Minute Maid Park
Team: Houston Astros
Address: 501 Crawford Street
Location: Houston, Texas
Opened: March 30, 2000
Capacity: 41,168
Rating: 8/10
Photo by Brian Reading
In downtown Houston sits Minute Maid Park, the city’s first retractable-roofed stadium. The ballpark opened in 2000, is known to be hitter-friendly, and can be fully air-conditioned. In honor of Houston’s Union Station, one of the entrances is inside the former transportation center. Additionally, there is a railway above the left field wall.
Minute Maid Park is easily accessible via public transportation. There are many bus and light rail lines that can drop you off within walking distance of the ballpark. Additionally, there are multiple parking lots around downtown for a decent price. I paid $5 to park five blocks away.
Photo via Houston Eater
Okay, so… the vegetarian options were definitely limited. I settled on having regular french fries, which in retrospect was a boring move on my part. Torchy’s Tacos, a Texas favorite, is available at the ballpark, in addition to a few healthier options such as Green Fork’s salad bar and Minute Maid fresh fruit smoothies.
I went to a game where Mike Fiers of the Oakland Athletics (who happened to be on my fantasy team, sigh) gave up five homers in less than two innings. The fans in Houston were going wild and the Minute Maid train was kept busy. Driven by a man named Bobby Vasquez, who goes by the name “Bobby Dynamite,” the popular train carries oranges and drives along the left field wall every time the Astros hit a HR and/or win a game.
The Astros’ fan dynamic is exciting and fun to be a part of. At publishing time, the team is currently playing in the World Series, two years after their first World Series win in 2017. After suffering through some unbelievably terrible seasons, the team is finally good again. This means that the fans come out in large numbers to support. The roof was closed when I attended, which made the fans’ cheering reverberate off the walls and appear even louder.
I had a great time at Minute Maid Park and would definitely visit again. I wish that I was able to attend a game where the roof was open as I think that the view would have been more enjoyable, but that will have to wait for another time. The fans are loud, the people are friendly, and the current Astros team is a lot of fun to watch. If you’re in town during baseball season, head on over to check out a game.