Coors Field

From SoSH

Contents 1 Stadium History 2 Field Dimensions 3 Wall Height 4 Ground Rules 5 Trivia 6 External Links

Stadium History

Built two blocks from Union Station in Denver's Lower Downtown, Coors Field was the first new stadium in the National League since Montreal’s Stade Olympique opened in 1977. It was the NL's first new park built exclusively for baseball since Dodger Stadium in 1962. The Rockies spent their first two seasons in the Denver Broncos' Mile High Stadium, where they set 12 attendance records. The new ballpark does not have the capacity to hold 80,000 people, as Mile High did, however.

Coors Field attempts to combine the comforts of a modern stadium with the atmosphere of the old-time ballparks. It is constructed with hand-laid brick and has an old-fashioned clock tower atop its main entrance. It is asymmetrical, with the deepest part of the park (424 feet) in right-center field, and balls that hit the big out-of-town scoreboard in right field are in play. The two bullpens sit side-by-side next to the scoreboard in right-center and are elevated. The natural grass field can drain 5 inches of water per hour, and there is a heating system under the field that melts snow the moment it hits the ground.

Field Dimensions

Left Field	Left Center	Center Field	Right Center	Right Field
347'	390'	415'	375'	350'

Wall Height

Left Field	Center Field	Right Field
8’	8’	17’

Ground Rules

In addition to adhering to the Universal Ground Rules, Coors Field employs the following ground rules:

OUTFIELD AREA

• Fair ball striking net in left field and rebounding onto playing field: In Play.

• Fair ball going through, resting on or lodging in scoreboard in right field, either on bounce or in flight: Two Bases.

Trivia

• Site of the 1998 All-Star game.
• Located approximately two miles from Mile High Stadium, home of the Rockies in 1993 and 1994.
• Groundbreaking for the new stadium took place on October 16, 1992.
• Originally designed to include 43,800 seats, record crowds in 1993 convinced Rockies ownership to expand the original plans. The updated park holds 50,000 fans, including 63 luxury boxes and 4,500 club-level seats.
• Matrix and color replay boards in left field and a hand-operated "Out-of-Town" scoreboard in the right field fence.
• A row of purple seats ring the park to mark a spot that it is exactly 5,280 feet above sea level.
• Hideo Nomo threw the only no-hitter ever pitched here on September 17, 1996.
• Financed by the taxpayers of the Denver Metropolitan Major League Baseball District and leased to the Rockies. The District will own the stadium and all operating and maintenance costs will be paid by the Rockies.

External Links

• Update