Happy Trails, Metrodome

[HanSenSE]

When I visited Toronto and Montreal, fortunately it was on nights when the roof was open. So my only indoor baseball experience remains Chase Field, and it was like watching a game in a wherehouse. Yes, I know it was a nice chilly 100 or so when the game started, outside ...

 

[Machine Head]

Can't even count the events I covered at the Dome.

I always liked the fact that high school teams could rent it out and play a game. How cool would that be to play on the same field as two World Series champs?

For as much crap as the Dome has caught, it has truly given the area its money's worth. For all of the anti-baseball sentiment regarding the Dome, think back 15 years. I would rather watch April baseball in the Dome was far superior to freezing at old County Stadium.

It's used a lot more than people realize. Cost $55 million to build.

http://msfc.com/detail.cfm/page/msfcSite_UZPZYVQT_PFVOHZNS/

 

[exmediahack]

Exactly.

Twins, Vikings, Gopher football, one SB, Final Fours, HS football and soccer state championships. It was a no frills stadium. Got you in, kept you warm, got you out.

As a broadcast reporter, the access stunk. Tiny locker rooms and corridors. The Vikings had a horrible sound system for the post game presser. But having frozen my ass off at Lambeau, Camp Randall and County Stadium for years, I liked the Dome.

 

[Bubbler]

The locker rooms were tiny. I recall those Mike Sherman/Brett Favre pressers in what amounted to nothing more than an entry way. Had a very low ceiling if memory serves.

The one cool thing was the extremely easy trip from baseball press box to baseball clubhouses. Just a short jaunt down the staircase in the back of the room.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

It was a no frills stadium. Got you in, kept you warm, got you out.

Which, by the way, is what a stadium was always meant to be. Wasn't until the late 80s that they because these Goddam palaces with VIP suites, club levels and other bull****.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Bubbler, you're right. It was relatively easy to cover baseball as a visiting writer and had many problems for football coverage.

 

[Mark2010]

The locker rooms were tiny. I recall those Mike Sherman/Brett Favre pressers in what amounted to nothing more than an entry way. Had a very low ceiling if memory serves.

The one cool thing was the extremely easy trip from baseball press box to baseball clubhouses. Just a short jaunt down the staircase in the back of the room.

Typical for stadiums built in that era.

 

[novelist_wannabe]

Probably because Syracuse is so forgettable.

Georgiadome

It's on life support. Falcons are trying to leverage a new stadium out of the city. Citizenry is against it. If the Falcons don't get their way, they'll likely move to the suburbs. Either way, the Georgia Dome is likely going away.

 

[linotype]

Probably because Syracuse is so forgettable.

Georgiadome

The Georgia Dome isn't held up by air but by cables. The air-supported domes are, as previously mentioned, the Metro, Silver, Hoosier and Carrier domes.

 

[Machine Head]

The Georgia Dome has the open concourse I wish the Metrodome had.

As a Twins season ticket holder something great at the Metrodome was the Rally Room. This goes back to the late 80s into the 90s. The Rally Room had hand carved sandwiches, sides and mixed drinks. A big deal back then. The ladies who worked there had been with the Twins for years, going back to the Met, if memory serves. They were great.

The first game I took my son to he was stung by a bee as we were walking to the Dome. He was two. I went to the Rally Room to get some ice and the ladies took over. Put a raw onion on the sting. Took care of him and I just stayed out of the way.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Probably because Syracuse is so forgettable.

Georgiadome

It's on life support. Falcons are trying to leverage a new stadium out of the city. Citizenry is against it. If the Falcons don't get their way, they'll likely move to the suburbs. Either way, the Georgia Dome is likely going away.

And it's only 20 years old or so.

Ridiculous. Let them build it themselves if they want a new stadium so badly.

 

[joe king]

I always liked the Metrodome a lot as a football venue. The press box seemed like it was right on top of the field and the place was really loud. Seemed like a terrific atmosphere for football.

 

[slappy4428]

I used to watch games in the Metrodome in the 80s and 90s before I went there and I thought, "It can't be as bad as its described on TV. It has a kind of erector set rink-a-dink charm to it. Look a baggie for a wall in RF! It's quirky!"

Then I actually went there. Yep. It sucked massive balls. Probably the worst stadium I've ever been to a baseball game at with Riverfront its only real competition.

I'll never forget going to a mid-May game in 2003 with my brother. It was unseasonably warm and perfect baseball weather. Not a cloud in the sky, mid-70s, etc.

When we walked inside the soulless craphouse to attend the game, my brother and I looked at each other with a kind of WTF incredulity that were leaving the beautiful weather outside to watch baseball in the most sterile environment possible.

Covered, but never attended as a fan, a few Vikings games too. It was better for football, but Minnesotans have forever lost their hardiness when they pussed out and moved the Vikings inside.

You just made The Brotherhood's List.

Thass right, thas right. Here's today's sports hero... Bubbler....

 

[Armchair_QB]

I always liked the Metrodome a lot as a football venue. The press box seemed like it was right on top of the field and the place was really loud. Seemed like a terrific atmosphere for football.

Unless you were a Gopher fan.

 

[Machine Head]

I always liked the Metrodome a lot as a football venue. The press box seemed like it was right on top of the field and the place was really loud. Seemed like a terrific atmosphere for football.

Unless you were a Gopher fan.

The greatest moment in Iowa football history. Tearing down a goalpost at the Dome:



Sadly, they could not get the piece carted up the stairs out through the revolving door.

 

[micropolitan guy]

They've found a way to make it baseball-compatable. And the Hefty bag in right field could return!

"The right-field foul line will be 300 feet from home plate, with the power alley 341 feet away. To make it more difficult for batters to hit a home run to right field, a 35-foot wall or tarp will extend from the foul line to the power alley."



http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/192631131.html?refer=y

 

[I Should Coco]

I always liked the Metrodome a lot as a football venue. The press box seemed like it was right on top of the field and the place was really loud. Seemed like a terrific atmosphere for football.

Unless you were a Gopher fan.

The greatest moment in Iowa football history. Tearing down a goalpost at the Dome:



Sadly, they could not get the piece carted up the stairs out through the revolving door.

You Gopher fans are slipping. Nothing about the Iowa fans arrested for gettin' their Herky on in the Metrodome bathroom?

Not that I have any, uh, specific memories about that ...

 

[Bubbler]

I always liked the Metrodome a lot as a football venue. The press box seemed like it was right on top of the field and the place was really loud. Seemed like a terrific atmosphere for football.

Unless you were a Gopher fan.

The greatest moment in Iowa football history. Tearing down a goalpost at the Dome:



Sadly, they could not get the piece carted up the stairs out through the revolving door.

I forget which Cities paper it was that did it, but "Corn Belted" is one of my favorite headlines and it was from that game. Nice dig at both the Gophers and Iowa.

 

[Armchair_QB]

I always liked the Metrodome a lot as a football venue. The press box seemed like it was right on top of the field and the place was really loud. Seemed like a terrific atmosphere for football.

Unless you were a Gopher fan.

The greatest moment in Iowa football history. Tearing down a goalpost at the Dome:



Sadly, they could not get the piece carted up the stairs out through the revolving door.

I forget which Cities paper it was that did it, but "Corn Belted" is one of my favorite headlines and it was from that game. Nice dig at both the Gophers and Iowa.

Was hoping someone would use "Deer ****ed" after the Big 10 Championship Game last year.