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After the success of Bayou Place and downtown lofts, Houston was on a roll. In 2000, the Ballpark at Union Station was built on the eastern side of downtown as a new home for the Houston Astros. The ballpark was designed by HOK Sports of Kansas City. The park was built upon the 29-acre site of Houston’s Union Station, and the Union Station Building is incorporated into the design as the main entrance to the stadium. A real train runs on top of the wall, behind left field, when the Astros hit a home run or win a game.
The park was Houston’s first retractable-roof stadium. Unlike the enclosed Astrodome, this park could actually have real grass. The roof is massive – closed during hot and inclement weather, open when it’s nice – and dominates the structure. The stadium has 42,000 seats. The ball field has two unusual features – a short left field at 315 feet, and Tal’s Hill, a 20 degree slope in center field.
Enron bought the naming rights for the ballpark, with Ken Lay himself throwing the first pitch. After Enron’s fall-from-grace, the embarrassed Astros bought the naming rights back, in turn selling them to Coca Cola, which christened the stadium ‘Minute Maid Park.’ The train now carries oranges.
Houston’s professional baseball team began in 1962, as the Houston Colt .45s, in the National League. In 1965, the team moved into the modern-marvel of the Astrodome, changing their name to the Houston Astros. Since 1962, the Astros have only been in one World Series, 2005, lost to the Chicago White Sox.
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