![Globelifefield june2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Globelifefield_june2020.jpg)
A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to place. A larger ballpark may also be called a baseball stadium as it shares characteristics with other outdoor
stadiums.
General characteristics
The playing field
![Baseball diamond](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Baseball_diamond.svg)
A baseball field can be referred to as a diamond. The infield is a rigidly structured
diamond
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...
of dirt and grass containing the three bases, home plate, and the pitcher's mound. The space between the bases and home is normally a grass surface, save for the dirt mound in the center. Some ballparks have grass or artificial turf between the bases, and dirt only around the bases and pitcher's mound. Others, such as
Koshien Stadium
, commonly referred to as simply Koshien Stadium, is a baseball park located near Kobe in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The stadium was built to host the national high school baseball tournaments, and opened on August 1, 1924. It ...
in
Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, have an infield of entirely dirt.
Two white lines extend from the home plate area, aligned with the first and third bases. These are the ''foul lines'' or ''base lines'', usually differentiated by referring to them as the first base line, or the third base line. If a ball hit by the batter lands outside of the space between these two lines or rolls out of this space before reaching first or third base, the ball is "foul" (meaning it is dead and the play is over). If it lands between or on the lines, it is "fair". At the end of the lines are two foul poles, which help the umpires judge whether a ball is fair or foul. These "foul poles" are actually in fair territory, so a ball that hits them on the fly is a home run (if hit on the bounce, it is instead an automatic double).
On either side of home plate are the two batter's boxes (left-handed and right-handed.) This is where the batter stands when at bat. Behind home is the catcher's box, where the catcher and the home plate umpire stand.
Next to the first and third base are two coaches' boxes, where the first and third base coaches guide the baserunners, generally with gestures or shouts. As the baserunner faces away from the outfield when running from second base to third, they cannot see where the ball is and must look to the third base coach on whether to run, stop, or slide.
Farther from the infield on either side are the dugouts, where the teams and coaches sit when they're not on the field. They are named such because, at the professional levels, this seating is below the level of the playing field so as to not block the view from prime spectator seating locations. In amateur parks, the dugouts may be above-ground wooden or
CMU structures with seating inside, or simply benches behind a chain-link fence.
Beyond the infield and between the foul lines is a large grass outfield, generally twice the depth of the infield. The playing field is bordered by fences of varying heights. The infield fences are in foul territory, and a ball hit over them isn't a home run; consequently, they are often lower than the outfield fences to provide a better view for spectators. Sometimes, the outfield fence is made higher in certain areas to compensate for close proximity to the batter.
In many parks, the field is surrounded by an area roughly wide made of dirt or rubberized track surface called a "
warning track
The warning track is the part of the baseball field that is closest to the wall or fence and is made of a different material than the field. Common materials for the warning track include dirt or rubber; it should always be of a different material ...
". In the 1937 refurbishment of the original
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.
Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...
, a running track that ran the perimeter of the field was incorporated into the field of play as the first warning track. MLB formalized the warning track as a requirement in 1949.
Beyond the outfield fence in professional parks is an area called the
batter's eye
The batter's eye or batter's eye screen is a solid-colored, usually dark area beyond the center field wall of a baseball stadium, that is the visual backdrop directly in the line of sight of a baseball batter, while facing the pitcher and awai ...
. To ensure the batter can see the white ball, the batter's eye contains no seating and is darker in color. The batter's eye area can be anything from a dark wall to a grassy slope.
Most major baseball parks are oriented with the central axis (home plate through second base through center field) of the playing field running toward the north or east or some direction between. Major League Baseball Rule 1.04 states that it is "desirable" (but not required) that the central axis run
east-northeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
(about 22 degrees north of east). This is to prevent the setting sun from being in the batter's eyes. In practice, major league parks vary up to about 90 degrees from east-northeast in either direction, but none face west, except for a few which are oriented just slightly west of straight north.
Seating
Today, in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
, a multi-tiered seating area, a
grandstand, surrounds the infield. How far this seating extends down the baselines or around the foul poles varies from park to park. In minor league parks, the grandstands are notably smaller, proportional to expected sizes of crowds compared with the major leagues.
The seating beyond the outfield fence generally differs from the grandstand, though some multi-purpose or jewel box parks have the grandstand surround the entire field. This area could contain inexpensive bleacher seats, smaller grandstands, or simply inclined seating. In local ballparks, there are often simply a set or two of aluminum bleachers on the first-base and third-base sides.
Variations
Distinctive from "goal games" such as
football and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
, which have fixed-size playing areas, the infield is the only rigidly laid-out part of the field. Like its English relative,
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
, there is significant flexibility in the shape and size of the rest of the playing area.
![Yankee Stadium (29 September 2007)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Yankee_Stadium_%2829_September_2007%29.jpg)
Baseball leagues may specify a minimum distance from home plate to the outfield fences. Generally, the higher the skill level, the deeper the minimum dimensions must be, to prevent an excess of home runs. In the major leagues, a rule was passed in 1958 that compelled any new fields built after that point to have a minimum distance of from home plate to the fences in left and right field, and to center. (Rule 1.04, Note(a)). This rule was passed to avoid situations like the
Los Angeles Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...
, which was . down the left field line.
However, with the opening of Baltimore's
Camden Yards
The Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a baseball stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early ...
(1992), the "minimum distance" rule began to be ignored. One factor may be that the quaint, "retro" look of Camden Yards, with its irregular measurements, proved to be very popular, along with a traditionalist backlash against the symmetrical, multi-purpose, "cookie-cutter" stadiums. Since the opening of Camden Yards, many other "retro" stadiums have been built, each with asymmetrical fences. These distances vary from park to park, and can even change drastically in the same park. One of the most famous examples is the original Yankee Stadium, whose odd-shaped plot of land caused right field to be over shorter than left, although this difference lessened over time. The rectangular
Polo Grounds had extremely short distance down the lines, . to right and . to left. In contrast, the deepest part of center field was nearly . from home plate.
