Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Address:501 Crawford Street
Houston, Texas

Since its opening in 2000, Minute Maid Park (formerly Enron Field) has become one of baseball's "crown jewels." Minute Maid Park has become a welcome home for the Houston Astros and has introduced a new era of Major League sports to the city. The stadium is home to amazing proven players like Miguel Tejada, Carlos Lee, Lance Berkman, Ivan Rodriguez, and rising star Hunter Pence, so any visit to this ballpark is sure to be spectacular .

This stadium is built on the site of Union Station, an old rail depot, incorporating part of that structure as a cornerstone. The left-field side of the stadium features a decorative locomotive that chugs across a track above the left-field wall to celebrate game highlights as homage to the site's history.

After decades of watching the game on artificial turf under glass at the Astrodome, fans can enjoy an open-air, real-grass setting thanks to the retractable roof (which can open and close in under 20 minutes) that the stadium features. Minute Maid Park offers other attractions as well. Center field features "Tal's Hill," an uphill slope warning track with a flag pole, in the field of play. This promises entertaining actions for any ball that gets past an outfielder. Minute Maid Park is a pioneer in sports facility technology, being the first facility to feature a closed-caption board for the hearing impaired and Wi-Fi internet capabilities for fans. Due to its homerun friendly left-field dimensions, Minute Maid Park earned the nickname "The Juice Box," paying homage to its current sponsor.

The Houston Astros played their first game at Enron Field on April 7, 2000 in front of a maximum capacity 40,950 fan crowd. The occasion, unfortunately for the Astros, was spoiled by the Philadelphia Phillies, who left town with a 4-1 victory. In 2001, Astros management faced a public relations nightmare when local energy corporation Enron went bankrupt in the midst of one of the biggest corporate scandals in American history. The ballpark was renamed Astros Field on February 7, 2002, and on June 5, 2002, Houston-based Minute Maid, the fruit juice subsidiary of Coca-Cola, acquired the naming rights to the stadium.

In 2004, Minute Maid Park hosted the 75th annual MLB All-Star game, in which the American league defeated the National League 9-4. During the 2005 season, Minute Maid Park featured many memorable playoff moments. On October 9th, the Astros defeated the Atlanta Braves 7-6 in an 18 inning, 5 hours and 50 minute epic battle. This was the longest postseason game in Major League Baseball history, both in terms of time and number of innings. After clinching the National League pennant, the Astros became the first Texas team to host a World Series game, and it was one for the books! On October 25th, the Chicago White Sox outdueled the Astros 7-5 in a 14 inning, 5 hour and 41 minute classic, en-route to a four game sweep.

There is no better place to catch the 7th inning stretch than right here at Minute Maid Park. Of course they play the standard "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," but it is the classic rendition of "Deep in the Heart of Texas" that makes this experience so special. The fans sing and clap, and if you are a visitor this alone is worth the price of admission.

While primarily a baseball venue, Minute Maid Park can adequately host sports such as American football, soccer, and both codes of rugby. Its greatest soccer highlight was hosting the 2006 CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal between Portmore United of Jamaica and Club América of Mexico.

Minute Maid Park offers single and group tours, in which you can get a behind-the-scenes look of the stadium. The tours include: Historic Union Station, broadcasting booth or press boxes, Astros' or visitors' dugout, luxury suites, and much more.

Finding a parking space in downtown Houston can be easy and inexpensive, when you plan ahead. Minute Maid Park is a short walk from most of Houston's downtown garages and surface parking lots. If you decide to use public transportation you can avail yourself of METRO's Local and Commuter bus routes, from locations throughout the Houston region, or board the new light rail system that drops passengers off on Main Street, just six blocks from Minute Maid Park.