The
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, often simply called The
Metrodome, is a domed sports
stadiumA modern stadium is a place, or venue, for outdoor sports, concerts or other events, consisting of a field or stage partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.-History of the stadium:The word originates from the Greek word...
in downtown
Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis is the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Hennepin County. The city lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Saint Paul, the state's capital. Known as the Twin Cities,...
,
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The field was renamed
Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in October 2009. Opened in 1982, it replaced
Metropolitan StadiumMetropolitan Stadium was a sports stadium that once stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis...
, which was on the current site of the
Mall of AmericaMall of America is a super-regional shopping mall located in the Twin Cities suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. The mall is located southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north of the Minnesota River and is across the interstate from the Minneapolis-St. Paul...
in
BloomingtonBloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County, and the third core city of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI MSA. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the...
(which, beginning a three year deal on October 5, 2009, now holds
naming rightsNaming rights are the right to name a piece of property, either tangible property or an event, usually granted in exchange for financial considerations. Institutions like schools, places of worship and hospitals have a tradition of granting donors the right to name facilities in exchange for...
for the Metrodome's field), and
Memorial StadiumMemorial Stadium, also known as the "Brick House," was an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. It was the home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team for 58 seasons, from 1924 until 1981. Before moving to Memorial Stadium in 1924, the Gophers...
on the University of Minnesota campus. The Metrodome is home to the
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
's
Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional football team based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings compete in the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . Prior to divisional realignment in 2002, they had been a member of the Central Division, also...
, and is occasionally used by the the
Big TenThe Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its eleven member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Iowa and Minnesota in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
's
Minnesota Golden GophersThe Minnesota Golden Gophers are the college sports team for the University of Minnesota. The university fields both men's and women's teams in basketball, cross country, gymnastics, golf, ice hockey, swimming, tennis, and track and field. Men's-specific sports include baseball, football, and...
college baseball team. The stadium was also the long time home of the
Minnesota TwinsThe Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. They have played in the Hubert H...
from 1982 to 2009.
The stadium is years old, making it the
ninth oldest stadium in the National Football League. Common notable nicknames include
The Dome,
The Hefty Baghttp://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/metrod.htm,
The Thunderdome or the
Triple H (HHH) Metrodome, and was often
nicknameA nickname is a descriptive name given in place of or in addition to the official name of a person, place or thing. It can also be the familiar or truncated form of the proper name, which may sometimes be used simply for convenience A nickname (also spelled "nick name") is a descriptive name...
d the
Homerdome (even though in reality it is no easier to hit a
home runIn baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle all the bases, ending at home plate and scoring runs for himself and each runner who was already on base, with no errors by the defensive team on the play...
there than on average). The stadium is well known for its
fiberglassFiberglass, , is material made from extremely fine fibers of glass. It is used as a reinforcing agent for many polymer products; the resulting composite material, properly known as fiber-reinforced polymer or glass-reinforced plastic , is called "fiberglass" in popular usage...
fabric roof that is self-supported by air-pressure. The Metrodome was also the second major sports facility to have a domed roof supported completely by air after the
Pontiac SilverdomeThe Pontiac Silverdome is a domed stadium located in the city of Pontiac, Michigan. It hosted the Detroit Lions of the NFL from 1975–2001, the Detroit Pistons of the NBA from 1978–1988, the Michigan Panthers of the USFL from 1983–1984, the college football Cherry Bowl in 1984 and 1985 and Motor...
.
History
By the 1970s,
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
’s
Minnesota TwinsThe Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. They have played in the Hubert H...
weren't content with the frequently harsh weather conditions early and late in the baseball season at
Metropolitan StadiumMetropolitan Stadium was a sports stadium that once stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis...
while the Vikings weren't happy with its relatively small capacity for football (just under 48,500). In addition, the stadium was not well maintained; broken railings and seats could be spotted in the third deck by the early 1970s.
Construction success of other domed stadiums, particularly the
Pontiac SilverdomeThe Pontiac Silverdome is a domed stadium located in the city of Pontiac, Michigan. It hosted the Detroit Lions of the NFL from 1975–2001, the Detroit Pistons of the NBA from 1978–1988, the Michigan Panthers of the USFL from 1983–1984, the college football Cherry Bowl in 1984 and 1985 and Motor...
near
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
, paved the way for voters to approve funding for a new stadium. Downtown Minneapolis was beginning a revitalization program, and the return of professional sports from suburban Bloomington was seen as a major success story. A professional team hadn't been based in downtown Minneapolis since the
Minneapolis LakersThe Los Angeles Lakers are a National Basketball Association team based in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center, which they share with their fellow NBA rival, the Los Angeles Clippers, and their sister team, the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA...
left for
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
in 1960.
Construction on the Metrodome began on December 20, 1979 and was funded by the state of
MinnesotaMinnesota is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.2 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the...
.
Uncovering the Dome by
Amy KlobucharAmy Jean Klobuchar is the senior United States Senator from Minnesota. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, an affiliate of the Democratic Party...
(now a
U.S. SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
) describes the ten-year effort to build the venue. The stadium was named in memoriam to former
mayor"Mayor" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government....
of Minneapolis,
U.S. SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
and U.S. Vice President,
Hubert HumphreyHubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
, who had died in 1978.
The Metrodome cost $68 million to build—roughly $2 million under budget, a rarity for modern stadiums. It is a somewhat utilitarian facility, though not quite as spartan as Metropolitan Stadium. One stadium official once said that all the Metrodome was designed to do was "get fans in, let 'em see a game, and let 'em go home."
The
1985 MLB All-Star GameThe 1985 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 56th playing of the game, annually played between the All-Stars of the National League and the All-Stars of the American League. The game was played on July 16, 1985, in the Hubert H...
, several games of the
1987The 1987 World Series, in which the Minnesota Twins defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, was the first World Series in which the home team won all seven games. This also happened in 1991 and 2001. The World Series victory by the Twins was the first for the franchise since 1924, when the team was...
and the
1991 World SeriesThe 1991 World Series was played between the Minnesota Twins of the American League and the Atlanta Braves of the National League between October 19 and October 27, 1991. The Series was, in some respects, similar to the 1987 World Series also played by the Minnesota Twins , most notably in that...
,
Super Bowl XXVISuper Bowl XXVI was an American football game played on January 26, 1992 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota to decide the National Football League champion following the 1991 regular season...
in 1992, and the 1998-99 NFC Championship all were held at the Metrodome.
The
NCAA Final FourThe NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination tournament held each spring featuring 65 college basketball teams. college basketball teams in the United States...
was held at the Metrodome in
1992The 1992 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 19, 1992, and ended with the championship game on April 6 in Minneapolis, Minnesota...
and
2001The 2001 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 2001 with the play-in game, and ended with the championship game on April 2 in...
.
Duke University----The Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team the college basketball program representing Duke University. The Blue Devils are widely renowned in American college sports, especially in conjunction with their heated rivalry with the North Carolina Tar Heels...
was the winner on both occasions. The Metrodome has also served as one of the four regional venues for the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship in
1986The 1986 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1986, and ended with the championship game on March 31 in Dallas, Texas...
