Minute Maid Park

We were invited to an Astros game by a friend in the Executive Suites, so I can’t say much about anything outside of that area. The entirety of the stadium seems very clean upon arrival; the restroom facilities are also very clean. Food options are many, to which the quality I think are at least good, beyond decent. All staff greeted us politely and with a smile. The parking is very easy, as the lots are easy to find and there are many people to help direct you to the appropriate place. Bag check is short and simple, not too invasive, and there is a separate, shorter entrance line for those without bags.

Não posso negar que fiquei bastante empolgado em visitar um campo de baseball pela primeira vez para uma festa que estava com tudo incluso de lá de dentro: das comidas ao tour no campo.
Começando pelo básico: O lugar é grande e a imagem do telão deles era simplesmente incrível, confesso. As cadeiras todas do estádio tinham local para colocar copos, o que é bastante interessante caso você precise deixar a sua bebida ali por alguns instantes.
Provei um dos melhores cachorro-​quentes de minha vida ali dentro também e ainda sinto saudades dele até hoje: Básico de pão, cebola crua, salsicha, uma coisa amarela que eu juro que era queijo cheddar, apesar de ser um pouco apimentado. Além disso tinham nachos porém eu os dispensei. Foi também o lugar onde conheci o Frozen Orangeade da MinuteMaid e que adoro comer eles sempre que vou ao EUA.
O tour pelo campo é besta porém é só uma voltinha no campo de baseball e o guia explicando coisas como quem pegou a bola naquele lugar ou como o time se comporta ou até mesmo como as arquibancadas do lugar conseguem se mover sozinhas para adaptar o campo a outras coisas, tornando-​a uma arena multiuso. Obviamente no dia que eu fui, não teve nenhum jogo ali, porém mesmo assim não podiamos nem ao menos pisar no gramado.
Curioso é que os americanos todos eram super empolgados neste tour enquanto eu estava apenas observando.
Curti a experiência por lá. Tematica e bem legal.

I came here as part of a conference party, and it was alright. The park didn’t feel too clean, and the lighting was somewhat dim. It’s really big though, and there are a lot of seats. It was also really roundabouty to get to the entrance, though I think maybe they didn’t open the usual entrances for us. Anyway, not a bad place, but it seems about average.

I like this park a lot. I have never had a bad seat. The stadium seems really clean upon arrival.
The parking situation sucks but that comes with any downtown sporting event location. Luckily I have a garage pass for one nearby so I don’t have to fret about costly parking.
The concessions always have hot and ready food. The food lines move fairly quickly. But, the beer lines (especially craft, draft brews) move slower than a 90 year old turtle.
The entertainment is fun to watch and the facility makes sense — layout wise.
I enjoy baseball games here a lot. And on Friday nights in the regular season they open the roof for fireworks. This takes awhile since the roof is so huge but it’s a fun treat to stay for. :)

Pros: Right in the city. Not too expensive — tickets are still affordable despite the fact that the Astros have been doing so much better this season.
Cons: The lines to get in. Beer selection is very limited. We sat in 254 — and there’s not much up there! (But the seats were great!)
The only real thing that bothered me? One of our seats was DISGUSTING. We debated whether it was dip spit or vomit all of several of the chairs in our section. The woman cleaning chairs was really overwhelmed and quite elderly (didn’t walk up steps well), so we got cleaned up the chair during the game when someone showed up for the seat we’d borrowed.
Still — very glad that Minute Maid is just downtown, and so easy to get to!

The only thing good about this ballpark is the Astros. Few times in my life have I received such poor customer service at an entertainment facility as I have here.
A friend and I went to nurse our babies in the Mothers Room and the woman behind the desk was downright surly. There was a TV in the room and I asked if she could turn it on for us and she acted like I had asked her to do some monumental task. There was a water dispenser right outside the Mothers Room, and I went to get a cup, and the lady barked at us that it wasn’t for guests. I apologized and started to back away, and the lady was all like «ok fine» and grudgingly poured me a cup. Super awkward. I wouldn’t have minded not taking the water if she had been nicer about it.
My friend’s husband and my husband went to get the hot dogs and drinks that came with our ticket package and my husband asked if it were possible to sub a water bottle. The concession guy and his manager (we presume) got into a loud verbal argument about whether this was allowed right in earshot of a line of guests. Super unprofessional.
Also, there are no recycling receptacles anywhere to be seen. Compared to Safeco Field in Seattle, where all materials are compostable or easily recyclable, it kind of turned my stomach to see so many recyclable materials just going into the trash only to arrive at a landfill. Very environmentally irresponsible.
Last but not least, the ballpark is hot and uncomfortable, but hey, it’s a ballpark in humid Houston, so that, of all things, could’ve been overlooked. But everything else kind of sucked, hence my poor review.
But at least the Astros won!

