How Many Domed Mlb Stadiums

Are there any indoor MLB stadiums in the game as of 2020? The answer is quite a few, but most have retractable roofs. I went to the Tampa Bay Rays Stadium to watch the New York Yankees play against the Rays in a domed stadium. A domed baseball stadium would be a new experience for me, so there was a lot of excitement for my trip. People have negative thoughts about indoor baseball games and indoor ballparks, but this was my second time catching a match under a covered field. Here are my thoughts of indoor baseball, why I think covered baseball stadiums are a good idea, and more.

Minute Maid Park is probably the best indoor stadium. As said above, Minute Maid and T-Mobile's parks are best retractable roof stadiums that when open feel like a normal outdoor stadium. But the Astros also can make it indoors to let fans escape the blazing hot summers in Texas. The ballpark also is in prime location in downtown Houston. The design of the stadium was also executed well at limiting the bad seats in the upper decks that are common with roof stadiums. With Camden Yards, Oracle Park, and PNC Park as top stadiums, the last new school stadium in the A+ tier is Petco Park.

One of the most beautiful cities in America, The Padres have an equally great stadium with probably the best weather in any baseball city. From the second you get in your seat, your immediately look out and see the San Diego skyline. While some stadiums would lose their view of their city with double-decked stadiums, San Diego does it perfectly by almost perfectly framing it with the outfield seating.

When it comes to Petco Park's features, one of its most well-known characteristics is the Western Metal Supply Company warehouse is left field. Another quality trait is their park in the park in right centerfield which gives fans a variety of where to be at a game. In addition, the stadium is not big and is perfectly sized when it comes to seating capacity.

Comerica Park – The opposite of Minute Maid was built by Populous in Detroit. The successor to the iconic Tiger Stadium, Comerica quickly earned its reputation as a pitchers' paradise. Except for center field, all the distances from home plate were deeper than any in the hitter-friendly Tiger Stadium. Tigers outfielder Bobby Higginson famously nicknamed the new ballpark "Comerica National Park" because of its vast outfield expanses.

What Mlb Teams Have Domed Stadiums Comerica is unique in baseball as the southern-most facing park in baseball. That left-field area also became famous for yielding home runs, as Minute Maid quickly earned a reputation as a hitters' park. This gave the city much-needed momentum to pass a ballpark funding initiative leading to T-Mobile Park's construction, replacing the aging and obsolete Kingdome.

As opposed to the concrete tomb of the 1970s, T-Mobile Park had the feel of other retro parks that dotted the landscape in the 1990s, as designed by NBBJ. Among features like a manual scoreboard in left field, T-Mobile Park became known for the railway beyond the left-field stands. Trains routinely announce their passing behind the park with whistle blasts, which are common during games.

T-Mobile Park also set a new standard for concessions, offering the widest variety of fare in baseball, from traditional hot dogs to sushi and pad Thai. The home of the Cubs, Chicago's Wrigley Field is no doubt one of the most iconic stadiums in baseball and perhaps even in all of sports. With its ivy-covered outfield walls and storied history, Wrigley has a lot going for it. Of course, don't expect to find any lighting rigs or fancy newfangled scoreboards here. PNC Park – Opening to wide acclaim, the Populous-designed PNC Park is one of the most scenic in all of baseball.

The upper deck area affords a panoramic view of downtown Pittsburgh, as well as the Roberto Clemente Bridge beyond left-center field. PNC Park was also the first to feature an out-of-town scoreboard providing full information, including score, inning, number of outs and baserunners. A product of its time, PNC Park was built in less than 24 months, the fastest ballpark construction in history, aided in the process by the use of computer technology. I know that Marlins Park constantly get mocked for having fewer fans than some Single A minor league teams. I put that however on the people of Miami, the most fickle fans in all of America. The team recognized that with the yearly amounts of rain in Florida, an indoor stadium is an enormous requirement.

The stadium gives a great portrait view of the Miami skyline beyond the glass panels of left field. The team also has features that probably no other stadium in baseball has such as a club behind the left field, a bullet proof fish tank behind home plate, and a museum of MLB bobbleheads. Along with really good Miami-style food and no really bad seats, Marlins Park would be way better if they just had some sort of loyal fanbase. Then again, they do seem to get rid of any good players they have. If the Phillies were the happiest fanbase to leave their cookie cutter stadium, the Cardinals were a close second.

Compared to the scorching hot AstroTurf of Old Busch stadium, the new Busch Stadium is a million times better. If you are going to have an outdoor stadium in St. Louis, there is one requirement and that, of course, is the arch somewhere in sight. Busch Stadium does it perfectly by having it where it is almost always visible inside the stadium. Like San Diego, St. Louis also has its upper decks as almost a frame of downtown St. Louis. Second, one of Busch Stadium's biggest attractions is ballpark village beyond left field, which is very similar to the attraction of Wrigleyville.