,
1989The 1989 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1989, and ended with the championship game on April 3 in Seattle, Washington...
,
1996The 1996 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 14, 1996, and ended with the championship game on April 1 at Continental Airlines Arena in...
,
2000The 2000 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 2000, and ended with the championship game on April 3 in...
,
2003The 2003 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 2003, and ended with the championship game on April 7 in...
and most recently,
2006The 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2005–06 basketball season...
. The dome has also held first and second round games in the NCAA Basketball Tournament in addition to regionals and the Final Four, most recently in
2009The 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was a tournament involving 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2008–09 basketball season...
.
The Metrodome is the only venue to host a
MLB All-Star GameThe 1985 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 56th playing of the game, annually played between the All-Stars of the National League and the All-Stars of the American League. The game was played on July 16, 1985, in the Hubert H...
(1985), a Super Bowl (
1992The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills.-Major rule changes:...
), an NCAA Final Four (
1992The 1992 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 19, 1992, and ended with the championship game on April 6 in Minneapolis, Minnesota...
&
2001The 2001 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 2001 with the play-in game, and ended with the championship game on April 2 in...
), and a World Series (
1987The 1987 World Series, in which the Minnesota Twins defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, was the first World Series in which the home team won all seven games. This also happened in 1991 and 2001. The World Series victory by the Twins was the first for the franchise since 1924, when the team was...
&
1991The 1991 World Series was played between the Minnesota Twins of the American League and the Atlanta Braves of the National League between October 19 and October 27, 1991. The Series was, in some respects, similar to the 1987 World Series also played by the Minnesota Twins , most notably in that...
). It has been recognized as one of the loudest domed venues in which to view a game, due in part to the fact that sound is recycled throughout the stadium because of the domed roof. Stadium loudness is a hot
sports marketing-The origins of sports marketing:The origination of the marketing discipline known as sports marketing, coincided with the advent of the first MLB game ever televised on August 26, 1939 and as a result made Babe Ruth the first six-figure athlete in the history of professional sports.Sports...
issue, as the noise lends the home team a home advantage against the visiting team. The Metrodome is the loudest domed NFL stadium. During the
1987 World SeriesThe 1987 World Series, in which the Minnesota Twins defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, was the first World Series in which the home team won all seven games. This also happened in 1991 and 2001. The World Series victory by the Twins was the first for the franchise since 1924, when the team was...
and
1991 World SeriesThe 1991 World Series was played between the Minnesota Twins of the American League and the Atlanta Braves of the National League between October 19 and October 27, 1991. The Series was, in some respects, similar to the 1987 World Series also played by the Minnesota Twins , most notably in that...
, peak
decibel levelsSound pressure is the local pressure deviation from the ambient pressure caused by a sound wave. Sound pressure can be measured using a microphone in air and a hydrophone in water. The SI unit for sound pressure is the pascal...
were measured at 125 and 118 respectively comparable to a jet airliner—both close to the
threshold of painThe threshold of pain is the point at which pain begins to be felt. It is an entirely subjective phenomenon. The intensity at which a stimulus begins to evoke pain is the threshold intensity. So, if a hotplate on your skin begins to hurt at 42°C, then that is the pain threshold temperature for...
.
Career-achievement events
- The Metrodome was the scene of several players joining the 3000 hit club
In Major League Baseball, the 3,000 Hit Club is an informal term applied to the group of players who have made 3,000 or more career base hits. Currently, there are 27 players who have accomplished this. Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros is the latest player to reach this milestone, on June 28,...
, including Eddie MurrayEddie Clarence Murray is a former Major League Baseball first baseman who was known as one of the most reliable and productive hitters of his era, earning the nickname "Steady Eddie". Murray is regarded as one of the best switch hitters ever to play the game...
, Dave WinfieldDavid Mark Winfield is an American former Major League Baseball player. He is currently Executive Vice President/Senior Advisor of the San Diego Padres and an analyst for the ESPN program Baseball Tonight...
, and Cal Ripken, Jr.Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken, Jr., , is a retired Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire career for the Baltimore Orioles....
- Dwyane Wade
Dwyane Tyrone Wade, Jr. , nicknamed "Flash" or "D-Wade", is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association . Wade was named 2006 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated...
recorded just the fourth triple double in NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament history on March 29, 2003.
- On June 28, 2007, in the top of the first inning, Frank Thomas
Frank Edward Thomas, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball designated hitter and first baseman.Thomas became one of baseball's biggest stars in the 1990s, playing for the Chicago White Sox. Broadcaster Ken Harrelson coined the nickname "The Big Hurt" for Thomas in the 1992 season...
hit a three-run home run to left-center against Carlos SilvaCarlos Silva is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who plays for the Seattle Mariners. Previously, he played for the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins...
for his 500th career home run. He was later ejected for arguing balls and strikes.
- The Metrodome was the site of Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett
Anthony "Tony" Drew Dorsett is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos.-College career:...
's 99 1/2 yard run, the longest run from scrimmage in NFL history, in a Monday night game that was lost by the Dallas Cowboys.
- On September 30, 2007, Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. He was the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers between 1992 and 2007, and for the New York Jets in 2008....
of the Green Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League and are the third-oldest franchise in the NFL.The Packers are the last vestige of "small town...
threw his record-breaking 421st career touchdown pass to Greg JenningsGregory Jennings, Jr. , is a professional American football wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted in the second round, 52nd overall, of the 2006 NFL Draft...
while playing the Vikings at the Metrodome.
- On November 4, 2007, Antonio Cromartie
Antonio Cromartie is a professional American football cornerback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 1st round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Chargers...
of the San Diego ChargersThe San Diego Chargers are an American Professional Football team based in San Diego, California. They are currently members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . The club began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League...
returned a 57-yard field goal attempt, which was short, 109 yards for a touchdown, which became the longest play in NFL history. In the same game, Adrian L. PetersonAdrian Lewis Peterson , nicknamed "A.D." or "Purple Jesus", is a professional football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. Peterson was selected by the Vikings with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at...
, running back for the Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional football team based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings compete in the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . Prior to divisional realignment in 2002, they had been a member of the Central Division, also...
, had 30 carries for an NFL single-game record 296 rushing yards, along with three touchdowns.
- On November 30, 2008, against the Chicago Bears, Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte
Gustave Joseph "Gus" Frerotte is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round of the 1994 NFL Draft...
threw a 99-yard touchdown pass to Bernard BerrianBernard Berrian is an American football wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft...
, tying an NFL record for longest pass.
- On July 28, 2009, White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle
Mark Alan Buehrle is a left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who has played for the Chicago White Sox since 2000....
broke the MLB record for consecutive batters retired. The record was 41; Buehrle retired 45 in a row.
- On October 5, 2009, with a 30-23 victory over the Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League and are the third-oldest franchise in the NFL.The Packers are the last vestige of "small town...
, his former team, Brett FavreBrett Lorenzo Favre is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. He was the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers between 1992 and 2007, and for the New York Jets in 2008....
of the Vikings became the first quarterback in NFL history to defeat every one of the league's 32 franchises.