Go ‘stros! I love coming to this park. I love the $ 10 parking lots and the ease to which I can come and go. Once you get your ticket, save them on your phone and get your phone scanned at the entrance. They will print it out for you. Through security, you may bring outside food, so long as it’s in a small Ziplock bag and I hear you can even bring bottled water into the park. But if you’re there on dollar dog night, go for it! This park is covered, climate controlled and clean. That’s 4 Cs! Can you name a few more?

This is a great venue. Staff is always very attentive, great food and drinks options and the stadium is located closed to great bars and restaurants. Always a great experience!

Always fun to catch a game, but I’m deducting a couple of stars for their concession set-​up. I went to go get a burger and some fries… I literally waited 3 innings in line! And every single line around was taking that long. Seemed a bit unreasonable to me. They need to find a way to crank things out faster…
Astros have won most games I go to, so it’s always a good time :). I don’t go to a lot of baseball games, so can’t compare it to other stadiums, but I always enjoy it.
I do wish the food and drink prices were a little less… gougey.

The park is absolutely amazing! After all it is the home of the Astros. Houston’s own baseball team. The technology inside this stadium is outstanding. The larger of the 2 screens is HUGE!!! Also I honestly don’t think there is a bad seat in the stadium. I like the seat, I have had in the past and even today’s seat. The food now, can be a little pricey, along with the merchandise but its worth it for the experience if you never attended a game.

Oh. My. Gosh!
I’m from Los Angeles and I’m a hard core life long Dodgers fan. I will always love Dodger Stadium. But…
Minute Maid Park is SO COOL!!! To start, they have a convertible roof, which is incredible given that the humidity percentage in Houston is about 8,000. Ummm… an air conditioned baseball game? Yes, please!!! So great.
Tonight they opened the roof when the game was over and then proceeded to put on an extraordinary fireworks show!
My favorite part of the park, though, hands down, is that it used to be a train station, which I looooooove, and they have a working train at the 3^rd floor level that hangs out and watches the game, and moves whenever there’s a home run and/​or the Astros win. I mean… A WORKING TRAIN!!! I was so excited about it that I instagrammed a picture and wrote a little sentence including my enthusiasm about the train, which I simultaneously tweeted. My tweet was shown on TV, and then I ended up having a Twitter conversation with the train’s engineer! It was probably the most fun I’ve ever had at a baseball game, and I have had a LOT of fun at Dodger games throughout my life.
If you’re in Houston, go see a game at Minute Maid Park!

I went to Minute Maid Park back in 2007 for work and got to sit in the suite but that’s not a true experience so 8 years late I went back just to write this Unilocal review. Ok that and I love baseball. So as usual I rate ball parks on 4 categories.
Architecture: From 3 sides on the outside this place looks like crap but on the 4^th side it looks nice. A huge glass window overlooks… nothing. That side of the building looks like an old train depot almost Grand Central Station like. The inside of the park is much nicer although it felt like a shopping mall in the tunnels. When you are in your seat it feels like baseball.
Fan Base: It was solid. I’m assuming the fair weather fans were not here last year when they were absolutely awful but winning cures all.
Food: They had of course the usual fare; hot dogs, burgers, pizza etc. They also had a salad bar. Now I’m all for healthy eating but calories don’t count at the ball park!!! I chose a BBQ joint appropriately serving Nolan Ryan beef (Sadly I didn’t see any other mention of the franchises greatest player) and got a brisket sammich. It was surprisingly good despite the awful sesame seed bun. After I got my sammich I noticed a place serving street foods from around the world and immediately regretted my food choice. The had a chicken waffle cone!!! It was fried chicken with mashed potatoes and honey mustard in a cone. What??? So absurd I will have to have it next trip. The beer is the usual big 3 brands but there are 2 stands serving St. Arnold’s beer (a local brew). I’d love to see Shiner in here since they are the big brewer in Texas
Other: No big presence of their history. There is 1 hallway called homerun alley that features some of their best hitters. Jose Cruz, Craig Biggio, Jimmy Wynn and Jeff Bagwell are honored. Where are the pitchers? Nolan Ryan and Mike Scott were great in the 80’s. A few well placed statues would be nice. The choo-​choo train that extends along the huge window from center field to left field is really cool. I actually got to see the train roll down the tracks when one of the Astros hit a homer. I also love the little hill in centerfield just before the warning track. The only other thing is getting to this place during the week can be a pain in Houston traffic.
Despite my buddy telling me the place looked like a pumpkin, it was solid experience. (He’s also a Cubs fans and calls them The Asstrolls) They have a lot of room for improvement but it’s not bad.

