The Homerdome

The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Aug-1992.

There’s nothing like hitting the ball into the ceiling, where it can’t be found.

Chronological Tour: Stop 27

• Location: Washington Avenue between 3d and 5th Streets, Minneapolis, Minn. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 1983
• Closed: 2013
• Demolished: 2014
• Home team: Minnesota Twins, American League (1983-2009); Minnesota Vikings, National Football League (1983-2013)
• Capacity: 48,678 for baseball

As a result, the Twins jumped on the opportunity to move into the newly-built Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis, which had been constructed for the Vikings football team. The only trouble was, the Metrodome had absolutely no character for baseball.

Like any other park, the Metrodome had its quirks. In this case, they included a roof against which fielders frequently lose the path of the baseball, and a “baggy” that covered extended bleachers that are pulled out only for football.

In other words, this wasn’t a terribly friendly place for baseball. At least the Astrodome had some character.

By the way, Metropolitan Stadium is gone now. The Mall of America stands in its place.

In 2007, the Twins broke ground on a new, open-air stadium to replace the Metrodome as their home. The new park opened in 2010, leaving the club subject to the vagaries of the weather that affects the Twin Cities in early spring. The Metrodome was used for football for four additional seasons, and the University of Minnesota continued to play some of its baseball season at the Metrodome through 2013. But the dome was demolished in late winter 2014, with the Vikings football team playing a few seasons at the University before moving into a new stadium on the Metrodome site.