Minute Maid Park, Home of the Houston Astros

Official Review by Richard O'Neal, Stadium Journey Correspondent

5 Comments  |  0 of 1 people found this review helpful

Upon stepping off the Houston Light Rail train, an excitement came about that I hadn’t foreseen with attending a baseball game; this was going to be a good experience.

Attending an Astros game at Minute Maid Park is a must for all that come to visit Houston. The rich history of the Astros’ organization as well as the family friendly atmosphere and excellent location speak volumes to what Houston provides to visitors and locals alike.

Just northeast of what was formally the old Union Station, Minute Maid Park brings a combination of old-school railroad memories in with modern day fan appeal, bars, restaurants and other entertainment alternatives.

Food & Beverage   4/5

Houston is well-known for its love of classic barbeque, and they didn’t disappoint here. Lefty’s Barbeque, which is attached to the stadium at 501 Crawford, had an excellent everyday special going on called the “Everything’s $11 Menu” where hungry spectators could choose from several mouth-watering combinations , such as meat/sliced beef brisket, smoked BBQ ribs, smoked beef sausage and your choice of any two sides. They had all of the regular beer selections from Corona to Miller Lite and were extremely friendly and courteous to customers.

If barbeque just isn’t on your taste palette on game day make your way to the many burger joints that are located just across the street from the park. I walked over to Home Plate Bar & Grill, directly across from the home plate entrance at 1800 Texas, and took a look at the variety of burgers and sandwiches they had to offer. I recommend the Home Plate Burger with fries for $8.50 or the Home Plate Wings for $6.75. The Singha Beer was their signature beer that I saw a lot of customers drinking so give it a try when you stop in.

The stadium itself had an interesting array of foods from barbeque to pizza and all incredibly overpriced, which didn’t surprise me at all (for example a Papa John’s personal pizza was $7.00). If you are going to eat, make sure you do it before you come to the game.

Atmosphere   5/5

Although the Astrodome had a much better aura, Minute Maid Park brings a very nice feel to the overall game day experience. They try to appeal to train lovers more than they do baseball fans though with a Union Station replica built into the stadium, as well as the replica train that was built above the centerfield stands that sounds off when a run is scored and/or a home run is hit by the Astros.

Neighborhood   4/5

The outskirts of Minute Maid Park give off an eclectic and up-coming vibe. The best factor is the location and the excellent view of downtown Houston from the stadium, especially when the retractable roof is open.

Fans   5/5

It was a pleasant surprise to see that the fans were very knowledgeable and passionate for their team. The attendance was listed at 30,043 and they were certainly loud throughout the game.

Access   5/5

Walking around the stadium, I could see that parking and multiple modes of transportation make access to the stadium top-notch. Fans can take the light rail, metro buses or drive and park from between $5-$40, depending on how close you are to the stadium.

Return on Investment   4/5

An experience at Minute Maid Park is definitely worth the investment. The atmosphere is extremely fan-friendly and works for anyone, whether you are a family of five and looking to take the kids to their first ball game or you are a businessman or woman taking your client out for earn respect. The Astros are always running incentives for all so why not capitalize on them?

Extras   0/5

No additional points awarded.

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Houston Fans

Richard, I agree with the majority of your review, except the fans, me living in Houston, its quite sad to say this but compared to every other Baseball team Ive went and watched Astros Fans just aren't that good, Me being a huge Astros fan this is hard to say, its almost depressing to watch a game there, fans (other than me) just don't get that excited at the games, but this is a beautiful park and I agree with the rest of your review.

by pderrick (Prospect) | Apr 26, 2010

  

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RE: Houston Fans

I disagree with your comments. I have lived in Houston most of my life and have seen several games at Minute Maid and the fans there are good and do care about the team. I remember when the Astros went to the World Series, the city was alive with excitement. Let it be known though that this city will not waist time to supporting a below 500 team. Most cities won't.

by randyb (Prospect) | Apr 29, 2010

  

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RE: Houston Fans

I do agree to an extent with you randyb there are some cities that wont support a 500 team ala Kansas City, Florida Marlins, Washington Nationals, Tampa Rays etc. If you look closely though they are the same numbers when these teams are winning, Tampa is the best team in baseball right now and their average attendance is still around 15,000 people which is only 40% of the capacity. Houston's attendance has slowly declined year by year and I am sure this is due to the somewhat mediocre teams they have fielded the past couple of years, but even Cubs fans who have went 100 years without a title still show up and make thier presence highly known. At no time, if your a true fan should you use the record of your team to gauge your support. This is what we call bandwagon or fairweather fans and Houston has plenty of these.

by pderrick (Veteran) | Apr 29, 2010

  

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RE: RE: Houston Fans

Not always true P. If you look at the attendence for the Tampa team they are averaging about 25,000 a game which is about 70% full in their stadium. Houston fans have consistently had good attendance until last year, because as I said before no one wants to see a bad team play. Also, the Cubs situation is different. When people travel to that city they want to see a Cubs game because of the historic stadium and the tradition, which keeps their attendance up all of the time. Same thing in Boston and New York. I would not call the fans fairweathered. I would call them smart.

by randyb (Prospect) | May 1, 2010

  

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Randy, let me start by saying the average attendance for Tampa per ESPN this year is 20,211 which we know is still quite low. I can agree with you to some extent that some fans that frequent Boston and Chicago are tourists but the exact same can be said at times for the Astros. At no time would I ever call fans that don't go watch there team because there bad "smart", thats bandwagon/fairweather fans if I've ever seen any."True" Fans are fans that show up to games no matter if they are dead last in the division 20 games back or first place on the brink of the playoffs, I guess in all reality we will have to agree to disagree on this subject.

by pderrick (Veteran) | May 1, 2010

  

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