Coors Field

Address:2001 Blake Street
Denver, Colorado

Coors Field, home to MLB's Colorado Rockies, offers an experience no other park can offer: baseball up in the mountains. Situated in Denver, Coors Field is literally a mile high up from sea level. The Rockies came into the National League as an expansion franchise in 1993, and played at Mile High Stadium, home of the NFL's Denver Broncos, until Coors Field was completed in 1995. Coors Field was the NL's first new park to be built exclusively for baseball since Dodger Stadium in 1962. During construction, workers discovered a number of dinosaur fossils. Due to this, "Jurassic Park" was one of the first names to be considered for the stadium and, while it was ultimately rejected, still inspired the Rockies to select "Dinger the Dinosaur" as their team mascot. Every year since its opening in 1995, Coors Field, with its over 50,000 fan maximum seating capacity, has been among the league leaders in attendance.

Coors Field once had a reputation as such a home run-friendly park that at one point it was known by the nickname "Coors Canaveral," after the famous point where spaceships are launched into outer space. Denver's dry air tended to dry out the baseballs, which made the balls harder, and caused them to travel farther. Even so, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo tossed a no-hitter there on September 17, 1996. In 1999, The Rockies and their opponents combined for 303 home runs, the most ever in a season at one venue. In 2002, a large humidor was installed in order to store the game balls, robbing the balls of their dryness. Following that, Coors Field has fallen into the middle of the pack in terms of home run prevalence.

Coors Field features the finest views a ball park can offer. Fans sitting down the first-base and right-field line are treated to a spectacular view of the Rocky Mountains. The upper concourse is open air, and provides breathtaking views of the Denver skyline. The "Rockpile," a 2,300 seat bleacher section, is located behind the centerfield backdrop, and offers a unique view of the playing field. Majestic fountains spring from behind the center field fence, nestled among pleasantly landscaped vegetation native to the state of Colorado. Also, look for the purple row of seats in the 20th row of the upper deck. The purple row marks 5,280 feet of elevation; exactly a mile above sea level.

Coors Field opened on April 26, 1995, as the Rockies hosted the New York Mets and out slugged them 11-9. The 1998 Major League Baseball Midsummer Classic took place in Coors Field. The game was held on July 7 as the American League defeated the National League by a score of 13-8. It was (and is likely to remain for some time) the highest-scoring All-Star Game in MLB history. In 2007, the Rockies staged of the greatest comebacks in baseball history, winning 14 of their last 15 games, including 11 victories in a row. The Rockies' remarkable September run, brought the team to the end of the season tied with the Padres, forcing a winner takes all play-off game for the wild card. October 1st at Coors Field was a night to remember. The game lasted thirteen innings, and although the Padres got two in the top of the thirteenth to break a 6-6 tie, the Rockies came back in the bottom of the thirteenth, and scored three runs to win 9-8. The win catapulted the Rockies into the playoffs for the first time since 1995. The "Rocktober" magic continued, as the Rockies went on to sweep the Philadelphia Phillies and the Arizona Diamondbacks, in the NLDS and NLCS respectively, earning them their first trip to the "Fall Classic". Ironically, the speed with which they shot through the levels of playoffs would prove to be their downfall. By the time the Rockies faced the Boston Red Sox in the World Series, they had gone so long without playing that their momentum was lost. The magic faded as the Sox handily swept the Rox in four straight games.

Tours of Coors are offered Monday-Saturday during baseball season (April - Sept.), as well as Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday during the offseason (Oct. - March.). The tours are offered at 12 noon and 2 p.m. year round. During the season, there is also a morning tour offered at 10 a.m.. On game days, the tours may not be available at all three times.

Coors Field is located at 20th and Blake streets, anchoring Denver's LoDo (Lower Downtown) district, and was constructed with accessibility in mind. It sits near route I-25, and has direct access to the 20th Street and Park Avenue exits. Coors Field is also a short walk from Union Station, which is the last stop of the Light Rail's C Line. There is always plenty of available parking to be found within a short walk of Coors Field.