Features
Since the stadium was built, the economics of sports marketing have changed. Teams are charging higher prices for tickets, and are demanding more amenities, such as bigger clubhouses and locker rooms, more luxury suites, and more concession revenue. To that end, pressure has been applied by team owners, media, and fans to have the State of Minnesota provide newer, better facilities to host the teams. The Metrodome has served its primary purpose, to provide a climate-controlled facility in which to host the three sports tenants in Minnesota with the largest attendance. The indoor venue is particularly welcome in the highly variable
climate of MinnesotaThe climate of Minnesota is typical of a continental climate with cold winters and hot summers. The state's location in the Upper Midwest allows it to experience some of the widest variety of weather in the United States, with each of the four seasons having its own distinct characteristics...
.
The Metrodome was widely thought of as a hitter's park, with a low (7 ft) left-field fence (343 ft) that favored right-handed power hitters, and the higher (23 ft) but closer (327 ft) right-field Baggie that favored left-handed power hitters. Because the roof is very nearly the same color as a baseball, and transmits light, the Metrodome had a far higher error incidence than a normal stadium during day games, so instead of losing a fly ball in the sun, as is common for non-roofed stadiums, fly balls could easily get lost in the
ceiling. Unlike most parks built during this time, the Metrodome's baseball configuration had asymmetrical outfield dimensions.
It gave up even more home runs before air conditioning was installed in 1983. Before 1983, the Dome had been nicknamed "the Sweat Box." The Metrodome is climate controlled, and has protected the baseball schedule during the entire time it has been the venue for the Minnesota Twins. Major League Baseball schedulers have had the luxury of being able to count on dates played at the Metrodome. A doubleheader game only occurs when purposely scheduled. The last time that happened was when the Twins scheduled a day-night doubleheader against the
Kansas City RoyalsThe Kansas City Royals' 2007 season began with the team attempting to win the Central Division of the American League—a task not achieved since the division was formed in 1994....
on August 31, 2007. The doubleheader was necessitated after an August 2 game vs. Kansas City was postponed one day after the I-35W Bridge Collapse in downtown Minneapolis.
The roof
The Metrodome's roof is made of two layers of Teflon coated
fiberglassFiberglass, , is material made from extremely fine fibers of glass. It is used as a reinforcing agent for many polymer products; the resulting composite material, properly known as fiber-reinforced polymer or glass-reinforced plastic , is called "fiberglass" in popular usage...
fabric, and is an
air-supported structureAn air-supported structure is any structure that derives its structural integrity from the use of internal pressurized air to inflate a pliable material envelope, so that air is the main support of the structure. It is usually dome-shaped, since this shape creates the strongest structure for the...
supported by positive air pressure. It requires 250,000 ft³/min (120 m³/s) of air to keep it inflated. It is reputed to be the largest application of Teflon on Earth.
To maintain the differential air pressure, spectators usually enter and leave the seating and concourse areas through revolving doors, since the use of regular doors without an airlock would cause significant loss of air pressure. The double-walled construction allows warmed air to circulate beneath the top of the dome, melting accumulated snow. A sophisticated environmental control center in the lower part of the stadium is manned to monitor weather and make adjustments in air distribution to maintain the roof.
Three times in the stadium's history, heavy snows have caused a small puncture in the roof and caused it to deflate. Varying air pressure due to a severe storm once contributed to a dramatic deflation during a regular season baseball game. On November 19, 1981, a rapid accumulation of over a foot of snow caused the roof to collapse, requiring it to be re-inflated.
On April 27, 1986, a severe thunderstorm rocked the stadium and its roof, and disabled power.
Because it is unusually low to the playing field (172 feet/52.4 m), the air-inflated dome occasionally figured into game action. Major League Baseball had specific ground rules for the Metrodome. Any ball which struck the Dome roof, or objects hanging from it, remained in play; if it landed in foul territory it became a foul ball, if it landed in fair territory it became a fair ball. Any ball which became caught in the roof over fair ground was a
ground rule doubleIn baseball, a ground rule double is any award of two bases from the time of pitch to all baserunners including the batter-runner. Such an award is traditionally called a "ground rule" double even though the award is usually not a result of ground rules. Most commonly, a batted ball bouncing fair...
. That has only happened twice in its history -
Dave KingmanDavid Arthur Kingman , nicknamed "Kong" and "Sky King," is a former Major League Baseball slugger for the San Francisco Giants , New York Mets , San Diego Padres , California Angels , New York Yankees , Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics .-USC Trojans:Kingman was drafted by the California Angels...
for the
Oakland AthleticsThe Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the Oakland Coliseum....
on May 4, 1984, and
Corey KoskieCordel Leonard "Corey" Koskie is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.-Baseball career:...
in
2004The 2004 MLB season was the 101st season of Major League Baseball. The season ended when the Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in a four-game sweep...
. The speakers, being closer to the playing surface, were hit more frequently, especially the speakers in foul ground near the infield, which were typically hit several times a season, which posed an extra challenge to infielders trying to catch them. However, beginning with the 2005 season, the ground rules for Twins games were changed such that any batted ball that struck a speaker in foul territory would automatically be called a foul ball, regardless of whether or not it was caught. The roof is high enough that it has never been a concern for events other than baseball.
The field
During its early years of operation, the field at the Metrodome was surfaced with SuperTurf. The surface, also known as SporTurf, was very bouncy—so bouncy, in fact, that
Billy MartinAlfred Manuel "Billy" Martin, Jr. was an American second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. He is best known as the manager of the New York Yankees, a position he held five different times...
once protested a game after seeing a base hit that would normally be a pop single turn into a ground rule double. Baseball and football players alike complained that it was too hard.
This surface was upgraded to
AstroturfAstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Though the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf...
in 1987, and in 2004, the sports commission had a newer artificial surface, called
FieldTurfFieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Peachtree City, Georgia. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
, installed. FieldTurf is thought to be a closer approximation to natural grass than Astroturf in its softness, appearance, and feel.
Plexiglas
Before the mid-1990s, the left-field wall included a six-foot clear
PlexiglasPoly poly is a transparent thermoplastic. Chemically, it is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate...
screen for a total height of . It was off this Plexiglas wall that former Twins player
Kirby PuckettKirby Puckett was a center fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire major-league career with the Minnesota Twins from 1984 to 1995. He is the Twins franchise's all-time leader in career hits, runs, doubles and total bases...
jumped to rob
Ron GantRonald Edwin "Ron" Gant is a former American Major League outfielder and second baseman earlier on who played for the Atlanta Braves , Cincinnati Reds , St...
of the
Atlanta BravesIn 1991, the Atlanta Braves became the first team in the National League to go from last place one year to first place the next. This feat was also accomplished by the 1991 Minnesota Twins...
of an extra-base hit during Game 6 of the
1991 World SeriesThe 1991 World Series was played between the Minnesota Twins of the American League and the Atlanta Braves of the National League between October 19 and October 27, 1991. The Series was, in some respects, similar to the 1987 World Series also played by the Minnesota Twins , most notably in that...