Also the team, like other old organizations, does a great job of showing off their team's history. My only dislike, coming from only seeing it once, is that the stadium gets insanely hot in the summer and does not always have the best baseball weather. However, the atmosphere was nearly a postseason level for a week-day game in June against the last place Brewers at the time. Besides the atmosphere, the stadium was a lot smaller than it seemed on TV and was constructed so that the seats are slanted towards and facing the field.

Lastly, Kauffman Stadium is one of the last old school ballparks that does not have multiple decks of seating in the outfield that block long portrait views from the upper decks from behind home plate. The only home the Tampa Bay Rays have ever known is the most undesirable place to watch a professional baseball game in America. "The Trop" isn't even located in Tampa; it's on the opposite side of the bay, 30 minutes and a bridge away in St. Petersburg — where all the retired Red Sox and Yankee fans live. The Rays ranked second-to-last in attendance in 2019, and the folks that do show up are too far away from the field. The playing surface is a joke, as are the catwalks that ring around the dome's roof being in play. For a team that's been as competitive as the Rays have been for the last decade, they deserve a lot better than their own home ballpark.

Target Field – After 28 seasons in the Metrodome, the Twins ventured back outside in Minneapolis in 2010, playing in their own baseball-specific ballpark for the first time in team history. Despite the weather conditions in Minneapolis that prompted the construction of the Metrodome in 1982, Target Field was not constructed with a retractable roof, although it does contain heated viewing areas. Target Field pays homage to Twins history via a large "Minnie and Paul" replica, with the pair shaking hands while alit by strobe lights when a Twins player hits a home run.

The last of the old school ballparks, Guaranteed Rate Field is the definition of poor timing. Opening just one year before Camden Yards, the first new school stadium, Guaranteed Rate Field is a symmetrical stadium with a symmetrical field. Having nothing that stands out, the stadium is commonly referred to as New Comiskey Field, the previous stadium for the White Sox. Another negative it has is that being on the South side of Chicago, it had an opportunity to have the view of downtown Chicago and the Sears Tower but instead is looking at housing projects behind the outfield. On the bright side, you do feel the old school style of the stadium when in the concourse. Also, the ballpark has some of the best concessions in baseball when it comes to appropriate variety.

Lastly, the stadium does a great job at showing off their teams' history with a dozen or so statues in the outfield. A lot of fictional stadiums created by the community are mere fantasies that would be difficult — if not nearly impossible — to realize. However, Arcadia Park is different in that it feels like it could be a real stadium in a city and, if it were, it's likely that it would be very popular. There are so many neat details at this ballpark, starting with the wraparound concourse that sees people standing to watch the game from left field. It was a bold move to build an open-air baseball cathedral in the heart of The State of Hockey, but the Twins did it — and they did a pretty darn good job too. The team found ways to make fans comfortable during the cold spring and fall months by adding climate-controlled restrooms, restaurants, concessions, and lounge areas.

The exposed Kasota limestone in left field is a nice hat-tip to the geology of the region. And the overhanging outfield seats are an ode to a bygone era of baseball stadiums like Tiger Stadium and Ebbets Field. The illuminated Minnie and Paul logo looming over center field is one of the coolest traits for any yard in MLB. In 2021, Target Field is slated to host its first NHL Winter Classic. The $1.2 billion Globe Life Field made its debut last month with zero fans in the stands, so it's hard to know where to rank baseball's newest house of worship. What we do know is that, from the outside, the building looks like the Brave Little Toaster slipped and fell on its side in Arlington's latest over-priced entertainment district.

The new park also features MLB's only single-panel retractable roof to protect fans and players from the merciless Texas summer heat. That's all well and good, but from the looks of things, it doesn't appear the park offers anything to make it stand out on the field. There are no oddities or eccentricities, just a 111-by-40-foot video board hanging above right field. Designed by architect Rod Robbie, the facility is located at the base of the CN Tower, enhancing its futuristic look. Other than the paneled, retractable roof, Rogers Centre's most famous feature is a hotel contained inside the ballpark, located beyond the outfield walls, including rooms that look out directly into the field of play. Forbes Field wasn't the first home of the Pittsburgh Pirates or the last.

It was, however, the first steel-and-concrete stadium built in the National League. The playing field at Forbes Field was quite large, and there was a batting cage sitting in the farthest portion of center field for players to use during games. Oftentimes, fans were allowed to sit on the deepest parts of the outfield grass on days when overflow seating was necessary. The Pirates won three of their five World Series titles while playing at Forbes, most notably in 1960 on Bill Mazeroski's walk-off homer in Game 7. The newly dubbed T-Mobile Park is one of the biggest yards in baseball. The retractable roof doesn't fully enclose the stadium, as just beyond left field is left open to the elements, keeping the unique Seattle weather part of the experience at all times.

