Minute Maid Park

Capacity:
41,000
Country:
United States of America
Address:
501 Crawford St, Houston, TX 77002, United States
City:
Houston, Texas
Surface:
Platinum TE Paspalum
Team:
Houston Astros
Inauguration:
30 March 2000
Construction cost:
US$250 million
($393 million in 2021 dollars)
Parking:
Estimated 25,000 total spots within walking distance
Architecture firm:
Populous
Renovated:
2010 (offseason)
2017 (offseason)

Minute Maid Park, nicknamed The Juice Box, 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 luxury suites.


The stadium has a natural grass playing field. It was built as a replacement for the Astrodome, the first domed sports stadium ever built, which opened in 1965.


In 1909, during the time when West End Park was Houston's premier residential area, the Houston Belt and Terminal Railway Company commissioned the design of a new union station for the city from New York City-based architects Warren and Wetmore. The location called for the demolition of several structures of Houston prominence. Horace Baldwin Rice's residence and Adath Yeshurun Congregation's synagogue among other structures were removed.


With an original estimated cost of US$1 million, Union Station was constructed by the American Construction Company for an eventual total of five times that amount.Exterior walls were constructed of granite, limestone, and terracotta, while the interior used an extensive amount of marble. It was completed and opened on March 1, 1911. At the time, Houston, with 17 railways, was considered the main railroad hub of the Southern United States. This is also evident by the Seal of Houston, which prominently features a locomotive. Two more floors were added the following year.


The station served as the main inter-city passenger terminal for Houston for over seven decades thereafter. Passenger rail declined greatly after World War II, and the last regularly-scheduled train, the Lone Star, moved its service to Houston's current Amtrak station on July 31, 1974. With this move, the building became only office space for the HB&T as well as the Missouri Pacific Railroad.


On November 10, 1977, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service.