(a game that Puckett would win with an 11th-inning
walkoff homerIn baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. It must be a home run that gives the home team the lead in the bottom of the final inning of the game—either the ninth inning, or any extra inning, or any other regularly scheduled final inning...
) - in later years, with the Plexiglas removed, it would have been a potential
home runIn baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle all the bases, ending at home plate and scoring runs for himself and each runner who was already on base, with no errors by the defensive team on the play...
ball.
The Baggie
The Metrodome's right-field wall was composed of the seven-foot-high (2.1 m) fence around the whole outfield and a -high plastic wall extension in right field, known as the "Baggie" or the "Hefty Bag." The seats above and behind the Baggie were home run territory; the Baggie itself was part of the outfield wall.
Fenway ParkFenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use...
's "
Green MonsterThe Green Monster is the nickname of the thirty-seven foot, two-inch high left field wall at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox baseball team...
," a comparable but taller feature, is 17 feet (5.2 m) closer to home plate than the Baggie was, so batters who hit short, high fly balls were not typically helped by it. However, it was an attractive target for left-handed power hitters, and it was not uncommon for upper-deck
home runIn baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle all the bases, ending at home plate and scoring runs for himself and each runner who was already on base, with no errors by the defensive team on the play...
s to be hit to right field. When in a rectangular configuration for football and other small-field events, the Baggie was taken down and the seats behind it extended to form complete lower-deck seating.
Baseball
The Twins have won two
World SeriesThe World Series has been the annual championship series of the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada since 1903, concluding the postseason of Major League Baseball...
championships in the Metrodome (and winning both Series by winning all four games held at the Dome). The loud noise, white roof, quick turf, and the right-field wall (or "Baggie") can provide a substantial home-field advantage for the Twins.
The stadium is also used by the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers during February and March because of weather; actually, the team plays the majority of their home games at the Metrodome. The team often plays the major tournaments at the Dome, which includes the Dairy Queen Shootout, where three other major Division I baseball teams play in an invitational. Prior to the NCAA's 2008 rule in Division I regarding the start of the college baseball season, the Golden Gophers would often play home games at the Metrodome earlier than other teams in the area to neutralise the advantage of warmer-weather schools starting their seasons earlier in the year. Some early Big Ten conference games are played at the Metrodome, and the Golden Gophers take advantage of the home field advantage during the early part of the season before the weather warms, and the Gophers can play games on-campus. Other small colleges also play games in the stadium during the weeks before the Metrodome is open for Division I play. The Gophers elected to build a new stadium on campus that opened in 2009.
The Twins have had to postpone a game only twice since moving to the Metrodome. The first was on April 14, 1983, when a massive snowstorm prevented the
California AngelsThe California Angels 1983 season involved the Angels finishing 5th in the American League west with a record of 70 wins and 92 losses.- Roster :- Starters by position :Note: Pos = position; G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg...
from getting to Minneapolis. The game would have likely been postponed in any case, however; that night heavy snow caused part of the roof to collapse. The second was on August 1, 2007, when the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge collapsed a few blocks away from the Metrodome. The game scheduled for August 1 was played as scheduled because the team and police officials were worried about too many fans departing the Metrodome at one time, therefore causing conflict with rescue workers. The game, and ceremonial ground breaking on the new
stadiumTarget Field is the future home ballpark for the Minnesota Twins, currently under construction in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is on schedule to open in April 2010. It will be the franchise's sixth ballpark and third in Minnesota, replacing their ballpark of 28 years, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome...
, on August 2 was postponed to a later date due to the collapse of the bridge.
The size of
Siebert FieldSiebert Field is the baseball stadium at the University of Minnesota where the Minnesota Golden Gophers college baseball team currently plays portions of their seasons. Some early season contests are held at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. It is named in honor of Dick Siebert, a former head...
also affects the Golden Gophers starting in 2010. The Golden Gophers last hosted an NCAA baseball tournament regional in 2000, with temporary seating added. With the Metrodome being available for the tournament starting in 2010, the team could easily place a bid, and have a better possibility of hosting, an NCAA baseball regional or super regional.
The Twins played their final scheduled regular season game at the Metrodome on October 4, 2009, beating the
Kansas City RoyalsThe Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
, 13-4. Because they ended the day tied with the
Detroit TigersThe Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team based in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in . The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant 10 times...
for first place in the
American League CentralThe American League Central is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division was formed in the 1994 realignment. Its teams are all located in the Midwestern United States...
division, a one-game playoff between the two teams was played there on October 6, 2009, with the Twins beating the Tigers, 6-5 in 12 innings. The division clincher would be the Twins' last win at the Metrodome. The announced crowd was 54088, setting the regular-season attendence record.
The final Twins game played at the Metrodome was on October 11, 2009, when they lost to the
New York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division...
, 4-1, resulting in a 3 games to 0 sweep in the
2009 American League Division SeriesThe American League Division Series consisted of two concurrent best-of-five game series that determined the participating teams in the 2009 American League Championship Series. Three divisional winners and a "wild card" team played in the two series. The ALDS began on Wednesday, October 7 and...
. The Twins' appearance in this series gave the Metrodome the distinction of being the first
American LeagueThe American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, that eventually aspired to major league...
stadium to end its
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
history with post-season play. The only other stadiums whose final games came in the post-season are Atlanta Fulton County Stadium
(1996)The 1996 World Series matched the defending champion Atlanta Braves against the New York Yankees, with the Yankees winning in six games to capture their first championship since 1978, and their 23rd overall. The Yankees became the third team to win a World Series after dropping Games 1 and 2 at...
, the Houston Astrodome (1999) and St. Louis's
Busch Memorial StadiumBusch Memorial Stadium, later known as Busch Stadium, was the home of the St. Louis Cardinals National League baseball team from May 12, 1966 to October 19, 2005....
(2005), all of which were home venues for
National LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league...
teams.
Professional football
As the stadium was designed first and foremost for the Minnesota Vikings, they have the fewest problems. As a location and playing field with new turf, it is still a suitable venue for football. The Vikings owners want more luxury suites and better concessions. They have twice rejected a renovation, with the 2001 price tag at $269 million. Early fall weather has led to calls for a retractable roof, but climate control is still deemed a necessity for a season that runs through December. The Vikings are seen as the team with the most leverage, as Minnesotans view the Vikings as their favorite sports franchise in the state. Even without the Gophers and Twins, the Metrodome can survive with the Vikings as primary tenants.
Basketball
When configured as a basketball arena, the fans in the nearby bleachers get a suitable view of the court, but the action is difficult to see in the upper decks and is very far away. Concessions are very far away from the temporary infrastructure. Most NBA and major college basketball arenas run to a maximum of 20,000 seats. However, the NCAA tournament makes a significant amount of money selling seats for regional and championship games for the Men's basketball tournament. Without a domed stadium, Minnesota will no longer be able to host the NCAA championship game, and may even have trouble getting regional final games. On November 19, 2008, the NCAA announced host cities for the NCAA men's Final Four between 2012–2016 and Minneapolis was not selected.