The view over the left-field wall of the Emerald City skyline is one of the best in baseball. The lower bowl offers solid sightlines but the action is too far away. While still young, the Mariners' home park is due for some minor upgrades to keep up with the times. Minute Maid Park is another retractable roof stadium built at the dawn of the century, but unlike its other Gen Z counterparts, "The Juice Box" has some character. The very short porch/scoreboard in left field is countered nicely by an expansive left-center to centerfield area that opens up the field of play. The open-air left-field is highlighted by train tracks and the home run locomotive carrying a supply of oranges that compliments the huge video board above the double-decker right-field seating.

In recent years, the park has provided quite the home-field advantage for the Astros. When the sound is just right, you can just barely hear the trash cans banging over the roar of the Houston crowd. Progressive Field has moved a few spots up the list after the club made a bevy of renovations to the park and secured the 2019 All-Star Game. Season ticket holders now have access to a newly established club lounge behind home plate, while new outfield party decks and concessions have been installed throughout the stadium. New scoreboards that really make The Old Jake pop with modernity as well.

The only real knock on this ballpark is the 19-foot wall in left field that takes away the intimacy of the game from the fans sitting in the outfield. Other than that, Progressive Field ain't a bad place to catch a game, and the view of the Cleveland skyline isn't too shabby either. Twenty years ago, retractable roof stadiums were all the rage, and an argument can be made that American Family Field "saved" baseball in Milwaukee.

At times, the park can look cavernous on TV, even though the roof is hardly open, and when it is, the shadows created by the retractable roof make the action hard to follow. While the stadium leaves something to be desired, Brewers fans, known for their killer pregame tailgates, have been filling the stands as the team is on the rise in recent seasons. The venue might be middle-of-the-road, but sign us up for a beer and brat with the Brew Crew any time. Tropicana Field is the only current major league baseball stadium to be a dome.

There are a handful of other stadiums in the game that have a retractable roof, however. Minute Maid Park, Blue Jays Stadium known as Rogers Centre, Marlins Park, the new Globe Life Park, Miller Park, T-Mobile Park, and Chase Field all have retractable roofs. Originally Bank One Ballpark – affectionately known as "The BOB," Chase Field began the second wave of retractable roof ballparks in the United States, following the critical success of Toronto's SkyDome a decade earlier. Designed by Ellerbe Becket, Chase Field was fan friendly in a way only a ballpark in Phoenix could be, with a large swimming pool area erected past the right-field fence. Chase Field was also the first of just two new ballparks to bring back the dirt strip between the pitcher's mound and home plate, a nod to the layout of infields in the pre-WWII era.

Another brainchild of Populous, the park featured a mini-Green Monster in left field, varied outfield distances and fence heights and a distinctive set of vertical light towers, which preserved a view of the downtown skyline. The new park changed the fortunes of the franchise, as the Indians, long a cellar-dweller in the American League Central, reached the World Series in two of the park's first three full seasons. Marlins Park is the target of routine derision, but much of the stems from the team's play and management and the lack of an energized fan base.

It opened in 2012 and you can forget finding brick, limestone, or green padding—the signature materials in ballpark design. Marlins Park goes quintessential Miami and is one of the first efforts at a modern baseball stadium that didn't embrace retro features. There are six massive glass panels in the outfield, a retractable roof, and a Populous design that sets the stadium apart. At least give Marlins Park points for going a different direction.

When the Mariners were good (notably with Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, and Edgar Martinez), the Kingdome was loud and rocking. However, those winning seasons were few and far between. There was almost too much foul territory and upper-deck seats were more than 600 feet from home plate.

Also, since the venue was best served for football, some fans in the outfield could not see parts of right and center field. All that said, to the locals, the Kingdome has a special place in their baseball hearts. The original home of the Toronto Blue Jays was part of the massive Exhibition Place grounds and was best used for football.

While it provided wide-open views for baseball, the lowest rows of seating were still rather far from the playing field, as was the case with most fields that were initially built for football. An open-air stadium, along Lake Ontario, also made for some harsh cold-weather, windy days and nights early and late in the season. While not an easy place to watch baseball, Exhibition Stadium's unintended quirkiness takes us back to a simpler time in baseball history where amenities weren't that big of a deal. One criticism from fans is how quiet the indoor baseball field is when the Yankees or Red Sox are not visiting. The Rays fan said an eerie feeling is present when you are out in the center field and only see a handful of fans in their seats.

You hear other fans conversations, the players conversions, and more as they echo around the dome. The game I went to was sold out, so I did not experience this, but I could see that this would be negative. Many people think that Tropicana Field is a dump, but I don't think that is the case. Here are my thoughts on why the attendance is down at the ballpark.