ASTROS STADIUM

Minute Maid Park is a baseball stadium in Houston, Texas, opened in 2000 and is the home ballpark of the Houston Astros. Minute Maid Park cost $265 million. Since it's inception the Minute Maid Park has become one of baseballs "crown jewels." Built on a 25 acre site in downtown Houston, construction began on October 30, 1997. It would feature a retractable roof and natural grass. The stadium's site was greatly influenced by its surrounding neighborhood. The ballpark was constructed with concrete and steel structures, and the facade consist of brick and limestone. A 1911-vintage Union Station forms the ballpark's main entrance. A retractable roof was necessary for the ballpark to keep the summer heat out, and to keep fans cool. The retractable roof is built of three panels, which can open or close in 20 minutes. Over 40,950 people packed the ballpark on Opening Day, April 7, 2000. Three levels of green seats extend from the left field foul pole to home plate and around to the right field foul pole. Two levels of seats are located beyond the right field fence. A 131 foot wide scoreboard is located above these seats. Over 2,500 seats, called the Crawford Boxes jut out into the field in left field, making the distance to it just 315 feet. Along with views of downtown Houston, a 57-foot, 24-ton full-size replica of a 19th-century Wild West steam locomotive runs on an 800-foot track located above left field. Along with the train, Minute Maid Park has many other attractions. Tal's Hill, a 20 degree angled hill is located in dead centerfield, measuring 90 feet at its widest point, and curving around 100 feet of outfield fence. A flagpole is also near Tal’s Hill, and is in play. A clock tower located outside Minute Maid Park, serves as a meeting place for fans. Banners from Astros championships are hung from the archways along the Conoco Home Run Alley behind left and center field. Fans can buy Astros merchandise at The Shed, the Astros' official gift shop at Union Station. Also fans can buy original oil paintings, lithographs, bronze sculptures and other unique memorabilia at the Gallery at Minute Maid Park. Minute Maid Park is the first major sports facility to feature a closed-captioning board for the hearing impaired. The Daktronics black-and-white matrix board and Daktronics color matrix board present baseball fans with a unique experience at Minute Maid Park. The primary scoreboard, measuring 35 feet by 131 feet, displays player and team stats on the left side while the right features graphics and animation, including the recreation of several of the Astrodome's effects of yesteryear. A speed pitch board, four auxiliary scoreboards and an old-fashioned manually operated scoreboard keep fans on the top of the action in the ballpark and in every other big league venue. The state-of-the-art video board high atop Minute Maid Park is a product of SACO Smartvision, providing fans with unmatched instant replays and special video features and effects unlike anywhere in Major League Baseball. On April 7, 1999, Houston-based Enron Corporation agreed to pay more than $100 million over 30 years to name the stadium Enron Field. However, on December 2, 2001 Enron became the largest corporation in history to declare bankruptcy. On February 27, 2002, the Astros made an agreement with Enron to buy back the naming rights. After two full seasons of being called Enron Field, the home of the Houston Astros then became temporarily know as Astros Field. On June 5, 2002, the Astros announced that the Minute Maid Company, a locally-based subsidiary of the Coca-Cola Company since 1960, will pay an estimated $170 million for a 28-year naming rights deal.