggest corporate scandals in American history in 2001, and they bought back the remainder of Enron's thirty years of naming rights for $2.1 million, rechristening the ballpark as Astros Field on February 7, 2002. The field was unofficially known as "The Field Formerly Known As Enron" by fans and critics alike, in wake of the Enron scandal. On June 5, 2002, Houston-based Minute Maid, the fruit-juice subsidiary of Coca-Cola, acquired the naming rights to the stadium for 28 years at a price exceeding $100 million. Based on its downtown location next to the old Union Station buildings, one of the suggested names (and nicknames) is the Ballpark at Union Station, or the BUS. During its days as Enron Field, it was also dubbed "Ten-Run" or "Home Run" Field due to its cozy left-field dimensions. In keeping with this theme while paying homage to its current sponsor, the nickname "The Juice Box" is colloquially used today. [edit] Features In dramatic contrast to the Astrodome, the most pitching-oriented stadium in Major League Baseball for most of its existence, Minute Maid Park is known for being particularly hitter-friendly down the lines, especially in left field where it is only 315 ft (96 m) to the Crawford Boxes, though the wall there is 19 feet (5.8 m) tall. In a challenge to home run hitters, Drayton McLane's office windows, located in the old Union Station and directly above the Crawford Boxes, are made of glass and marked as 442 ft (135 m) from home plate. In contrast to the ease of hitting a home run to the Crawford Boxes, it is quite difficult to hit a ball out in center field. Fielding is a challenge there as well, due to the 90-foot (27 m) wide center field incline known as Tal's Hill, for team president Tal Smith, an element taken from Crosley Field and other historic ballparks (in a bit of gallows humor, the hill is also known as the "Grassy Knoll"), and the flagpole in play, an element taken from Yankee Stadium before its remodeling in the mid-'70s and Tiger Stadium among others. Milwaukee Brewers player Richie Sexson once hit a ball off the flagpole and there is still a mark there. While Crosley Field's infamous left field terrace, which was half as steep (only 15 degrees) as Tal's Hill (30 degrees), was a natural feature of the site on which the park was located, Tal's Hill is purely decorative. Both structures have been held in equal disdain by the respective outfielders who have had to patrol those areas. This hill has caused some of the most replayed catches in recent baseball history, and plenty of controversy as well. Lance Berkman said, "If the ball rolls onto the hill, it's not steep enough to roll back, so you have to go get it. Then there's the chance of running into the flagpole that's on it and getting hurt.” Fans started an online petition to remove the hill and flagpole, though the petition has since been discontinued. A concourse above Tal's Hill features the "Conoco Home Run Porch" in left-center field that is actually over the field of play, and features a classic gasoline pump that displays the total number of Astros home runs hit since the park opened. The stadium can also be fully air-conditioned when required. Larry's Big Bamboo is a bar based on the popular Big Bamboo Lounge in Kissimmee, Florida near the Astros spring training facility. The simple bar was well known to Astros players, staff and fans who frequented the Florida bar after games. [edit] 2004 In 2004, the Astros launched Wi-Fi throughout the ballpark, allowing fans to use the Internet while attending a game for a fee. In addition, the ballpark is the first major sports facility to have a closed captioning board for the hearing impaired. The visiting team's bullpen is housed entirely in the exterior left field wall, next to the Crawford Boxes, making it one of the few bullpens in Major League ballparks to be completely indoors. Although windows in the outfield fence offer a view into and from the bullpen, its entrance is actually built into the side of the Crawford Boxes. [edit] 2006 In 2006, the Chick-fil-A cows were unveiled on the foul poles, saying EAT MOR FOWL, and the cows have Astros caps on. Anytime an Astros player hits the pole, the fans in attendance get a free chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A. Hunter Pence is the first and second Astro to hit the left field "Fowl Pole" when he did it twice in the 2007 