I have been to Minute Maid park since it was Enron Field. I have sat in numerous Sections on several levels including a couple of trips to the Insperity Club. The view of is exceptional wherever you sit (obviously the lower and closer to the field the better) however there is not a seat I have been in which is poor. the acoustics are quite good throughout the Park as well and the quality of the Jumbotron is equally phenomenal. Whether your a visitor to Houston or a resident that is a lovely venue well worth visiting.

Take me out to the ballbame! Let me root for ASTROS! I and my friend went to MInute maid park in order to root for Astros. My friend likes Yankees. Anyway, We went together.
I bought the tickets on Astros website. I really liked section 405. The cheapest.I would enjoy a great view.
We were driving downtown and looking for a parking spot. The parking were very expensive near the park. $ 40! It was Sunday. There might be a free street parking spot downtown Houston. Yes, we found it. We were lucky. We parked there.
Astros was in good shape. Astros was supposed to beat Yankees. I saw many people wearing Yankees shirts. Were they from New York? I don’t like them. I wish I could ask them to buy «Jose Altuve’s #27 uniform» at Astros Shop!!! Jose is only 5 – 5 165 cm. Perhaps, only small size is available. LOL.
I was hungry. There were so many choices. One thing is common. Very expensive.This was a exact definition of Stadium prices. I found some Texas BBQ. I bought it with Bud light for $ 25.
It was okay. If you want to save money, please eat something before the game at McDonalds just like my friend did!
The stadium was so beautiful. Especially, I love a big video scorebord in right. I really like the Kiss cam. I was with a man. Sadly, I am a straight man. I couldn’t kiss him. LOL.
The game was over. Astros won. i was so happy. Astros had been the worst team in MLB. Thanks to Jose Altuve and Dallas Keukel, now Astros is the best team. I hope to come back to Minute Maid park, I will be rooting for Astros.

One of the things I love about various baseball fields is the variety. It’s the only sport where the playing field varies in the outfield depending upon where you are. The Crawford boxes are a short porch in left field where you are almost guaranteed a chance to catch a home run. Tal’s Hill is the hill in center field where the US flag pole is in the field of play. Unfortunately, this hill will be removed in time for the 2016 Astros season.
The retractable roof is perfect for the hot, humid summers in Houston. Plus, it helps avoid the rail delays that can pop-​up almost instantaneously on hot summer afternoons.
On Friday nights during the Astros season, when the game is over, the roof rolls back and they shoot off fireworks over the outfield wall.
I can’t really say that MMP is «better or worse» than other fields. It’s simply different than other fields which makes it unique.
Just make sure you’re rooting for the Astros!
If you find this review helpful, please let me know. Thanks for reading.