Older ballparks, such as
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...
, were grandfathered in and allowed to keep their original dimensions. Also, new parks have sometimes received special dispensation to deviate from these rules. For instance, the
second Yankee Stadium, built 2009, used the same dimensions as
the original Yankee Stadium.
The heights of the fences can also vary greatly, the most famous example being the -high
Green Monster
The Green Monster is a popular nickname for the left field wall at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. The wall is from home plate and is a popular target for right-handed hitters.
Overview
The wall was part ...
in
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...
's left field. Such tall fences are often used to stop easy home runs in a section of the ballpark where the distances from home are shorter, or where there is little space between the field and the street beyond. Some in-play scoreboards and high fences reached 50 to , whereas a few outfields were even lined with hedges rather than normal fences or walls. The
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, when set up for baseball, had a right field "fence" that was actually a relatively thin blue plastic sheet covering folded up football seats. It was often called a "baggie" or "Hefty bag".
Some ballparks have irregularly shaped fences. Ballparks may have round swooping fences or rigidly angled fences, or possibly a significant change in direction or irregular angle. For example, the center field stands and the left field stands at
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...
meet at an uneven angle, creating an indentation (called "the triangle") that angles sharply back into the stands. In
Citi Field
Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...
and
Oracle Park, part of the right field fence juts unevenly into the outfield as if the builders were trying to create an unpredictable ricochet effect for balls hit against it. Some "retro" parks, such as
Globe Life Park in Arlington
Choctaw Stadium, formerly Globe Life Park, is an American multi-purpose stadium in Arlington, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth. Originally built as a baseball stadium, it was home to the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball and the Tex ...
, throw in a sudden and small inward turn (often referred to as a jog) just to give a little quirkiness to the design. Milwaukee's
Miller Park
American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Milwauk ...
was designed, with the help of former player
Robin Yount
Robin R. Yount (; born September 16, 1955), nicknamed "the Kid", and "Rockin' Robin", is an American former professional baseball player. He spent his entire 20-year career in Major League Baseball as a shortstop and center fielder for the Milwau ...
, to promote
extra base hit
In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire ano ...
s.
Originally (mostly in the old jewel box parks) these variations resulted from the shape of the property where the park was constructed. If there was a street beyond left field, the distance to the left field fence would be shorter, and if the distance was too short, the fence would be higher. For example, in the old
Griffith Stadium
Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW.
The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Boundar ...
in Washington, D.C., part of center field had to be built around a cluster of apartment houses and the result was a rather large angular indentation in the left-center field fence. Now, these variations are mostly influenced by the specifications and whims of the designers. New "retro" parks, which try to recapture the feel of the jewel box parks, are often designed to have these quirks.
Etymology
![Baseball1866](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Baseball1866.JPG)
Baseball was originally played in open fields or public parks. The genesis of modern baseball is conventionally connected with
Elysian Fields in
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...
, a large public park where the businessmen of New York City gathered from time to time to play organized baseball games and
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
matches, starting around the mid-1840s. The name "Field" or "Park" was typically attached to the names of the early ballparks.
With the beginnings of professional baseball, the ballfield became part of a complex including fixed spectator seating areas, and an enclosure to restrict access to paying customers, as with a fairgrounds. The name "Grounds" began to be attached to ballparks, starting with the
Union Grounds
Union Grounds was a baseball park located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. The grounds opened in 1862, its inaugural match being played on May 15. It was the first baseball park enclosed entirely by a fence, thereby allowing ...
in 1862. The suffixes "Field" and "Park" were still used, but many professional ballparks were "Grounds". The last major league "Grounds" was the
Polo Grounds in New York City, which was razed in 1964.
The term "
stadium" has been used since ancient times, typically for a running track and its seating area. As college football gained in popularity, the smaller college playing fields and/or running tracks (which also frequently had the suffix "Field") gave way to large stadiums, many of them built during the sport's "boom" of the 1920s. Major league baseball enjoyed a similar boom. One of the first major league ballparks to be called a "stadium" was actually the Polo Grounds, which was temporarily renamed Brush Stadium from its reconstruction in 1911 until the death of owner John T. Brush in the 1920s. By then, the most famous baseball "stadium" of them all had been constructed:
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.
Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...
. From that point until the retro building boom of the 1990s, the suffix "Stadium" was used for almost every new major league venue, and was sometimes applied to the old ones, such as
Shibe Park
Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). When it opened April 12, 1 ...
, which was renamed Connie Mack Stadium in 1954.
The suffix "Dome" was also used for the indoor stadiums constructed from the 1960s onward. The official names of those arenas also often included the word "Stadium", such as the Houston
Astrodome
The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...
, whose formal name was "Harris County Domed Stadium" in 1965; the
Kingdome, whose formal name was "King County Domed Stadium", and the Metrodome, for which the Minneapolis highway signs directed the driver to "Metrodome Stadium". The retro era of the 1990s and early 2000s saw some venues return to using "park" in a stadium's name, even in domed structures such as
T-Mobile Park
T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the western t ...
and
Miller Park
American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Milwauk ...
.
There is little consistency in the choice between "Field" and "Park". For example, Houston's
Minute Maid Park
Minute Maid Park is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 as the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. It has a seating capacity of 41,168, which includes 5,197 club seats and 63 ...
was originally named "Enron Field".
Settings
Seating area design of stadiums is affected by many variables, including required capacity, audience access, and road traffic. Early ballparks like Elysian Fields were far from the city center. Each game was an event, and fans traveled by public transit to watch the game.