season. Ty Wigginton became the third Astro to hit the left field pole on September 16 2007. [edit] 2008 After the 2008 season, the Astros' groundskeepers began installing 2.3 acres of a new turfgrass playing surface at Minute Maid Park on Sunday. The new sod is called Platinum TE Paspalum. The Astros are the first sports organization in the world to use the product. [1] The Astros also became one of the first to use the new Chemgrass, later known as AstroTurf after its first well-publicized use at the Houston Astrodome in 1966. [edit] Gallery This section looks like an image gallery. Wikipedia is not a collection of images and policy discourages galleries. Please help by moving freely licensed images to Wikimedia Commons, possibly creating a gallery of the same name if one does not already exist. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for further suggestions. Panoramic interior view of the baseball park. The Conoco Home Run Porch Tal's Hill and the flagpole Interior view of Minute Maid Park View of Crawford Boxes, Tal's hill, Train, and Downtown Houston. [edit] Major events On July 13, 2004, Minute Maid Park hosted the 2004 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which the American League won 9-4. On October 9, 2005, Minute Maid Park hosted the longest postseason game in Major League Baseball history, both in terms of time and number of innings. The Astros defeated the Atlanta Braves 7-6 in a game lasting eighteen innings, which took 5 hours and 50 minutes to play. [2] On October 25, 2005, Minute Maid Park hosted the first World Series game ever played in Texas, and the longest World Series game ever played, which the Astros lost to the eventual World Series champion Chicago White Sox 7-5 in 14 innings; this game lasted 5 hours and 41 minutes. [3] Coincidentally, U.S. Cellular Field, the home stadium of the White Sox, hosted the All-Star Game the year before Minute Maid Park did. On September 30, 2007, on Craig Biggio's last game of his career, Minute Maid Park hit the highest attendance in its 8 year history by selling 43,823 tickets, 107% of its total. [edit] Ballpark firsts Statistic Person(s) Date First Ceremonial First Pitch Kenneth Lay April 7, 2000 First Hit Doug Glanville (Philadelphia Phillies), single to right April 7, 2000 First Astros Hit Craig Biggio, single to center April 7, 2000 First Double Rico Brogna (Philadelphia Phillies) April 7, 2000 First Astros Double Craig Biggio April 8, 2000 First Triple Tim Bogar April 8, 2000 First Home Run Scott Rolen (Philadelphia Phillies) April 7, 2000 First Astros Home Run Richard Hidalgo April 7, 2000 First Grand Slam Thomas Howard (St. Louis Cardinals) April 11, 2000 First Astros Grand Slam Ken Caminiti May 9, 2000 First Cycle Luis Gonzalez (Arizona Diamondbacks) July 5, 2000 First Astros Cycle Jeff Bagwell July 18, 2001 First Winning Pitcher Randy Wolf (Philadelphia Phillies) April 7, 2000 First Astros Winning Pitcher Mike Maddux April 8, 2000 First Save Wayne Gomes (Philadelphia Phillies) April 7, 2000 First Astros Save Billy Wagner April 8, 2000 First Shutout Minnesota Twins 2-0 June 7, 2000 First Astros Shutout 3-0 over the Chicago Cubs July 22, 2001 First postseason game 7 - 4 loss to the Atlanta Braves October 9, 2001 [edit] Events other than baseball Main article: Past events in Houston While primarily a baseball venue, Minute Maid Park can adequately host sports such as American football, soccer, and both codes of rugby. The venue can also play host to large-scale rock concerts. Its debut as a soccer venue happened during the 2006 edition of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The stadium hosted the first leg of the quarterfinal between Portmore United of Jamaica (the "home" team) and Club América of Mexico. Portmore United effectively sold the rights to their home leg (Portmore's usual home stadium is the 2,000 seat Ferdi Neita Sports Complex in Portmore, Jamaica) to an American sports marketing company who placed the tie in Houston hoping to attract Mexican-Americans to the match. 