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Fast Facts
 On
May 3, 2000, the Colorado Rockies set a team record for hits during a
game with 24 versus the Montreal Expos!
On September 20, 1998, the Colorado Rockies set a team record for runs
scored during an inning with 11 in the seventh inning versus the San Diego
Padres!
On April 9, 1993, the Colorado Rockies set a team record for attendance
on an Opening Day game with 80,227!
Copyright © 2002 Baseball Almanac. All Rights Reserved.
Coors Field, 2001 Blake Street, Denver, CO 80205
Tickets: (800) 388-ROCK
Fax: (303) 312-2116
On Aug. 16, 1990, almost a year before baseball awarded Colorado an
expansion team, voters from the six-county Denver area approved a 0.1
percent sales tax to fund a baseball-only stadium. The ballpark's total
cost was $215 million.
Architects originally designed the park to seat 43,800; however, after
fans set dozens of attendance records at Mile High Stadium (1993-94),
Rockies ownership paid to increase inaugural Opening Day capacity to
50,200. In 1998, the capacity was increased to 50,381 with the opening
of new suites in right field. That year Coors Field hosted baseball's
69th All-Star Game. In 2001, the park expanded again to seat 50,445
fans.
The 76-acre ballpark stands at 20th and Blake in Denver's lower downtown
("LoDo") district. Fans sitting in the first-base and right-field areas
are treated to a spectacular view of the Rocky Mountains. On a clear
Saturday night when the barometer reads 72 degrees and 23 percent humidity,
there isn't a better place on Earth. Every year since it opened in 1995,
Coors has been a league leader in attendance.
Most of the stadium seats are green. However, the upper deck's 20th
row is painted purple, signifying exactly one mile above sea level.
THE MOST EXCITING PARK IN BASEBALL HISTORY
In 1999, Coors Field firmly 'grounded' itself as the most prolific offensive
ballpark ever created. The Rockies and their opponents combined for
303 home runs, the most ever in a season at one venue, with one or more
tenants. The average 1999 score was 8-7. And, like the park's previous
seasons, no lead was safe. The Rockies have lost after relinquishing
an eight-run lead. However, two days later, they entered the bottom
of the ninth down 12-5, and rallied for five runs only to strand the
tying run on second.
But while the experts are still debating whether the egg preceded the
chicken, one thing is obvious: offensive baseball came well before Coors
Field. Even after the park's inception in 1995, American League teams
have consistently compiled higher batting averages and more hits than
the Rockies. Mark McGwire only hit one of his 70 home runs in Denver
during his magical 1998 season. In the park's short lifetime, there's
also been a no-hitter and 14 shutouts. Coors was only a small cog in
baseball's shift to a hitter's game; it wasn't the catalyst.
Nevertheless, the ball still travels 9 percent farther at 5,280 feet
than at sea level. It is estimated that a home run hit 400 feet in sea-level
Yankee Stadium would travel about 408 feet in Atlanta and as far as
440 feet in the Mile High City.
Coors Field closed the curtain on a brief but very memorable two-year
stint in Mile High Stadium. In 135 dates at Mile High, the Rockies drew
7,701,861 fans (57,051 per game). After drawing 4,483,350 in the '93
inaugural, the Rockies were on pace to shatter that mark in '94, averaging
58,598 through 56 home dates, which would have put the season ending
mark at 4,687,840. Despite the year's abrupt end, in two seasons the
Rockies had 52 occasions when better than 60,000 paid to watch baseball,
21 times the crowd eclipsed 70,000.
COORS FIELD FIRSTS
Inaugural Official game: April 26, 1995 (Colorado 11, New York Mets
9)
National Anthem: Colorado Children's Chorale
Pitch: 5:38 p.m., Bill Swift to Brett Butler
Batter, Hit: Brett Butler, infield single
Run: Walt Weiss, first inning, April 26, 1995 vs. NY
Extra-Base Hit, Run Batted In: Larry Walker, first-inning double
Home Run: Rico Brogna, fourth innning, off Bill  Swift,
April 26, 1995
Grand Slam: Todd Hundley, fourth inning, April 26
Stolen Base: Eric Young and Walt Weiss (double steal), April 27, 1995
vs. NY
Extra-Inning Game: April 26, 1995 vs. NY (Rockies 11, Mets 9; Dante
Bichette hit a three-run homer in the 14th)
Complete Game, Shutout: Tom Glavine, June 16, 1995, vs. Atlanta
Back-to-Back Home Runs: Mike Kingery and Roberto Mejia, May 6, 1995
vs. Los Angeles
Pinch-Base Hit: Jim Tatum, April 26, 1995 vs. NY
© 2003 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved. The following are
trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may
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or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League
Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League,
American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star
Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations,
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and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.
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