With the growth of professional leagues, and consequent growth in the quantity of games, each game became less of an event, and fan convenience became more important. Many professional ballparks were built either near the city center, or in working-class neighborhoods, based on the expected economic level of the average fan. Consequently, the classic ballparks typically had little space for automobiles, as it was expected that most fans would take mass transit to the games, a situation that still prevails at Boston's
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...
and Chicago's
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...
, for example. Some early ballparks, such as Brooklyn's
Eastern Park
Eastern Park was a baseball park in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York in the 1890s. It was bounded by Eastern Parkway—later renamed Pitkin Avenue when Eastern Parkway was diverted—to the north (home plate); the Long I ...
, were abandoned because the trolley lines did not go out far enough and the team was not performing well enough for people to tolerate the inconvenience.
As fans became more affluent, and especially as they moved to the suburbs and bought cars, the lack of parking became an important issue. Some ballparks remedied this problem through the construction of parking garages in the vicinity, or building new ballparks with ample parking. Others built ballparks in the suburbs, typically with large parking areas. The ballpark/stadium thus became an "island" in an "ocean" of parking space.
The modern "retro" trend seeks to cover all the bases: an urban location, with plenty of parking ''and'' public transportation available.
Types of baseball parks
Wooden ballparks
![WorldSeries1903-640](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/WorldSeries1903-640.jpg)
The first professional baseball venues were large wooden ballparks with seats mounted on wood platforms. Although known for being constructed out of wood, they featured iron columns for better support. Some included one tier of inclined seating, topped with either a flat roof or, in some instances, a small upper tier. The outfield was bordered by tall walls or fences covered in advertisements, much like today's minor league parks. These advertisements were sometimes fronted with bleacher seats, or "bleaching boards". Wood, while prone to decomposition, was a relatively inexpensive material.
However, the use of wood as the primary material presented a major problem, especially as baseball continued to thrive. Over time, the wooden stands aged and dried. Many parks caught fire, and some were leveled completely. This problem, along with the popularization of baseball and expectations for long-term use of the parks were major factors that drove the transition to the new standard materials for ballparks: steel and concrete. Some famous wooden parks, such as the
Polo Grounds III in New York and
National League Park
National League Park is the name of two former baseball grounds located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The first ground was home to the Cleveland Blues of the National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the ...
in Philadelphia, burned and were rebuilt with fire-resistant materials (Polo Grounds IV and Baker Bowl). Others were simply abandoned in favor of new structures built elsewhere. These new fire-resistant parks often lasted for many decades, and (retrospectively) came to be known as "jewel boxes". There are no more professional ballparks in existence left with this architectural trend, with the last one, Oriole Park V, burning down in 1944.
Jewel box ballparks
![Fenway from Legend's Box](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Fenway_from_Legend%27s_Box.jpg)
The earliest ballparks built or rebuilt of
reinforced concrete, brick, and steel are now known as the jewel box ballparks or classic parks. Two-tiered grandstands became much more prevalent in this era, as well. The
Baker Bowl in Philadelphia, which opened in 1895, was the first to use steel and brick as the primary construction materials and included a
cantilever
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...
ed upper deck seating area that hung out over the lower seating area. Although it did not use reinforced concrete in its construction, Baker Bowl is considered the first of the jewel box parks. The first of to use reinforced concrete was
Shibe Park
Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). When it opened April 12, 1 ...
, which opened in 1909, also in Philadelphia.
The upper decks were typically held up by steel pillars that obstructed the view from some seats in the lower level. However, because of the supports used , the upper decks could come very close to the field. The two-tiered design was the standard for decades, until the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
built
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.
Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...
. To accommodate the large crowds
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
drew, Yankee Stadium was built with three tiers. This became the new standard until some recently built parks reverted to two, including PNC Park in 2001.
Most jewel box parks were built to fit the constraints of actual city blocks, often resulting in significantly asymmetrical outfield dimensions and large outfield walls to prevent easy home runs. Notable examples included
League Park in Cleveland, which had a -tall wall in right field, and the
Green Monster
The Green Monster is a popular nickname for the left field wall at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. The wall is from home plate and is a popular target for right-handed hitters.
Overview
The wall was part ...
, the -tall left field wall at
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...
in Boston. Notable exceptions include Shibe Park and
Comiskey Park, which were built on rectangular city blocks that were large enough to accommodate symmetrical left and right fields.
Other sports, such as
soccer and
football, were often played at these sites (Yankee Stadium, for example, was designed to accommodate football). In contrast to the later multi-purpose parks, the seats were generally angled in a configuration suitable for baseball. The "retro" ballparks built in the 1990s and beyond are an attempt to capture the feel of the jewel box parks. The only jewel box parks still used by Major League Baseball are Fenway Park and
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...
.
MLB
NPB
Multi-purpose stadiums
![ThreeRiversStadium](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/ThreeRiversStadium.jpg)
From the 1960s until the arrival of retro parks in 1992, baseball built many multi-purpose ballparks. Also derisively known as "concrete donuts", "cookie-cutters", or "giant ashtrays", they were usually tall and circular or square structures made entirely of, usually bare, reinforced concrete. The parks were built to hold baseball as well as football, soccer, and other sports. One of the earliest baseball stadiums that incorporated this type of design was
Cleveland Stadium
Cleveland Stadium, commonly known as Municipal Stadium, Lakefront Stadium or Cleveland Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball a ...
(built 1932), which featured an oval grandstand that was more friendly to goal-centered sports like football. A park built to suit all sports well, which was co-owned by the teams or the city, seemed advantageous to all, especially because it was less expensive to maintain one stadium rather than two. Some parks that were originally built for one sport were renovated to accommodate multiple sports.