12,988 (a "home" record for Portmore) saw America run out 2-1 winners with goals from Christian Gimenez, and Aaron Padilla after Remeel Wolfe had given the CFU side a shock lead. The stadium also is the host of the Houston College Classic college baseball, part of the winter fan festival held in February. The tournament features three teams from Texas and three top college teams from other conferences in three matches played on the field. Madonna performed a concert as part of her Sticky & Sweet Tour on November 16, 2008, marking her first Texas appearance in 18 years. The attendance for the concert was 41,498. The nationally-syndicated TV talk show Rachael Ray held a mass wedding at the park following Hurricane Ike for 40 couples who were unable to get married after a company they paid to hold the weddings went bankrupt. Comedian Jeffrey Ross served as best man for all 40 couples. The ceremony was aired as part of a special episode of the talk show on November 21, 2008. [edit] References Minute Maid Park: Facts and Figures. Accessed May 24, 2006. Ballpark Digest Visit to Minute Maid Park Ryan, Jeff (2003-07-21). "Dangers of the diamond: TSN picks the nine biggest ballpark obstacles—from the brightest lights to the most unusual landscaping—in the majors - Baseball". The Sporting News. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_29_227/ai_105556749. Retrieved on 2007-02-28. [edit] Notes Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Minute Maid Park ^ http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081208&content_id=3706448&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou ^ Ortiz, Jose De Jesus (October 10, 2005) "A win like no other" The Houston Chronicle ^ Ortiz, Jose De Jesus (October 26, 2005) "Astros lose heartbreaker at bitter end" The Houston Chronicle Astros Nation - Your Houston Astros Fan Information Source Preceded by Astrodome Home of the Houston Astros 2000 – present Succeeded by Current Preceded by U.S. Cellular Field Host of the All-Star Game 2004 Succeeded by Comerica Park Coordinates: 29°45′24.64″N 95°21′19.50″W / 29.7568444°N 95.3554167°W / 29.7568444; -95.3554167 [show]v • d • eHouston Astros Formerly the Houston Colt .45s • Based in Houston, Texas The Franchise Expansion Draft • History • Seasons • Records • Awards • Players • Managers • General managers and Owners • Broadcasters • Fox Sports Houston • Opening Day starting pitchers • All articles Ballparks Colt Stadium • Astrodome • Minute Maid Park Spring Training: Osceola County Stadium Culture AstroTurf • Junction Jack • Orbit • Lone Star Series • Crawford Boxes • Rainbow Guts • Houston Sports Curse • Continental League Important Figures Jeff Bagwell • Craig Biggio • Nolan Ryan • Jimmy Wynn • Brad Ausmus • Bob Watson • Larry Dierker • César Cedeño • José Cruz • Joe Niekro • Billy Wagner • Roy Oswalt • Lance Berkman • Roger Clemens • Mike Scott Retired Numbers 5 • 7 • 24 • 25 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 40 • 42 • 49 Key Personnel Owner: Drayton McLane, Jr. • General Manager: Ed Wade • Manager: Cecil Cooper National League Pennants (1) 2005 Division Titles Western: 1980 • 1986 • Central: 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2001 • Wild Card: 2004 • 2005 Minors Round Rock Express (AAA) • Corpus Christi Hooks (AA) • Lancaster JetHawks (A) • Lexington Legends (A) • Tri-City Valley Cats (A) • Greeneville Astros (Rookie) [show] Seasons (48) 1960s 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 1970s 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 1980s 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 1990s 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 2000s 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 [show]v • d • eCurrent ballparks in Major League Baseball American League Angel Stadium of Anaheim · Comerica Park · Fenway Park · Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome · Kauffman Stadium · Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum · Oriole Park at Camden Yards · Progressive Field · Rangers Ballpark in Arlington · Rogers Centre · Safeco Field · Tropicana Field · U.S. Cellular Field · Yankee Stadium National League AT&T Park · Busch Stadium · Chase Field · Citi Field · Citizens Bank Park · Coors Field · Dodger Stadium · Dolphin Stadium · Great American Ball Park · Miller Park · Minute Maid Park · Nationals Park · Petco Park · PNC Park · Turner Field · Wrigley Field Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minute_Maid_Park" Categories: Houston Astros | Major League Baseball venues | Retractable-roof stadiums | Sports venues in Houston, Texas | Major League Baseball All-Star Game venues | 2000 establishments | Stadiums using QuesTec | Baseball venues in Texas