After two full seasons of being called Enron Field, the home of the Houston Astros then became temporarily know as Astros Field. Hosted the All-Star Game. Occupies 29 acres. The foot high retractable roof closes in less than 20 minutes. It was named after the man who came up with the idea, Astros president Tal Smith. State-of-the-art distributed sound system.
Seating bowl is air conditioned when roof is closed. More than 60 suites. Diamond Club is a seat lounge area behind home plate. Batting cages and tunnels. Concessions available at each level. Escalators and elevators to take ticket holders to all levels. The Astros hosted the Philadelphia Phillies in the first official regular-season game on April 7, , with Philadelphia winning On June 5, , the Houston Astros and The Minute Maid Company announced that they had expanded their relationship to create a long-term marketing and community partnership.
The multi-year partnership agreement included naming rights for the downtown ballpark, rechristening the field "Minute Maid Park. The partnership agreement also stipulated pouring rights for products of The Coca-Cola Company, ongoing advertising and marketing programs, and a commitment by Minute Maid to support youth baseball programs in the Houston area.
The Minute Maid Company has been headquartered in Houston since A replica of a 19th century locomotive circa and linked coal tender became a fast fan favorite in the inaugural season. The train provides an architectural icon which combines sight, sound and motion for a dynamic entertainment and celebration feature. It also proves a link to the past for Houston and the Union Station site.
Weighing close to 50, pounds, the train runs some feet along the low roof track on the west side of the ballpark. Architects from the HOK Sports Facilities Group recommended early on that a retractable roof would be appropriate for the Texas climate. Since building the first retractable-roof ballpark - the Skydome in - designers have crafted several kinds of retractable roofs. Some, for instance, open only over a Small central section. The roof at Minute Maid Park, however, retracts completely off the ballpark to reveal the largest open area of any retractable roofed baseball stadium in existence today.
A total of 50, square feet of glass in the west wall of the retractable roof give fans a view of the Houston skyline, even when the roof is in the closed position. Uni-systems provided the technical expertise to design the best roof structure for Minute Maid Park. Mechanized roof panels open and close in minutes. The roof moves back and forth an estimated times a year, a distance of To cover the ballpark, steel panels roll in sequence along tracks on the east and west sides of the stadium.
When the roof is open, the southern and northern panels, each of which measures by feet and weighs 1, metric tons, rest at the north end below the large middle section with its dimension of by feet and a weight of 3, metric tons. Designers determined the roof's shape - lower side panels flanking the high center panel - by tracking a batted baseball's hyperbolic flight path. Forged steel wheels measuring 35 inches in diameter transport the three roof panels. Each of the wheels has its own braking mechanics and 60 are equipped with electric motors.
If the track is slightly out of alignment, all the weight of a roof panel could come to rest on one wheel, causing severe structural damage.
To prevent this, a polyurethane suspension pad that acts as a spring is attached above each wheel to distribute the roof's weight. The drainage and irrigation systems include 6, linear feet of perforated pipe and 4, linear feet of PVC pipe, respectively. A total of 78 irrigation heads help make the job for the head groundskeeper and his staff much easier. A total of speaker cabinets are scattered throughout the seating areas and almost 1, are found along the concourses.
A 25 acre site in downtown Houston where Union Station, a former rail-passenger terminal, is located was chosen as the site. Built of steel and concrete with a brick and limestone exterior, construction began October 30, In order to continue to provide relief from the extreme summertime heat, but to also allow for outdoor baseball in the spring, the ballpark features a retractable roof.
Consisting of three panels, the roof can open or close in 20 minutes. The retractable roof also features a 50, square foot sliding glass door that opens and closes along with the roof. This provides fans a view of the Houston skyline whether or not the roof is open. On April 7, the Houston Astros played their first game at the ballpark in front of more than 41, fans. It was originally known as Enron Field before Enron Corporation went bankrupt.
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