Minute Maid Park

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="002285a1erlcgo.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>The World of Sports Venues</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The World of Sports Venues"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="Bank1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bank One Ballpark"><U>Bank One Ballpark</U></A>   |   <A HREF="Busch.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Busch Stadium"><U>Busch Stadium</U></A>   |   <A HREF="Cinergy.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cinergy Field"><U>Cinergy Field</U></A>   |   <A HREF="Coors.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Coors Field"><U>Coors Field</U></A>   |   <A HREF="Dodger.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dodger Stadium"><U>Dodger Stadium</U></A>   |   <A HREF="Miller.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Miller Park"><U>Miller Park</U></A>   |   <B>Minute Maid Park</B>   |   <A HREF="Olympic.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Olympic Stadium"><U>Olympic Stadium</U></A>   |   <A HREF="PacBell.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pacific Bell Park"><U>Pacific Bell Park</U></A>   |   <A HREF="PNC.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PNC Park"><U>PNC Park</U></A>   |   <A HREF="ProPlayer.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pro Player Stadium"><U>Pro Player Stadium</U></A>   |   <A HREF="Qualcomm.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Qualcomm Stadium"><U>Qualcomm Stadium</U></A>   |   <A HREF="Shea.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shea Stadium"><U>Shea Stadium</U></A>   |   <A HREF="Turner.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Turner Field"><U>Turner Field</U></A>   |   <A HREF="Veterans.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Veterans Stadium"><U>Veterans Stadium</U></A>   |   <A HREF="Wrigley.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wrigley Field"><U>Wrigley Field</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="001d2c00dkelyh.gif"> <div> <A HREF="http://astros.mlb.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://astros.mlb.com/"><U><IMG SRC="Astros.jpg" border=0 width="79" height="76" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="file:///C:/My Documents/My Webs/myweb3/Ballparks/Astros/Astros_Seating.jpg" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.fortunecity.com/athena/thatch"><U>Seating Chart</U></A></div> <div> View Location</div> <div> <A HREF="file:///C:/My Documents/My Webs/myweb3/Ballparks/Astros/Astros_Field.jpg" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.fortunecity.com/athena/thatch"><U>Photo 1</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="file:///C:/My Documents/My Webs/myweb3/Ballparks/Astros/Enron2.jpg" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.fortunecity.com/athena/thatch"><U>Photo 2</U></A></div> <div> Photo 3</div> <div> <A HREF="http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/USTX0617_f.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/USTX06"><U>Weather</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Minute Maid Park</I></div> <div> Address- 501 Crawford Street</div> <div>                  Houston, TX  77002</div> <bR> <div> Team- Houston Astros</div> <bR> <div> Year Opened- 2000</div> <bR> <div> Capacity- 40,950</div> <bR> <div> Surface- Grass</div> <bR> <div> When the Astrodome opened in 1965, it was dubbed with Texan modesty as "The Eighth Wonder of the World," yet by 2000 it had lost its prime baseball and football tenants. While no such grandiose claims were made about Astros Field, it is something of a technological marvel itself. </div> <bR> <div> A 57-foot, 24-ton full-size replica of a 19th-century Wild West steam locomotive runs on an 800-foot track above left field. But the major mechanical installation is a genuine innovation: a three-panel retractable roof and wall system that will allow openness in temperate weather, while creating a transparent roof overhead and a window-wall in left field that will enable the park to be air-conditioned on the more frequent occasions of high temperature and humidity. It will take a bit less than 20 minutes for for the roof to open or close. </div> <bR> <div> The ballpark's 25-acre site is on the fringes of downtown, and the 1911-vintage Union Station will form the ballpark's main entrance. The exterior architecture of this 42,000-seat facility is postmodern, and the field configuration is quirky, with eight bends and angles in the outfield wall and an in-play flagpole on the field in center. Left to right, the dimensions are 315-433-325, with a 21-foot wall in left and seven- to nine-foot fences elsewhere. A 131-foot wide scoreboard is located behind the right-field seats. </div> <bR> <div> One sportswriter pundit predicts the ballpark will be a hitter's park (after the Astrodome, almost anything would feel like a hitter's park), while another says it will favor pitchers. Time and Jeff Bagwell will tell. </div> <bR> <div> Source- The Idea Logical Company</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>