The shape of the parks generally depended on the original use. Baseball parks that were renovated to accommodate football, like
Candlestick Park
Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 ...
and
Anaheim Stadium
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los Angel ...
, were usually asymmetrically shaped. Football stadiums that were renovated to accommodate baseball, like
Sun Life Stadium
Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the University of Miami's NCAA Division I colle ...
and
Mile High Stadium
Mile High Stadium (originally Bears Stadium until 1968) was an outdoor multi-purpose stadium located in Denver, Colorado from 1948 to 2001.
The stadium was built in 1948 to accommodate the Denver Bears baseball team, which was a member of the ...
, were usually of a rectangular shape, though Mile High actually started its life in 1948 as a
Minor League Baseball park known as Bears Stadium. Parks that were built to serve both were usually circular and completely enclosed on all sides. These were the parks that gained multi-purpose parks the reputation as bland cookie-cutter structures. The first of these parks was
DC Stadium (renamed RFK Stadium in 1969) in the
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
. RFK is unique in that it hosted two different baseball
teams, and that it was the first to ''originally'' be intended for multiple sports.
A notable variant among the cookie-cutter stadia was
Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City. . Its grandstand extended just beyond the foul poles and did not completely enclose the field. Plans were made to enclose the grandstand and build a dome, but engineers discovered that the structure could not handle the load of the proposed dome. Thus, the area behind the outfield fence remained open.
One major innovation of the multi-purpose parks was the
cantilever
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...
ed upper deck. In earlier ballparks, the columns used to support the upper decks obstructed the view from some seats in the lower deck. In the new design, the upper decks were extended upwards and the columns were removed. However, even though the extension counterbalanced some of the weight, the upper decks could no longer extend as close to the field and had to be moved back. Also, the roofs could no longer be as large, and often only covered the top 15 or so rows. This exposed fans to the elements.
Besides the drawbacks of the cantilever design, there were other issues with these parks. With few exceptions, seating was angled to face the center of the field of play, rather than home plate.
Luxury box
The luxury box (or skybox) and club seating constitute the most exclusive class of seating in arenas and stadiums, and generate much higher revenues than regular seating. Club ticketholders often receive exclusive access to an indoor part of t ...
es, which were a part of football culture, were now introduced to baseball, and were usually placed below the upper decks, pushing upper deck seating farther from the field. The furthest seats in these parks were or more from the plate. The capacities of these stadiums were larger than previous baseball stadiums. Typical game attendance did not fill the stadiums. Due to the rectangular shape needed for football or soccer, outfield dimensions were generally symmetrical, and even seats at field level down the lines could be far from the action.
Multi-purpose stadiums also posed issues for their non-baseball tenants. The "cookie-cutters" with swiveling, field-level sections proved problematic. Because the front rows were too close to the field, the fans had difficulty seeing over the football benches. This was evident in the
movable seating Moveable may refer to:
* A Moveable Feast
* Moveable feast
* Movable type
* Moveable bridge
* History of printing in East Asia
See also
*Personal property
property is property that is movable. In common law systems, personal property may a ...
sections in RFK Stadium. The first ten rows of the football configuration were practically at field level, and fans in those sections often stood up on their seats to get a better view. Other stadiums overcame this simply by covering those seats, not bothering to sell them. Despite being cost-effective, these problems eventually caused the parks to become unfashionable.
The multi-purpose architecture reached a climax when Toronto's SkyDome (now
Rogers Centre) opened in 1989. It had state-of-the-art amenities including a retractable roof, hotel, and a restaurant behind the outfield from where patrons could view the games.
Only one of the purely open-air multi-purpose parks is still in use today:
Oakland Coliseum
Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home b ...
. The Athletics plan to move out of Oakland Coliseum and build a new ballpark of their own in the future, and their former co-tenants, the NFL
Oakland Raiders, moved to Las Vegas in 2020.
''Note: To reduce redundancy, this table does not list the indoor stadiums of the multi-purpose era in this section.''
*A baseball-only ballpark converted to a multi-purpose stadium.
**A football-only stadium converted to a multi-purpose stadium.
denotes stadium is also a retractable-roof ballpark
Modern ballparks
![Dodger Stadium from bullpen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Dodger_Stadium_from_bullpen.jpg)
While most teams turned to multi-purpose parks, some built baseball-only parks. While these modern ballparks shirked some of the conventions of multi-purpose parks, they did include some of the new features. The most notable influences were the cantilevered upper decks, the use of seating colors other than green, fairly plain concrete exteriors, and symmetrical outfields. While the multi-purpose parks have become all but extinct, some modern parks, such as
Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...
and
Kauffman Stadium
Kauffman Stadium (), often called "The K", is a baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is home to the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). It is part of the Truman Sports Complex together with the adjacent Arrowhead ...
, have been hailed for aging beautifully. Rather than build new parks, the teams have decided instead to renovate the current structures, adding a few newer conveniences. Several of the modern parks built as such have remained in use, with no indication of being demolished.
While Cleveland Stadium is the ancestor to the multi-purpose ballpark, the ancestor of the modern ballpark is
Milwaukee County Stadium
Milwaukee County Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Opened in 1953, it was primarily a baseball park for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Braves and later the Milwaukee Brewers. It was also used for Green Bay Packers f ...
. It was the first to feature a symmetrical, round outfield fence. It also featured the rounded V-shaped grandstand and colorful seats that are common among modern parks. Coincidentally, it also would have been one of the earlier examples of a converted park as well. It was supposed to replace a minor league facility, and serve as home of the minor league team until a major league franchise could be lured to the city. However, the Braves came to Milwaukee earlier than expected, and the minor league team never played in the stadium.