Several NCAA tournaments have taken place at the stadium:
- 1986 1st and 2nd Round
The 1986 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1986, and ended with the championship game on March 31 in Dallas, Texas...
- 1989 Regional (Midwest)
The 1989 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1989, and ended with the championship game on April 3 in Seattle, Washington...
- 1991 1st and 2nd Round
The 1991 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 14, 1991, and ended with the championship game on April 1 in Indianapolis, Indiana...
- 1992 Final Four
The 1992 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 19, 1992, and ended with the championship game on April 6 in Minneapolis, Minnesota...
- 1996 Regional (Midwest)
The 1996 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 14, 1996, and ended with the championship game on April 1 at Continental Airlines Arena in...
- 2000 1st and 2nd Round
The 2000 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 2000, and ended with the championship game on April 3 in...
- 2001 Final Four
The 2001 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 2001 with the play-in game, and ended with the championship game on April 2 in...
- 2003 Regional (Midwest)
The 2003 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 2003, and ended with the championship game on April 7 in...
- 2006 Regional (Minneapolis)
The 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2005–06 basketball season...
- 2009 1st and 2nd Round
The 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was a tournament involving 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2008–09 basketball season...
College football
Beginning in the 1982 College football season, the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers began playing their home football games in the Metrodome. The first game was a 57-3 victory over the Ohio University Bobcats on September 11, 1982. The Football Gophers had two losing seasons and did not win a Big Ten conference game until October 6, 1984, a 33-24 win over Indiana. During that span, the Gophers suffered their worst all time loss to the
1983 Nebraska Cornhuskers Football TeamThe 1983 Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Team was the representative of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska...
, 84-13.
The final University of Minnesota game to be played in the Metrodome took place on November 22, 2008; with the Gophers being shut out by the
Iowa HawkeyesThe Iowa Hawkeyes football team is the interscholastic football team at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have competed in the Big Ten Conference since 1900, and are currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association .-...
, 55–0. Minnesota was the only school in the
Big Ten ConferenceThe Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its eleven member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Iowa and Minnesota in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
to play off-campus and the only school in the conference to play in a domed stadium. With their move to
TCF Bank StadiumTCF Bank Stadium is the football stadium for the Minnesota Golden Gophers college football team at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 50,805 seat on-campus "horseshoe" style stadium opened with a game against the Air Force Falcons on September 12, 2009, with the Gophers...
, only three NCAA Division I FBS football programs now play indoors (
IdahoThe Idaho Vandals are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Idaho. The Vandals participate in the NCAA's Division I FBS in the Western Athletic Conference ....
,
SyracuseThe Syracuse Orange football program is a college football team that represents Syracuse University. The team is a member of the Big East Conference, which is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I conference that is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has one...
and
TulaneThe Tulane Green Wave football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents Tulane University in New Orleans. Established in 1893, the team is a member of Conference USA and is coached by Bob Toledo...
). When the Gophers first moved to the Metrodome, the NFL class facilities were seen as an improvement over the aging
Memorial StadiumMemorial Stadium, also known as the "Brick House," was an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. It was the home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team for 58 seasons, from 1924 until 1981. Before moving to Memorial Stadium in 1924, the Gophers...
.
When the Gophers first moved to the Metrodome from Memorial Stadium, attendance increased. However, fans waxed nostalgic over fall days playing outdoors on campus. TCF Bank Stadium will provide the outdoor, on-campus venue.
The Gophers shared the field with the Vikings and Twins. During the earlier part of the season, the baseball turf sections are visible on the field. Many Big Ten teams had gone to some kind of turf because of the climate during the football season. However, other schools do not have seams in the turf where sections are moved. (Minnesota has continued to use FieldTurf at its new stadium, joining Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Iowa as teams in the Big Ten that play on an artificial surface.)
Other events
- 2002 and 2008
The 2008 Victory Bowl is a college football post-season bowl game. The game was played on November 21, 2008 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Malone Pioneers from the NAIA played against NCAA Division III ....
Victory BowlThe Victory Bowl is the championship football game between schools that sponsor football and are members of the NCCAA and did not qualify for either the NCAA or NAIA playoffs. It is one of the few post-season bowl games for smaller schools...
s, the NCCAAThe National Christian College Athletic Association is an association of approximately 100 Christian universities, colleges, and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada which see collegiate sports primarily as an opportunity for Christian fellowship and ministry...
National Football Championships
- Prep Bowl (Minnesota State High School League
The Minnesota State High School League is a voluntary, non-profit association of public and private schools with a history of service to Minnesota's high school youth since 1916. It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations.Today, nearly 500 schools are members of...
; state high schoolHigh school is the name used in some parts of the world, particularly in Scotland, Northern America and Oceania, to describe an institution that provides all or part of secondary education...
footballAmerican football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, and often as Gridiron or Tackle football outside North America, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the...
championships)
- High school and small college baseball games through the spring and football games in November hosted by Augsburg College
Augsburg College is a selective, liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded in 1869 in Marshall, Wisconsin as Augsburg Seminary and moved to Minneapolis in 1872...
. Also other small college football events including the Northern Sun Intercollegiate ConferenceThe Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference is a College Athletic Conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. Nine of its members are in Minnesota, with two members in South Dakota and one member each in the states of Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota. It participates in the NCAA's...
and the Upper Midwest Athletic ConferenceThe Upper Midwest Athletic Conference is a college-level athletic conference. The UMAC is a member-conference of the NCAA Division III. The UMAC was formerly affiliated with the NAIA. Corey Borchardt is the current commissioner of the UMAC since 2008.The UMAC was started in 1972 as the Twin...
.
- Various high school baseball, softball, soccer and football games
- motocross, and other motorsport events.
- Large concerts
- Large religious services and gatherings
- Rollerdome and MDRA running (exercise programs in the concourses)
- Conventions, such as Twins Fest, golf shows, home and garden expos, and car shows
- Cultural celebrations, such as Hmong New Year gatherings and the Oromo Jilboo American Games.
- Wrestling shows, such as AWA WrestleRock '86, and WWE.
- Monster Jam
Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour and television show operated by Feld Entertainment. The series is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association and takes place primarily in the United States...
Season opener
- Minnesota Youth in Music
The Youth in Music championships are a marching band competition held annually at the HHH Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota in late October. Participating are the top-ranked high school marching bands from Minnesota, as well as participants from Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska...
Marching Band Competition
- The Promise Keepers, an all-men's evangelical Christian service
- The annual Hmong American New Year celebration is held in December over the course of two days.
Stadium neighborhood
Development in the
Downtown EastDowntown East is an official neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States part of the larger Central community. Its boundaries are the Mississippi River to the north, Interstate 35W to the east, 5th Street South to the south, and Portland Avenue to the west. It is bounded by the Downtown...
neighborhood around the Metrodome took many years to materialize. For many years there were few bars or restaurants nearby for fans to gather at; tailgating was expressly forbidden in most parking areas. The City of Minneapolis was directing the development of the entertainment districts along Seven corners in
Cedar-RiversideThe Cedar-Riverside, also referred to as the West Bank, is a neighborhood within Minneapolis, Minnesota. The boundaries of the neighborhood are the Mississippi River to the north and east, Interstate 94 to the south, and Hiawatha Avenue and Interstate 35W to the west...
