Coors Field

Lore & Background

As an expansion team that began play in 1993, the Rockies spent their first two seasons at Mile High Stadium. During that time, Coors Field was constructed for a cost of $300 million. It includes 63 luxury suites and 4,526 club seats. Coors Field has earned a reputation as a hitter's park, due to the effect of Denver's high elevation and semi-arid climate on the distances of batted balls. To counter this, the outfield fences have been moved away from home plate, and baseballs used in the park are stored in a humidor. Coors Field has hosted the 1998 MLB All-Star Game and the 2021 MLB All-Star Game. Coors has also hosted an outdoor hockey game from the 2016 NHL Stadium Series, along with numerous concerts. In 2017, a consultant determined that Coors Field would require $200 million in capital improvements in the 2020s. To fund those improvements, the Rockies agreed to a long-term lease to develop club-owned nearby land.

In Their Own Story

The April evening was crisp, the kind of Denver spring where the temperature drops ten degrees the moment the sun clears the ridgeline. A rookie reliever stepped onto the mound, glove tapping his chest, and looked up. The Rockies were there—white and blue and impossibly close, as if the mountain had leaned in to watch the pitch. He settled his cap, felt the thin air on his face, and remembered what the veterans always said: *Here, the ball doesn't forgive a mistake the way it does anywhere else.* He wound up. The crack of the bat echoed off the green roof, and the ball arced high, higher than it should have, higher than physics in a lower city would allow, and vanished into the darkening sky just as the first snow dust settled on the peaks behind the outfield. The crowd roared. The mountain, indifferent and eternal, simply watched.

Reader's Guide

Coors Field was the first new stadium added in a six-year period in which Denver's sports venues were upgraded, along with Ball Arena (originally Pepsi Center) and Empower Field at Mile High (originally Invesco Field). It was also the first baseball-only park in the National League since Dodger Stadium was built in 1962. As with the other new venues, Coors Field was constructed with transportation access in mind. It sits near Interstate 25 and has direct access to the 20th Street and Park Avenue exits. Nearby Union Station also provides light rail and commuter rail access, as well as local and regional bus lines. Coors Field was originally planned to be somewhat smaller, seating only 43,800. However, after the Rockies drew almost 4.5 million people in their first season at Mile High Stadium – the most in baseball history – the plans were altered during construction, and new seats in the right field upper deck were added. The center field bleacher section is named 'The Rockpile'. During the 1993 and 1994 seasons when the team played at Mile High Stadium, which was a hybrid football/baseball venue, the Rockpile was located next to the south stands, which were in dead center field and very distant from home plate. The same design was incorporated into Coors Field, and is located in deep center field up high. The original Rockpile seats cost a dollar each. During construction, workers discovered a number of dinosaur fossils throughout the grounds. Rumors circulated that these fossils included a 7 ft 1000 lb triceratops skull. In reality, the fossil fragments discovered were quite small, and are now housed at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Because of these discoveries, 'Jurassic Park' was one of the first names to be considered for the stadium. This later led to the selection of a triceratops as the Rockies' mascot, Dinger. In 1991, Coors Brewing purchased naming rights 'in perpetuity' to the stadium as part of their $30 million investment in the Rockies. A 2017 lease agreement that Rockies club ownership signed with the stadium district ensured that the name would remain at least through 2047.

Did You Know?

• While most of the seats in Coors Field are dark green, the seats in the 20th row of the upper deck are purple to mark the elevation of one mile (5280 ft; 1,609 m) above sea level.
• The Blue Moon Brewery at The Sandlot is a microbrewery/restaurant behind the right-field stands, operated by the Coors Brewing Company. The popular Blue Moon, a Belgian-Style Wheat beer, was invented here.
• Behind the center field wall is a landscape decoration with a waterfall, fountains, and pine trees. After a Rockies home run or win, the fountains shoot high into the air.
• Within ten hours of the close of the 2013 Rockies season, renovations began on the right field portion of the upper deck to construct an outdoor party deck called The Rooftop, which opened for opening day 2014. At the ti
• The very last section of seats in The Rockpile are 600 feet away from home plate, making them the furthest away from home plate in any MLB stadium.