The first two truly modern ballparks were built by the two New York teams who moved to California, the Giants and the Dodgers.
Candlestick Park
Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 ...
was created first, but was converted to a multi-purpose park to accommodate the
49ers. Dodger Stadium has been upgraded a number of times, but remains baseball-only and its original design is still largely intact.
Anaheim Stadium, which was initially modeled closely on Dodger Stadium, was expanded for football, but once the Rams departed, most of the extra outfield seating was peeled back, returning the structure to something closer to its original design.
The original Yankee Stadium is an exceptional case. Yankee Stadium was a jewel box park, albeit a very large one. It was showing its age in the 1970s, and the stadium was extensively renovated during 1973–75, converting it into more of a modern style ballpark. Many of the characteristics that defined it as a classical jewel box were also retained, so the remodeled Stadium straddled both categories.
New Comiskey Park (now
Guaranteed Rate Field) was the last modern ballpark to be built in North America. A series of renovations have been made to make it appear more like a retro-classic ballpark.
Although they were purposefully built for baseball, some of these stadiums also hosted professional soccer and football teams at times. The
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
played at Metropolitan Stadium during the Twins' entire tenure there, and the
Green Bay Packers played a few home games at Milwaukee County Stadium every year from 1953 through 1994. A few of them, including Metropolitan Stadium, also hosted
NASL teams during the 1970s.
The only modern parks still used by Major League Baseball are
Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...
,
Angel Stadium
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los An ...
,
Kauffman Stadium
Kauffman Stadium (), often called "The K", is a baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is home to the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). It is part of the Truman Sports Complex together with the adjacent Arrowhead ...
, and
Guaranteed Rate Field, although the latter has been renovated into a Retro-classic ballpark while Angel Stadium and Kauffman Stadium have been renovated into Retro-modern ballparks.
Temporary and converted ballparks
![LA Coliseum 1959 World Series](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/LA_Coliseum_1959_World_Series.jpg)
The expansion teams of the 1960s led to the emergence of two distinct subsets of parks in the major leagues: temporary ballparks and converted ballparks.
Temporary ballparks were used when a new ballpark was planned for an expansion team or moving franchise, but was not completed. This occurred for a few reasons, such as delays or a desire to hold off until the deal is settled. In this case, an established building is used as a temporary home, often a minor league park. The first temporary ballparks were not actually used by expansion teams but by established franchises. When the Dodgers and Giants moved to California from New York, they played in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Seals Stadium respectively while Dodger Stadium and Candlestick Park were being built.
Converted ballparks were an alternative to building an entirely new stadium. These parks were pre-existing minor league or college facility that were expanded to fit a major league team. Converted ballparks are distinct from football stadia that were converted to multi-purpose parks in that converted ballparks were originally built for baseball only, albeit for a non-major league level. Early converted ballparks were Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, and Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota. All three were expanded minor league facilities, although Baltimore and the Met were constructed with the idea of expanding to major league level in mind. Kansas City was a true established minor league park that was substantially expanded to accommodate major league size crowds.
These two types of ballpark are distinct because of their use, not their design. Because of this, a temporary or converted ballpark can also be any of the other types: jewel box, modern, multi-purpose, etc.
MLB
NPB
Indoor ballparks
![Tropicana Field Playing Field Opening Day 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Tropicana_Field_Playing_Field_Opening_Day_2010.JPG)
An important type of ballpark is the indoor park. These parks were covered with a fixed roof, usually a hard concrete dome. Reasons to build indoor parks were varied. The
Astrodome
The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...
, the first indoor sports stadium ever built, was built to escape the hot and very humid climate of Houston and the
Kingdome was built to escape Seattle's constant fall and winter rains. In Japan, domed stadiums were built to escape frequently rainy climates, as well as extreme snowfall in Sapporo. There is little to no natural light in these parks, necessitating the use of one of the most distinguishing aspects of an indoor park: artificial turf. While roofing technology now allows grass to be grown in indoor venues (see
Forsyth Barr Stadium
The Forsyth Barr Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand. At various stages of development it was also known as Dunedin Stadium or Awatea Street Stadium, or its non-commercial official name during the 2011 Rugby World Cup an ...
, a rugby venue in New Zealand with an
ETFE
Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) is a fluorine-based plastic. It was designed to have high corrosion resistance and strength over a wide temperature range. ETFE is a polymer and its source-based name is poly(ethene-co-tetrafluoroethene). It is ...
roof), the first generation of indoor parks predated such roofs. Since there was not enough light to grow grass, artificial turf was installed, and this affected the game. Artificial turf was harder, and thus a ball hit on the ground moved faster and bounced high. This, coupled with the usually dull white or gray roofs that could camouflage a fly ball, caused what Twins fans called a "dome-field advantage".
A park of note is
Olympic Stadium
''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
in Montreal. The park was designed with a large tower that loomed over top. Cables came down from the top of the tower to connect to the large oval center of the roof. This oval center was supposed to be lifted by the cables, opening the park up if the weather was pleasant. However, the mechanism never worked correctly, and what was supposed to be a retractable roof was initially not used, then used for only a short period of time, and later replaced with a permanently fixed roof, making the stadium a strictly indoor facility.
Another notable park was the
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, which instead of a rigid masonry roof was covered by inflatable fiberglass sheeting, held up by air pressure. A drawback to this design, at least in Minnesota's severe winter climate, was revealed when the dome collapsed three times in its first three years of operation due to accumulated snow. The
Tokyo Dome
is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of th ...
has a similar roof; due to Tokyo's considerably milder winter climate, that stadium has not had the Metrodome's snow-related issues.
Indoor parks faced many of the same problems of the multi-purpose parks.
