Minute Maid Park

i love the train. but i’m a total child at heart. :)

I love the Astros. Live in Seattle now but this is my true hometown team. Goa Stros’!

This has to be one of the most beautiful ballparks in America. Not meaning to impress on pure size (like Reliant Stadium) or Gimmicky construction (astrodome) Minute Maid Park is a piece of true Americana. Beautiful brickwork and “patina” on the structural crossbeams. I echo everyone in saying that it was a great gesture in heritage and an investment in the culture of Houston that the beautiful and historical Union Station railroad building was incorporated instead of demolished. The entire stadium calls back memories of old trainstations, historical ballparks, and generally everything beautiful and idealistic about baseball and america in general. I’ve gone to this park more times than I can count, Playoffs and games you wouldn’t even want to admit you went to. Just remember even if the game is terrible (it seldomly is) You still have cold beer, hotdogs, sunny days, and friends there with you. Baseball is more than a sport, it’s an experience.

I was at the Return of the rocket game on June 22, 2006. We lost but it was the most people that they had ever had in the park at once. I’m proud to say I was part of that crowd.

One nice feature about this ballpark was that they incorporated into it the old train station, which I thought was enormously better than ripping it out and putting something new over its skeleton. The design of the park mirrors the old building, but gives it a fresh twist and—tada!—they even have a little train that runs on a track whenever the ‘stros make a home run.

The downside of the park is that it only holds a small portion of the numbers the old Astrodome can hold. Also, frankly, the building of Minute Maid Park is a concrete example of “how quickly doth they forget.” Houston=HighHumidity=Misery in the Ballpark. They originally built the Astrodome (an indoor stadium—a unique and amazing thing in its day) because baseball season in Houston coincides with some of the most hellish, humid, and uncomfortable weather the city has to offer. I know the new park has a retractable roof, but can the city produce enough pleasant weather to make the added expense worthwhile?

On the plus side, I’ve been told it looks great on TV.

This may round out the top 5 I’ve seen. Yankee Stadium, Camden Yards, Minutemaid, Kaufman, Miller Park.

I lived in Houston for a while…I miss watching a night game after the open the roof back up, and you can see the Houston skyline, and feel a humid gulf breeze blowing through the park.