, Hennepin Avenue, and
the Warehouse districtThe North Loop is a neighborhood of the Central community of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The neighborhood is commonly known as the Warehouse District from the city's shipping hub years. The North Loop is located just northwest of the central business district between downtown Minneapolis and the...
. The Metrodome existed among a number of parking areas built upon old rail yards, along with run-down factories and warehouses. The Metrodome is not connected to the
Minneapolis Skyway SystemThe Minneapolis Skyway System is a pedestrian skywalk system that connects various buildings in Downtown Minneapolis enabling people to walk in a climate controlled environment...
, although that was planned in 1989 to be completed in time to host
Super Bowl XXVISuper Bowl XXVI was an American football game played on January 26, 1992 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota to decide the National Football League champion following the 1991 regular season...
. Only in recent years has redevelopment begun moving Southeast to reach the Metrodome. More restaurants, hotels, and condominiums have been built nearby. The Hiawatha light rail line has connected the Minneapolis entertainment district with the Metrodome.
Sight lines
The Metrodome is not a true multipurpose stadium. Rather, it was built as a football stadium that can convert into a baseball stadium. The seating configuration is almost rectangular in shape—something that suits football very well. The seats along the four straight sides directly face their corresponding seats on the opposite side, while the seats in the corners are four quarter-circles.
However, in most cases, this resulted in poor sight lines for baseball. For instance, the seats directly along the left field line faced the center field and right field fences. Unlike other major league parks, there were no seats down to field level. Even the closest front-row seats were at least 5 or above the field.
The way that many seats were situated forced some fans to crane their necks to see the area between the pitcher's mound and
home plateHome Plate is the fifth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1975 .-Track listing:#"What Do You Want the Boy to Do?" – 3:19#"Good Enough" – 2:56#"Run Like a Thief" – 3:02...
. Some fans near the foul poles had to turn more than 80 degrees, compared to less than 70 with the previous Yankee Stadium or 75 degrees at
Camden YardsOriole Park at Camden Yards is a ballpark located in Baltimore, Maryland, which was completed in 1992 to replace Memorial Stadium. It is the home field of the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball. It was the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early...
. For that reason, the seats down the left field line were typically among the last ones sold; the (less expensive) outfield lower deck seating tended to fill up sooner. Nearly 1,400 seats had obscured or partial visibility to the playing field – some of them due to the right field upper deck being directly above (and somewhat overhanging) the folded-up football seats behind right field; and some of them due to steel beams in the back rows of the upper deck which are part of the dome's support system.
On the plus side, there was relatively little foul territory, which is not typical of most domed stadiums. Also, with the infield placed near one corner, the seats near home plate and the dugouts, where most game action occurs, had some of the closest views in Major League Baseball. Seats in these areas were popularly known as "the baseball section". In 2007, some extra rows (normally used only for football) were retained for baseball, in the area behind home plate. The sight lines were also very good in the right field corner area, which faced the infield and was closer to the action than the left field corner.
The Twins stopped selling several seats in sections 203—212 of the upper level in 1996. This area was curtained off except during the postseason or on occasions when a sellout was anticipated.
Scheduling conflicts
As part of the deal with the Metrodome, the Minnesota Twins had post-season priority over the Gophers in scheduling. If the Twins were in the playoffs with a home series, the baseball game took priority and the Gopher football game had to be moved to a time suitable to allow the grounds crew to convert the playing field and the stands to the football configuration.
The last month of Major League Baseball's regular season often included one or two Saturdays in which the Twins and Gophers used the Metrodome on the same day. On those occasions, the Twins game would start at about 11 AM local time (TV announcer Dick Bremer sometimes joked that the broadcast was competing with
SpongeBob SquarePantsSpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series and media franchise. It is currently Nickelodeon's highest rated show, the most distributed property of MTV Networks, and among Nicktoons Network's most-watched shows...
). Afterward, the conversion took place and the Gophers football game started at about 6 PM. The University of Minnesota was the only school in the Big Ten that shared a football facility with professional sports teams.
In 2007, there were two such schedule conflicts, on September 1 and 22. In 2008, there were no conflicts on the regular-season schedule.
Due to the minimum time needed to convert the field, a baseball game that ran long in clock time had to be suspended, and concluded the next day. The only time this happened was on October 2, 2004, when a game between the Twins and Indians reached the end of the 11th inning after 2:30 p.m. in a tie and resumed the next day.
The Vikings had rights to Dome over the Twins except for World Series games. In 1987, the Vikings' home date with the
Tampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are aprofessional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team, along with the Seattle Seahawks, joined the NFL in as expansion teams...
scheduled for the same day as Game 2 of the
World SeriesThe 1987 World Series, in which the Minnesota Twins defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, was the first World Series in which the home team won all seven games. This also happened in 1991 and 2001. The World Series victory by the Twins was the first for the franchise since 1924, when the team was...
was moved to Tampa, and the Vikings' game with the
Denver BroncosThe Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently a member of the American Football Conference Western Division in the National Football League . The Broncos began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League and joined...
scheduled for the same day as Game 7 was pushed back to the following Monday night.
The Twins' 2009 AL Central division
tiebreakerA one-game playoff or pennant playoff is a tiebreaker in certain professional sports to determine which of two teams, tied in the final standings, will qualify for a post-season tournament...
with the Detroit Tigers was played on Tuesday, October 6, 2009. One-game playoffs are normally held the day after the regular season ends (in this case, the season ended on Sunday, October 4), but the Vikings were using the Metrodome for
Monday Night FootballMonday Night Football is a live television broadcast of the National Football League. Originally airing on the ABC network from to , Monday Night Football was the second longest running prime time show on American broadcast network television and one of the highest-rated, particularly among male...
on October 5. The Twins were awarded the right to host the tiebreaker because they won the season series against Detroit.
Naming rights
In 2009,
Mall of AmericaMall of America is a super-regional shopping mall located in the Twin Cities suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. The mall is located southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north of the Minnesota River and is across the interstate from the Minneapolis-St. Paul...
purchased the naming rights to the Metrodome, which will be called "Mall of America Field at The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome" in 2010. However, it is unclear whether the naming rights were purchased for the stadium, or the field surface itself.
Replacement facilities
With the passage of time, the Metrodome has been thought to be an increasingly poor fit for all three of its major tenants (the Twins, the Vikings and the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football team). These tenants have all said that the Dome is nearing the end of its useful lifespan. Two of the tenants, the Gophers and Twins, already have taken the steps to move out, while the Vikings are also seeking a new stadium. The building itself is structurally sound and could last decades without major repairs.
The Twins, the Vikings, and the Gophers all proposed replacements for the Metrodome, and two of the proposals have materialized. The first of the three major tenants to move was the Gophers, who opened their new
TCF Bank StadiumTCF Bank Stadium is the football stadium for the Minnesota Golden Gophers college football team at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 50,805 seat on-campus "horseshoe" style stadium opened with a game against the Air Force Falcons on September 12, 2009, with the Gophers...
in September 2009. The next to depart will be the Twins, whose new
Target FieldTarget Field is the future home ballpark for the Minnesota Twins, currently under construction in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is on schedule to open in April 2010. It will be the franchise's sixth ballpark and third in Minnesota, replacing their ballpark of 28 years, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome...
will be completed in time for Opening Day 2010.