I will drop 5 stars…
It’s not Camden Yards, which still has the best lay out, hands down. But all around this was a great experience minus two minor details that can be adjusted by my own behavior! Boom!
Let’s start with the roof. I love, love, love this roof. Houston is essentially a sub tropical climate and you can expect rain on the daily. Think Southern Florida. The roof not only ensures that fans will have an experience every day because of the weather instability, but it protects them from the heat. It’s also a pretty cool design. It’s asymmetrical and as a corporate square by day, I like to be out of the box on the weekends.
Sight lines are super from most places. This is one of my minor details. I was sitting in the bullpen box today and I couldn’t really see balls hit to Crawford box (left field). Simple solution is to not sit there. But holy cow, does the ball travel to the bullpen box! There were so many hr balls during batting practice. You actually had your pick if you were standing 5 or 6 rows back of home runs.
The diamond club is awesome. The seats are spacious and comfortable and there are Great sight lines all around the park at field level. And orbit, the mascot, entertains the crowd. TBH, I’d rather watch the game but who am I to judge. I am coming around on this mascot fear…
The food is really unique. I know this spot is know for its nacho helmet but I opted for a Chicken Waffle Cone and a Nolan Ryan burger at my two games this weekend. The chicken waffle cone was one of the most unique things I’ve eaten: Chicken bites, mashed taters and drizzled honey mustard sauce. It was unique. I’m still unsure how I feel about it. Lol.
If you buy an orbit cup you get one free refill for your diet coke… They seemed pretty lenient about that. Which brings me to my other pet peeve: poor craft beer selection. I opted for soda over beer because I was not even a little happy that everything was InBev or one Texas brewery that I do not like.
They have massive smoking sections outside. Yay, Texas!
Their players are super friendly and their staff is all about the fan experience! I will break my ban on Texas to come back for sure!

Ahhh, Minute Maid Park (a.k.a. The Juicebox), what a delightfully refreshing venue!
First stop on our tour of Texas was to see our Chicago White Sox take on the Houston Astros for a Friday night game. They (da Sox) wound up winning in 11 innings in a ballgame that lasted just over 4 hours (!) and featured plenty of controversial plays and calls. Fireworks set to ‘extraterrestrial’ music capped off a highly enjoyable evening, especially the portion featuring sound clips from Close Encounters of the Third Kind that caused me to nearly pee my pants in excitement.
Hey Eric, orange you going to tell us about the stadium?
Well ex-​squeeze me, I was getting to that.
With a capacity right around 40,000 people, Minute Maid rarely sees crowds of that size. Although the ‘Stros have been a laughing stock for many years, they’re having a terrific 2015 and the fanbase is slowly beginning to emerge. Everyone my dad and I encountered were pleasant – security personnel, concessions workers, fans … all around friendly people, really. Speaking of concessions…
The chicken and waffle cone is a MUST. They take your typical ice cream waffle cone, stuff it with mashed potatoes, throw roughly a dozen (high quality) breaded chicken nuggets on top, then garnish it with green onions and a drizzle of honey mustard. For $ 9, it’s one of the tastiest and most innovative ballpark foods I’ve yet to eat. The BBQ brisket sandwich comes with a pickle spear and jalapenos, and it was great as well. My dad shared his loaded baked potato [cheese, sour cream, bacon chives, bbq pork] with me and was hearty enough to feed 2 people.
Tons of variety for beer, including one innovative kiosk that filled your 16oz beer cup from the bottom-​up using magnets. Awesome. In many ways, the food is similar to my hometown Sox park, but the beer is slightly cheaper and the stadium itself is far superior to that of U.S. Cellular Field.
The ballpark is rife with quirks, most notably the elevated hill in deep center field and random flagpole sticking out of the ground in fair territory. Additionally, there’s a porch in left center (directly above the field of play) showcasing a Philips 66 gas pump that’s been converted to an active home run counter.
There’s also a train locomotive in left field that chugs along a track whenever an Astros player hits a homerun. Watch for the «coal car» that’s filled with oranges. The train motif stems from the site’s origin as Houston’s Union Station, which still exists in part as the main entrance to the ballpark.
Other oddities include the visitor’s bullpen being located indoors, a very hitter-​friendly left field, and two cows (yes, cows) that cling to the foul poles as part of a Chick-​fil-​A promotion – they’re marked as ‘fowl poles’ and award all in attendance with a free chicken sandwich whenever an Astros player hits either pole. Cool!
Did I mention that they can fully air condition the entire stadium? Because they totally can. Houston summers can get stifling, so when the thermometer climbs, the Astros front office makes the decision to close the retractable roof (or keep it closed) and crank up the AC. And you thought your heating & cooling bill was high…
All in all, a lovely place to watch a baseball game and far superior to the Astros’ former home, the ill-​fated Astrodome. This is the fifth MLB park I’ve visited and the concessions + ambiance make it one of the best, no question.

