Minute Maid Park is a ballpark in Houston, Texas, United States that opened in 2000 to house the Houston Astros. The Astros have hosted a World Series, two NLC series, and an MLB All-Star Game in their new stadium.

The ballpark was Houston’s first retractable-roofed stadium, protecting fans and athletes from Houston’s notoriously humid weather as its predecessor, the Astrodome, did, but allowing fans to also enjoy outdoor baseball; something they couldn’t do in the Astrodome. The ballpark also features a grass field, compared to the Astrodome’s artificial AstroTurf, which was generally disliked by professional baseball players.

The largest entrance to the park is inside what was once Houston’s Union Station, and the left-field side of the stadium features a train as homage to the site’s history. The train moves along a track on top of the length of the exterior wall beyond left field whenever an Astros player hits a home run, or when the Astros win a game.

More fun facts about Minute Maid Park:

• There is a 90-foot wide center field incline known as Tal’s Hill, for team president Tal Smith. I remember Jim Edmonds making a spectacular play on the hill in an NLCS game a few years ago.
• There flagpole in play (on Tal’s Hill), an element taken from Yankee Stadium before its remodeling in the mid-’70s and Tiger Stadium among others. Milwaukee Brewers player Richie Sexson once hit a ball off the flagpole and there is still a mark there.

Have you ever been to Minute Maid Park?