Minute Maid Park Tickets

MINUTE MAID PARK: Houston Astros

The Houston Astros jumpstarted Astros ticket sales when they opened Minute Maid Park (formerly Enron Field) in 2000. State-of-the-art Minute Maid Park replaced the aging Astrodome with a stylish, fan-friendly ballpark that still preserves the best of the retro ballpark craze. Not surprisingly, Houston fans responded positively: more than 3,000,000 fans came through the turnstiles in 2000, and at least 2.5 million Astros tickets have been sold in all five seasons played there.

Ticketholders get a first-hand look at one of the sporting world’s true engineering marvels. Thanks to the design of HOK Sports Facilities (who designed the first retractable roof stadium for the Toronto Blue Jays), Minute Maid Park boasts a retractable roof perfect for keeping out those summer Texas thunderstorms. But it’s not just any roof-it creates the largest open roof area of any stadium in existence today. The roof, which weighs in at over 5,000 metric tons, creates a variety of options for Astros fans. Even when closed, the 50,000 square feet of glass in the west wall of the roof give Minute Maid Park inhabitants a perfect view of Houston’s skyline. Don’t get so dazzled by the skyline, however, that you miss one of the most unique features of any ballpark in the major leagues: the flagpole that sits in play at the top of an uphill, 30-degree slope in center field. Dubbed “Tal’s Hill” for former GM Tal Smith, the hill can create some entertaining moments for fans and embarrassing moments for center fielders.

As is usually the case with a newly designed stadium, Minute Maid Park seating is snazzy. The Houston Astros present their fans with a variety of ticket-buying options, from the plush Diamond Club to the Outfield Deck. Most seats in the ballpark have a good view of another unique detail of the field, the replica 19th century locomotive that steams along an 800-foot track on the wet side of Minute Maid Park.

The train pays homage to the fact that the stadium was built on a historically significant Houston site-Union Station, which houses Minute Maid Park’s main entrance. The central location provides fans with a variety of pregame and postgame entertainment options.

With just 40,950 seats, bad locations are hard to find. Seats down the right and left field foul lines are just five feet from fair territory.

Capacity: 40,950

Year Built: 2000

2004 attendance: 38,121 per game average; 3,087,872 total

Dimensions: 315 to left, 362 to left-center, 435 to center, 373 to right-center, 326 to right

Hotels Nearby: Inn at the Ballpark, The Sam Houston Hotel, Hilton Americas-Houston

Thrill of victory: Oct. 9, 2004: The Astros move a game from the National League Championship Series by defeating the Atlanta Braves 8-5 in Game 3 of the NLDS. An above-capacity 43,547 Astros fans squeeze into Minute Maid Park for the game. Houston would go on to win their first postseason series in history.

Agony of defeat: There’s never been a need for World Series tickets in Houston-the Astros/Colt .45s have never made it to the October showcase since coming into existence in 1962.

Astros Ticket Tips: The best day to catch the Astros at Minute Maid Park? Any day Roger Clemens is on the mound. Houstonians love their native son, and even in his 40s, Clemens is still one of the best power pitchers in the game. Other big rivals in Houston include the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, both of which are Central Division foes. For a unique experience, buy an Astros ticket in one of Minute Maid Park’s Crawford Boxes. The 2500-seat section juts onto the left field corner, making the 315-foot short porch from home plate the most inviting home run territory in the park and making that section of Minute Maid Park seating one of the most popular requests from ticket-buying fans.