As a devout fan of the San Francisco Giants, I have a long history of watching them play the Houston Astros both in San Francisco and on the road at Minute Maid Park. Once they jumped over to the American League it quickly became much more difficult to see the Giants play in Houston. When I saw the opportunity to travel to Texas to see an interleague series, I booked my tickets and headed out!
Minute Maid Park is located in downtown Houston and is relatively close to the light rail system and freeways. I was able to use light rail to access the stadium on both nights, which was really cheap and easy. The exterior of the stadium is pretty basic resembling more of an office park or modern condos instead of a MLB ballpark. The exception is the historic Union Station entrance where the old railroad lobby was restored and converted into a grand entrance for fans. I highly recommend entering here whenever possible.
The railroad theme carries over into the ballpark with a large replica steam locomotive — full of Minute Maid oranges — perched on the outfield wall resembling a large stone railroad bridge with big arches full of fans watching the action. The rest of the interior has a clean, modern look with an open concourse so you can see some of the field action while waiting for food and drink. It seems smaller than it actually is, but the roof was closed on both nights due to lots of rain so an open roof may really increase the space.
The food and drink options are typical of most modern ballparks, although I did not find too many unique food options. The Nolan Ryan Beef stand sold a tasty baked potato loaded with toppings and brisket, and the Wednesday $ 1 hot dogs were pretty tasty. Saint Arnold has several stands in Minute Maid selling some of their tasty suds, and there is a juice bar — selling Minute Maid of course!
I really enjoyed the fan engagement during the game with the running of the astronauts and the «Deep in the Heart of Texas» sing along. Everyone was friendly to a visiting team fan, and had a great time. It is nice, but a shame, that the stadium was less than half full. More people should really take in a game at Minute Maid Park.

While the stadium itself is cool, I was disappointed that the monster chicken nachos as well as the BBQ baked potato were both sweet. Why???
I took both back and Didn’t have dinner that night.

2015 Update:
Things change at major league ballparks every year, some good, some not as good. After a few visits to Minute Maid Park this year, here are some notes:
Drink: Noteworthy that Little Bamboo outside section 321 (where I sit) is now remodeled. It’s a longer bar with several craft beers BUT no St. Arnold (boo). One of the games I went to it wasn’t open, which forced me to drink non-​preferred products. One upgrade on the upper deck by the escalators is a craft beer bar. Tons of Karbach products (and TVs). This is a plus
Food: The most noteworthy change was the addition of the chicken waffle cone (at Street Eats). This is a waffle cone (like ice cream), but with mashed potatoes and chicken (popcorn sized). Topped with green onion and honey mustard for $ 9 (just a couple bucks more than a foot long). I give it 4 stars. Solid on flavor, the chicken is on top spilling into the basket, so get a fork so you can make sure you get one bite with each. The honey mustard adds the flavor. The mashed and chicken are like you’d expect, good combo with the cone. Great the cone did not deteriorate, held the potatoes well. Not a must grab every time, but a must try.
Entry: Opening Day was a bit of a fiasco with the new metal detectors. Introduced last year, it was the first time used with a capacity crowd. 30 minute lines to get in the hour before the game. Other ballparks had similar issues. Need a way to fix this if the Astros ever get good. Other note, the staff is much more enforcing the «food brought in must be in ziplocked bag». This is not a clear bag without ziplock and the bag may not be in a soft cooler. Both have been nearly denied by security but for sympathy to «just this time» let through.
Larry Dierker now hangs out pregame at the St. Arnold Bar in left (at least once). He used to hang out at his namesake Larry’s Big Bamboo before it was remodeled to a souvenir store.

Minute Maid Park is my front yard, so I walked over for Opening Day after receiving tickets from a coworkers.
This past Monday was actually my first time being inside when the top was open, so that was a delight. However, be prepared to be blinded when the sun sets depending on what side of the park you’re on.
The seats are nicely sized (slightly larger than Toyota Center) and the restrooms on the Club Level are well attended to. The staff is friendly and willing to help in any fashion that they can.
The drinks and food are extremely overpriced, but that’s to be expected. On the upside, each person is allowed to bring one factory-​sealed 1-​liter bottle of water and as many snacks that you can fit into a 1-​gallon zip lock bag. This is perfect for families or those who choose not to purchase meals at the ballpark.
I can’t wait to spend more summer days at Minute Maid and hopefully catch some great baseball in the process!