Tropicana Field
Tropicana Field (commonly known as the Trop) is a multi-purpose domed stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. The stadium has been the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) since the team's inaugural sea ...
is the only indoor-only or fixed-dome park left hosting a Major League Baseball team, and
may be replaced in the near future. Japan still has several fixed-dome parks designed primarily for baseball. One of these, the
Sapporo Dome
is a stadium located in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, and is primarily used for baseball and association football. It is the home field of the association football club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, and was also home to the baseball team Hokkaido Ni ...
, has an uncommon feature of two separate playing surfaces. Baseball is played on a permanently installed artificial surface within the dome, while a permanent grass pitch is attached to the structure and mechanically slid into the dome for use in
soccer matches.
MLB
NPB
Retractable-roof ballparks
![Rogers Centre open and closed](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Rogers_Centre_open_and_closed.jpg)
The indoor parks were built for several different reasons, chief among those weather. However, as multi-purpose parks became unfashionable, so did indoor parks. This led to the creation of retractable-roof parks. These allowed shelter from the elements, but still could be open when the weather was pleasant. To be able to support the roof, most were closed in on all sides like multi-purpose and indoor parks.
Because the roof needs to go somewhere when not covering the field, a distinguishing characteristic of the retractable roof park is a large extension of the interior spaces to either one side of the field or both sides that the roof sits on when retracted. The only exception to this is
American Family Field
American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's ...
, whose fan-shaped roof folds in upon itself and hangs behind the stands down the foul lines. Often, when retracted, the roof still hangs over the field, casting large shadows. This is countered at American Family Field by large panes of glass under the roof. While most stadiums seal up when the roof is closed, others remain partially open, such as
T-Mobile Park
T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the western t ...
, whose roof acts as an "umbrella" to shield from Seattle's frequently rainy weather.
Pittsburgh's
Civic Arena was the first sports building in the world with a retractable roof; however, the building was originally constructed for the
Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera
Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (Pittsburgh CLO) is a nonprofit professional theater company based in the Cultural District of Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Despite its name, the organization presents musical theatre classics rather t ...
, which moved out in 1969 due to dissatisfaction with the acoustics in the arena. The arena's long-term tenants, the NHL's
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...
, never played with the roof open, and the arena itself was never used for baseball (and was too small to be used for that sport). While Montreal's Olympic Stadium was the first baseball park to have a retractable roof, the roof was plagued by numerous problems, and was never fully used. This made Rogers Centre the first fully functional retractable-roof park. It managed to succeed where Olympic Stadium failed, building a multi-section roof that folded upon itself, retracting over the hotel in center field.
Retractable-roof parks can vary greatly in style, from the utilitarian (
Rogers Centre), to those infused with retro elements (such as
Minute Maid Park
Minute Maid Park is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 as the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. It has a seating capacity of 41,168, which includes 5,197 club seats and 63 ...
), to the contemporary (
loanDepot Park
LoanDepot Park is a retractable roof stadium located in Miami, Florida. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins. It is located on on the site of the former Miami Orange Bowl in Little Havana about west of Downtown Miami. Const ...
). The style of each park reflects the popular architecture of the era in which it was built. (This differs from indoor ballparks, all of which were built during the time of multi-purpose parks, and thus reflected the same "flying-saucer" style.) When
Rogers Centre opened in 1989, baseball was near the end of the modern and multi-purpose era.
Chase Field
Chase Field, formerly Bank One Ballpark, is a retractable roof stadium in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. It opened in 1998, the year the Diamondbacks debuted as an expansion team. Ch ...
,
T-Mobile Park
T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the western t ...
,
Minute Maid Park
Minute Maid Park is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 as the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. It has a seating capacity of 41,168, which includes 5,197 club seats and 63 ...
, and
American Family Field
American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's ...
all opened in the middle of the retro era. When loanDepot Park opened in 2012 as Marlins Park, it introduced a new and different style, and perhaps the beginning of a new era. The
Texas Rangers built
Globe Life Field
Globe Life Field is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers. It is located just south of Choctaw Stadium, the Rangers' former home ballpark.
History Background
On Ma ...
in the retro style similar to their previous ballpark,
Globe Life Park.
Therefore, the term "retractable-roof ballpark/stadium" is not a description of the overall architectural style of the building, but of the functional aspect of it. For this reason, retractable-roof parks are also dual-listed in style-based types of ballparks. For example, the 4 retractable-roof parks built in the United States during the retro era are also considered to be retro-modern ballparks.
MLB
NPB
Retro-classic ballparks
![Camden Yards](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Camden_Yards.jpg)
HOK Sport, now known as
Populous, designed
Sahlen Field
Sahlen Field is a baseball park in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Pilot Field, the venue has since been named Downtown Ballpark, North AmeriCare Park, Dunn Tire Park, and Coca-Cola Field. Home to the Buffalo Bisons of the ...
in
Buffalo to attract a major league franchise to the city. The stadium opened in 1988 as home of the
Buffalo Bisons
The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...
, but was passed over in the
1993 Major League Baseball expansion
The 1993 Major League Baseball expansion resulted in Major League Baseball (MLB) adding two expansion teams to the National League (NL) for the 1993 season: the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins (now known as the Miami Marlins).
Backgroun ...
(Sahlen Field was eventually used as a temporary MLB facility by the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
in the
2020 season and
2021 season due to Canada's travel restrictions following the outbreak of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
). HOK Sport would take what they learned in Buffalo about styling a retro-classic ballpark, or retro ballpark, to their major league project in Baltimore.
In 1992,
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
The Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a baseball stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early ...
opened in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. Going in a different direction from the multi-purpose and modern ballparks, Camden Yards harkened back to the old jewel box parks. This began the trend of building retro-classic ballparks in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
.