Minnesota Twins
The Twins will soon move to their new ballpark in 2010, following a quest that began in the mid 1990s. Because the Metrodome was originally designed as a football stadium, its sightlines are very poor for watching a baseball game. Polls have consistently ranked it as one of the worst professional baseball stadiums in the Major Leagues. Twins management claimed the Metrodome generated too little revenue for the Twins to be competitive; specifically, they receive no revenue from luxury suite leasing (as those are owned by the Vikings) and only a small percentage of concessions sales. Also, the percentage of season-ticket-quality seats is said to be very low compared to other stadiums. Since
2003The MLB season was the 100th season of Major League Baseball. The season ended when the Florida Marlins defeated the New York Yankees in a six game 2003 World Series.-Playoffs:*World Series MVP: Josh Beckett...
, the Twins have had year-to-year leases, and were permitted a move to another city at any time. However, with no large American markets or new major-league-quality stadiums existing without a current team, it was accepted that the Twins could not profit from a move. The Twins sought a taxpayer subsidy of more than $200 million to assist in construction of the stadium. On January 9, 2005, the Twins went to court to argue that their Metrodome lease should be considered "dead" after the 2005 season. In February, the district court ruled that the Twins' lease was year to year and the team could vacate the Metrodome at the end of the 2005 season.
In late April 2007, Hennepin County officially took over the future ballpark site (through a form of
Eminent domainEminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition or expropriation is the inherent power of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but...
called "Quick-Take") which had been a recent on-going struggle between the county and the land owners. The "official" ground-breaking for the new ballpark was postponed on August 2 due to the collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge. On October 15, 2007, the two sides reached a negotiated settlement of just under $29 million, ending the dispute. As a result, the county noted it would have to cut back on some improvements to the surrounding streetscapes, though it also revealed that the Pohlad family had committed another $15 million for infrastructure.
Football
The
Minnesota Golden Gophers footballThe University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are one of the oldest programs in college football history. They compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference.-Early history:...
program began playing in the Metrodome for the
1982 seasonThe 1982 Division 1A football season saw Paul “Bear” Bryant retire as head coach at Alabama with 323 career victories in 38 seasons.The Penn State Nittany Lions won their first consensus National Championship, defeating Georgia and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker in the Sugar Bowl 27-23...
. Attendance was expected to increase over the old Memorial Stadium attendance, especially for late fall games, due to the climate controlled comfort. At the time it was also believed that the new NFL venue would be a recruiting benefit for the Gophers. The Gopher teams have struggled in the
Big Ten ConferenceThe Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its eleven member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Iowa and Minnesota in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
since the 1970s. Gopher football games rarely filled the Metrodome to capacity, except when nearby rivals visit, such as the
Wisconsin BadgersThe Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...
and
Iowa HawkeyesThe Iowa Hawkeyes football team is the interscholastic football team at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have competed in the Big Ten Conference since 1900, and are currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association .-...
. Students were removed from the traditional on-campus atmosphere, since they had to take a bus from the campus to the stadium. However, average attendance had increased over previous seasons at Memorial Stadium.
U of M officially moved back onto campus, to
TCF Bank StadiumTCF Bank Stadium is the football stadium for the Minnesota Golden Gophers college football team at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 50,805 seat on-campus "horseshoe" style stadium opened with a game against the Air Force Falcons on September 12, 2009, with the Gophers...
, for the
2009 football seasonThe 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began in September 2009, progresses through the regular season and bowl season, and will conclude with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in Pasadena, California on January 7 2010, featuring the #1...
. The University believes an on-campus stadium will motivate its student base for increased ticket sales, and also would benefit from athletic revenues, not only for the football program, but the non-revenue sports as well. The new stadium reportedly costs less than half of an NFL-quality football stadium, and is built on surface parking lots just a few blocks east of the former Memorial Stadium, with the naming rights purchased by
TCF BankTCF Bank is the wholly owned banking subsidiary of TCF Financial Corporation, a financial services holding company headquartered in Wayzata, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. Currently TCF Bank generates more than 85% of the parent company's net income...
. The University of Minnesota is expected to raise more than half the cost of the stadium via private donations. The Gopher Stadium bill was passed by both houses on May 20, 2006, the day before the Twins Stadium bill passed. On May 24, 2006,
Governor PawlentyTimothy James "Tim" Pawlenty is the 39th and current Governor of Minnesota. In the Minnesota gubernatorial election of 2002 he was elected governor and was inaugurated on January 6, 2003. He was re-elected in 2006...
signed the Gopher bill on the University campus.
Baseball
Since 1985, the Golden Gophers' baseball team plays early-season games and the Dairy Queen Classic, an invitational tournament featuring top college teams, at the Metrodome.
With the 2008 implementation of the uniform start date for NCAA Division I baseball in 2008, however, the Shootout became an earlier game than traditionally held, and a few of the Golden Gophers' early-season games were eliminated because they had been played in early February, which is no longer possible in NCAA Division I baseball.
Many smaller colleges play early-season games (no uniform start date in NAIA, NJCAA, or Division II and III) in the Metrodome in January and February.
The use of the Metrodome creates a huge advantage for the Golden Gophers, who can play early-season games at home. The Gophers will also be able in 2010 to bid for NCAA Regional and Super Regional games at the Metrodome as the primary client during the college baseball season.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are thought to be the least hampered by their current situation in the Metrodome, but could move after their current lease expires, in 2011. An enormous market without a team exists for the
NFL in Los AngelesThe National Football League had multiple professional American football teams in Los Angeles, California between 1946 and 1994. Los Angeles is the second-largest media market in the United States...
. San Antonio has also been discussed as a possible site, though the NFL Committee has never approved of these possible moves. A Los Angeles team would either require a new stadium, or major renovations to the Rose Bowl Stadium or
Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumThe Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California at Exposition Park that is home to the University of Southern California Trojans football team. It is located next to the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena adjacent to...
. The
AlamodomeThe Alamodome is a domed 65,000 seat, multi-purpose facility that is primarily used as a football/basketball stadium and convention center in San Antonio, Texas, USA...
also is outmoded by current NFL standards, and would require major renovations.
The NFL and fans have pressured Minnesota governments to finance a new, revenue-generating stadium. Downtown Minneapolis as well as the suburb of
BlaineBlaine is a city in Anoka and Ramsey counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 44,942 at the 2000 census. The city is located mainly in Anoka County, and is part of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul urban area.Interstate Highway 35W, U.S...
have been explored as potential stadium sites. The Vikings are seeking taxpayer subsidy of more than $300 million to assist in construction of the stadium, which may also be used for the many other events currently taking place at the Metrodome.
