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Where They Play Minute Maid ParkThe year 2000 saw something the grand old game of baseball had not experienced since 1964 - a Major League team in Houston playing on natural grass outdoors. While clear skies and real grass were welcome additions for fans, Bayou City hardball faithful also enjoyed another first in Minute Maid Park's 242-foot high, retractable roof. Fans approved the new ballpark overwhelmingly, resulting in a record of more than 3,000,000 fans through the Minute Maid Park turnstiles in the 2000 season. The club has welcomed almost 6,000,000 visitors in the facility?s two seasons of play.A jewel in the crown of the majestic downtown Houston skyline, Minute Maid Park has become a welcome home for the Houston Astros and has ushered in a new era of Major League sports in the city. The downtown ballpark continues the proud tradition of visionary innovation in stadium construction, beginning with the club's previous home - the Astrodome. Minute Maid Park's retractable roof technology brought open-air baseball to Houston for the first time in 35 years, and the natural grass surface and classic architecture provided Minute Maid Park the atmosphere of the great ballparks of baseball's Golden age. The stadium is known for being particularly hitter-friendly down the lines, especially in left field, where it is only 315 ft. to the Crawford Boxes. Conversely, it is quite difficult to hit a ball out in center field, though fielding is quite difficult there as well, due to the fairly steep up-sloped grade, sometimes known as Tal's Hill, for team president Tal Smith, an element taken from Crosley Field and other historic ballparks, and the flagpole in play, an element taken from Yankee Stadium among others. The difference is that the Crosley Field "terrace" was necessitated by the difference in elevation between field level and street level. "Tal's Hill" is purely decorative. Both structures have been held in equal disdain by the respective outfielders that have had to patrol those areas. 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 to keep track of the number of Astros home runs. In 2004, the Astros launched Wi-Fi throughout the ballpark, allowing fans to use the internet while attending a game for a fee ($3.95 a game). Reliant StadiumThe city of Houston has always been on the cutting edge of stadium development. Houston first introduced the Astrodome, which opened in 1965 as the world's first dome stadium. The trend continued in 2002 with the debut of Reliant Stadium.Toyota CenterOpened: October 6, 2003Capacity - Basketball: 19,000 - Ice Hockey:17,000 Current Ownership: City of Houston Architect: HOK Sports Facilities Group The Toyota Center is a sports stadium located at 1510 Polk Street in Downtown Houston, Texas. Named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota, the Toyota Center houses three sports teams: - NBA - Men's Basketball - Houston Rockets - WNBA - Women's Basketball - Houston Comets - AHL - Ice Hockey - Houston Aeros The sports teams had pressured the city for a new stadium to be built, which replaced the Compaq Center, formerly the Summit. The Toyota Stadium is their new home. The first event after the opening ceremony of the Toyota Center was a Fleetwood Mac concert. |
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