The retro parks were built with all the luxuries of the newer parks, such as luxury boxes and more restrooms and concession areas, along with new additions, such as indoor concourses that are open to the field, allowing fans to always have a view of the game. However (except for a few exceptions harkening back to the wooden ballpark era), the aesthetics shifted back to jewel box conventions, which included the use of green seats, bricks, stone, and green-painted exposed steel.
A major divergence from jewel boxes was the layout of the grandstand. The focus was now on everyone in the park having a good view. Columns were missing as with the modern parks, but the upper deck was drawn back and shrunk, while the middle tiers grew in size, causing a stepped effect. The
cantilevered
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...
upper deck was no longer a large necessity. However, since these new upper decks were drawn back, the shape of the inclined seating was clearly expressed on the exterior, a feature that is a hallmark of modern parks.
Like the jewel box parks, the outfield fences were angled rather than the gradual curve of the newer parks, and often had quirky dimensions. The requirements for minimum distance to the outfield fences were frequently waived during this time.
Teams with multi-purpose and indoor parks longed for this beautiful and classic look, and began systematically demolishing them and moving to either retro-classic or retro-modern parks. Since Camden Yards opened, two-thirds of all major league teams have opened new ballparks, each of which contain unique features. The most important feature was that they were built primarily for baseball, although these venues have also hosted football, soccer and
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
games.
Turner Field
Turner Field was a baseball stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1997 to 2016, it served as the home ballpark to the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium in 1996 to serve as the c ...
was originally constructed as
Centennial Olympic Stadium for the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
and was retrofitted to baseball the following year.
Guaranteed Rate Field has an unusual place in ballpark history. It was the last modern park built, a year before Camden Yards and hence just missing the retro movement. It was viewed as obsolete only a year into its life. The White Sox responded with a series of renovations to give the park more retro charm. This included the changing from a cantilever upper deck to a flat roof with columns, the change from a symmetrical fence to a more recognizably-shaped asymmetrical fence, and the adoption of a primarily dark-green color scheme, reminiscent of the original Comiskey Park. Upper deck seating was also reduced to eliminate locations which had proven unpopular with fans, and often went conspicuously unsold.
The most recent retro-classic ballparks were built in New York City. Queens'
Citi Field
Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...
is modeled after
Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League (1913–1957). It was also home to five pro ...
, and the Bronx's
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.
Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...
is modeled after the pre-renovation "
House that Ruth Built". Both parks opened in 2009.
Teams are now trending away from the retro-classic look and are instead building retro-modern and contemporary ballparks. Turner Field was the first retro-classic park replaced, as the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...
moved to
Truist Park
Truist Park (originally SunTrust Park) is a baseball stadium in the Atlanta metropolitan area, approximately 10 miles (16 km) northwest of downtown Atlanta in the unincorporated community of Cumberland, Georgia, Cumberland, in Cobb County, ...
after the 2016 season, while the
Texas Rangers moved from
Globe Life Park in Arlington
Choctaw Stadium, formerly Globe Life Park, is an American multi-purpose stadium in Arlington, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth. Originally built as a baseball stadium, it was home to the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball and the Tex ...
to the retractable-roof
Globe Life Field
Globe Life Field is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers. It is located just south of Choctaw Stadium, the Rangers' former home ballpark.
History Background
On Ma ...
in 2020.
Retro-modern ballparks
![Progressive Field sign](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Progressive_Field_sign.jpg)
While Camden Yards influenced nearly every ballpark built after it, not all fully adhere to its design. Those that deviate to incorporate more modern-looking elements are called retro-modern ballparks.
Progressive Field, originally Jacobs Field, was built two years after Camden Yards, and featured the angular, asymmetrical fences of varying heights, a smaller upper deck, stepped tiers, and an unobtrusive singular color scheme. While the interior has all the hallmarks of a retro park, the exterior did not feature the look of the jewel box parks. It could not truly be called a retro-classic park.
Many of today's parks have followed in this second school of retro. Rather than brick, the exteriors heavily feature white- or gray-painted steel. If there is any masonry, it is sandstone or limestone. Some feature progressive elements such as curtain walls, or retractable roofs.
Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los Ange ...
has seen many changes throughout the years. It was originally a modern park, similar to the Angels' previous home,
Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...
. When the
NFL's
Los Angeles Rams left the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1980 and set up shop in what was then Anaheim Stadium, the first round of renovations began. The grandstand was expanded to completely enclose the stadium, turning it into a multi-purpose park. The Rams left in 1994, leaving the Angels alone in the large, 65,000-seat stadium. After a two-year renovation, the steel was painted green, and what concrete remained was painted sandstone, including the sweeping curve of the entrance plaza. The seating configuration was significantly altered, most notably by tearing out most of the outfield seating except for parts of the lower decks in left and right fields, to more closely resemble the original design from the park's first 15 years. The finished product in 1998 was a retro-modern ballpark.
In the same year,
Chase Field
Chase Field, formerly Bank One Ballpark, is a retractable roof stadium in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. It opened in 1998, the year the Diamondbacks debuted as an expansion team. Ch ...
opened as Bank One Ballpark for the expansion
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...
, it incorporated a retractable roof and a swimming pool — elements that did not exist in jewel-box ballparks. Despite the absence of MLB history in the
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
area and an overwhelming roof design, much of the interior was still built with all of the hallmarks of retro, similar to
Progressive Field. Although Chase Field was not the
first retractable-roof ballpark in history, it was the first in a wave of four retractable-roof ballparks (opening within just four years) to follow the retro-modern pattern.
During the second decade of retro,
Petco Park and
Kauffman Stadium
Kauffman Stadium (), often called "The K", is a baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is home to the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). It is part of the Truman Sports Complex together with the adjacent Arrowhead ...
followed the construction and renovation concepts of
Progressive Field and
Angel Stadium
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los An ...