On February 12, 2009, Lester Bagley, the team's Vice President of Public Affairs and Stadium Development went on the record to the Minneapolis StarTribune stating that Governor Tim Pawlenty had done too little to advance the cause of a new Vikings Stadium. "With all due respect, he's been governor for six years, and he hasn't done anything," Bagley said of Pawlenty. "He hasn't lifted a finger to engage in a problem-solving discussion to help us on our issue. And that's the frustration that the NFL feels, that our ownership feels and a lot of our allies [feel], whether they be elected officials or not. There's a lot of frustration, and there's been no meaningful engagement by the executive branch." This comment angered many fans given the economic recession at the time, and the repercussions of this act have yet to be measured.
On September 20, 2005 the Vikings and
Anoka CountyAnoka County is the fourth most populous county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The county is bordered by the counties of Isanti on the north, Chisago and Washington on the east, Hennepin and Ramsey on the south, Sherburne on the west, and the Mississippi River on the southwest...
reached an agreement to build a 68,000 seat retractable-roof stadium in Blaine, where the Vikings and the county would each pay $280 million and the state $115 million. It would have opened in 2009 or 2010 if approved by the legislature. After the approval of the stadium plan team owner Zygmunt Wilf dropped plans to include a roof of any kind, which would have severely limited the site's utility for year-round events in Anoka County. In November 2006 Anoka County officials pulled out of the partnership. In addition to unapproved site design changes the Vikings had started to work behind the scenes with officials from Minneapolis, the site of the current Metrodome. Anoka County believed it had an agreement to be an exclusive partner, and since County officials did not want to get into a bidding war with Minneapolis they withdrew from the project.
The Vikings and Minneapolis are currently conducting studies about redeveloping land around the Metrodome and building a new stadium, tentatively named the
Vikings StadiumThe Vikings Stadium is the working title of the proposed stadium for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It would be the franchise's third, replacing their current domed stadium, the Hubert H...
, on the same land as the Metrodome. If it were to happen, the Vikings would likely play at the new TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota starting in 2010 while a new stadium is constructed on the current site of the Metrodome.
Unlike previous owner
Red McCombsBilly Joe "Red" McCombs is the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group, a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, a former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, and the Minnesota Vikings, and the namesake of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin...
, the present Vikings ownership has publicly disavowed any plans to remove the team from Minnesota. On May 17, 2006, the State Senate announced that any further work on the Vikings stadium bill would cease until the 2007 legislative session. The bill which authorized financing for the Twins Ballpark included provisions to prepare the field for a Vikings stadium deal in 2007, this was before Anoka County pulled out of the project. Wilf has more recently expressed interest in redeveloping the land on which the Metrodome currently sits. Local politicians are pushing the Vikings ownership to possibly renovate the Metrodome because of its location and existing infrastructure.
On October 1, 2009, The
Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional football team based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings compete in the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . Prior to divisional realignment in 2002, they had been a member of the Central Division, also...
announced a partnership with
Mall of AmericaMall of America is a super-regional shopping mall located in the Twin Cities suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. The mall is located southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north of the Minnesota River and is across the interstate from the Minneapolis-St. Paul...
. The agreement named the field the
Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The naming rights agreement will last for a three year period and will end on February 28, 2012. As part of the agreement, the interior and exterior will have new signs posted as well as other material. The change took place on October 5, 2009; the day the
Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional football team based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings compete in the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . Prior to divisional realignment in 2002, they had been a member of the Central Division, also...
played against the
Green Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League and are the third-oldest franchise in the NFL.The Packers are the last vestige of "small town...
winning (30-23).
Accessibility and transportation
The Metrodome is located near the junction of
Interstate 94Interstate 94 is the northernmost east-west Interstate Highway, connecting the Great Lakes and Intermountain regions of the United States. Its western terminus is in Billings, Montana at a junction with Interstate 90; its eastern terminus is the U.S...
and
Interstate 35WInterstate 35W , an Interstate Highway in Minnesota, is the western route of Interstate 35. I-35 splits into two branch routes: I-35W, which serves Minneapolis, and I-35E, which serves St. Paul....
, and many fans come by car. There is limited parking in surface lots throughout eastern downtown, ranging from $5 for a Twins game, to $50 for a close stall at a Vikings game. On-street meters provide the lowest parking rate, especially the "free evenings" meters near the heart of downtown six blocks from the Metrodome. A new option as of 2004 is the
Downtown East/Metrodome stationThe Downtown East/Metrodome station is a light rail station on the Hiawatha Line in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the fourth stop southbound.This station is located on the Metrodome plaza at the east end of downtown Minneapolis. This is a side-platform station...
on the
light railLight rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
Hiawatha LineThe Hiawatha Line is a light rail corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota that extends from downtown Minneapolis to the southern suburb of Bloomington, connecting to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America, among other destinations.Hiawatha is operated by Metro...
. Many people also come by
busA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. A bus seats a maximum of 8 to 300 passengers...
, whether on a
charterA charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
or on the regular regional bus system. For Golden Gopher games, a free bus service was available from the
University of MinnesotaThe University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States...
that connected the East bank campus to the Metrodome.
TailgatingIn the United States, a tailgate party is a social event held on and around the open tailgate of a vehicle. Tailgating often involves consuming beverages and grilling food. Tailgate parties usually occur in the parking lots at stadiums and arenas before, and occasionally after or during, sporting...
has often been a popular pre-game activity for football fans, and many nearby parking lots have been available in the past for people who want to start early. However, in recent years, new development in the downtown region of Minneapolis has meant that these parking lots have begun to disappear. In 2004, the Vikings offered fans a tailgating area in the huge parking lot known as Rapid Park. The area however is on the opposite side of downtown Minneapolis from the Metrodome itself, next to the
Target CenterThe Target Center is an arena in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is sponsored by Target Corporation. The center is home to the National Basketball Association's Minnesota Timberwolves....
, (although shuttle buses did go back and forth) and is the building site for the new
Target FieldTarget Field is the future home ballpark for the Minnesota Twins, currently under construction in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is on schedule to open in April 2010. It will be the franchise's sixth ballpark and third in Minnesota, replacing their ballpark of 28 years, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome...
which the Twins broke ground for in late August 2007.
Appearances in popular culture
- In 1997's The Postman
The Postman is a 1997 film adaptation of the award-winning post-apocalyptic-themed novel of the same name, written in 1985 by author David Brin. It was filmed in northeastern Washington , Fidalgo Island, Washington, central Oregon and Tucson, Arizona, and was directed by Kevin Costner, who also...
, Kevin Costner's character states that in post-apocalyptic America President Richard Starkey governs "from the Metrodome in Minneapolis. You know? Where the Vikings play!"
- The climactic baseball game in Major League: Back to the Minors
Major League: Back to the Minors is a 1998 movie, distributed by Warner Bros., directed and written by John Warren, with David S. Ward taking the co-writer duties...
is played at the Metrodome.
- The Metrodome is one of the main settings of the 1994 film Little Big League
Little Big League is a 1994 film about an 11-year-old who suddenly becomes the owner and then manager of the Minnesota Twins baseball team.-Plot:...
, which is centered around the Twins.
External links