, respectively. Meanwhile, the period saw another subset of three new retro-modern stadiums that pushed away from classic parks even more.
When
Great American Ball Park
Great American Ball Park is a baseball stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It served as the home stadium of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB), and opened on March 31, 2003, replacing Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium), the Reds ...
opened in 2003, it featured a contemporary-looking, glass-wrapped facade. Such prominent use of elements that were unfamiliar even to pre-1992 modern stadiums signaled that some stadium planners were more willing to incorporate designs that looked into the 21st century as much as they did the 20th. Five years later,
Nationals Park
Nationals Park is a baseball stadium along the Anacostia River in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Home to Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals since its completion in 2008, it was the first LEED-certified green major profe ...
built off Cincinnati's design, making yet more liberal use of glass along with white concrete that would not clash with architecture in
the District
''The District'' is an American crime drama and police procedural television series which aired on CBS from October 7, 2000, to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s police department.
Pr ...
. Nationals Park became the first stadium to
go green while still offering all of the amenities — another concept that looked ahead instead of behind. The retro-modern style climaxed in 2010 with the sculptured, contemporary exterior and canopy of
Target Field
Target Field is a baseball stadium in the North Loop, Minneapolis, historic warehouse district of downtown Minneapolis. Since its opening in 2010, the stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins. The stadium hos ...
, rendering it almost unrecognizable from the outside. Its cantilevered glass on top of a limestone base was designed partly to functionally fit the tiny 8-acre plot in the middle of a bustling transportation interchange. But the principal architect of Target Field, Earl Santee of
Populous, said that the exterior was also an artistic interpretation of the culture of Minnesotans: a dichotomy of cosmopolitan and natural. Designing the building as a metaphor for people was a different way of thinking about ballpark architecture.
The exterior of the later retro-contemporary trio of ballparks progressively evolved further and further from jewel-box or even modern-style parks. Yet, in the stands and on the field they still have the familiar classic feel while implementing the marks of retro (i.e., unique-shaped fences, forest green or other singular color scheme, etc.).
denotes stadium is also a retractable-roof ballpark
Contemporary ballparks
![Marlins Park front plaza](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Marlins_Park_front_plaza.jpg)
Prior to the start of the 2012 baseball season, ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'' noted that new Marlins Park would "perhaps provide a coda to the
postmodern Camden Yards era".
After 2 decades of the retro style dominating ballpark architecture, a new type of design emerged in 2012 with the opening of the venue now known as
LoanDepot Park
LoanDepot Park is a retractable roof stadium located in Miami, Florida. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins. It is located on on the site of the former Miami Orange Bowl in Little Havana about west of Downtown Miami. Const ...
, snapping the consecutive streak of 20 new (plus 3 renovated) MLB retro stadiums. This latest style's purpose is to make the fan experience the present-day culture of the stadium's surrounding city or area, and rejects the basic notion of retro. Stadium planners are calling the style
contemporary
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...
.
A
contemporary stadium for Tampa Bay was designed, but the project was cancelled. ''The New Yorker'' wrote regarding the new MLB architecture: "The retro mold has finally been broken, but this might be the last chance a new style gets for some time."
A park in a similar style is currently being built for the
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Figh ...
of
Nippon Professional Baseball
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...
, and is expected to open in 2023.
denotes stadium is also a retractable-roof ballpark
Current Major League ballparks
![CardinalDimensions](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/CardinalDimensions.png)
The numbers indicate the number of feet from home plate to the wall of that part of the field. Left and Right Field normally refer to the distances along the foul lines. Left Center and Right Center are the approximate power alley figures. Center Field could mean straightaway center field or it could mean to the deepest part of the center field area. Backstop refers to the distance behind home plate to the backstop screen. These numbers are one researcher's opinion of the true values and may differ from the numbers marked on the wall/fence by as much as . Capacity
figures may also vary.
In 1958 MLB instituted a rule mandating that parks built thereafter have minimum outfield distances of 325' down the lines and 400' to center; older parks were grandfathered. Since 1991, however, numerous waivers have been granted, as can be seen from the table.
* Fenway Park is 37,227 during day games
** Oakland Coliseum is expandable to 55,945.
*** Tropicana Field is expandable to 42,735.
†Actual distance to center field is ; the markings are to the left and right of dead center.
††At Fenway Park, deep center is and straightaway center is .
†††At Progressive Field, the distance to deep center field is and straightaway center is .
See also
*
List of baseball parks by capacity
The following is a list of ballparks. They are ordered by capacity; which is the maximum number of spectators the stadium can accommodate in a normal game (ex: Tropicana Field can be expanded to 42,000+ but is normally capped at 25,000). Currently ...
*
List of Major League Baseball stadiums
There are 30 stadiums in use by Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The oldest ballpark is Fenway Park in Boston, home of the Boston Red Sox, which opened in 1912. The newest stadium is Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, home of the Texas R ...
*
List of U.S. baseball stadiums by capacity
This is a list of most current U.S. baseball stadiums. They are ordered by seating capacity, the maximum number of spectators the stadium can accommodate in baseball configuration.
See also
*List of Major League Baseball stadiums
*List of bas ...
*
List of terraces at baseball venues
This is a list of baseball parks containing slopes in a portion of their outfield areas, which were sometimes or often known to affect the course of the game when a fly ball was hit toward that area.
Terraces were common in baseball in the early ...
*
All-you-can-eat seats (baseball)
*
Scoreboard
A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used ...
Footnotes
References
External links
How Baseball Parks Have Changed Through TimeBaseball Park facts, figures, photos, and more at Ballparks.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baseball Park
Sports venues by type
Sports venues