Minute Maid Park: Baseball Gameday Guide
(photo: Getty Images)
Maximize your baseball experience with our guide to what to do before a Houston Astros game, where to eat at the stadium and things to do nearby after the game.
Welcome to Minute Maid Park
Minute Maid Park (also known as “The Juice Box”), home of the Houston Astros, is located in downtown Houston, the fourth largest city in the country. The ballpark has had disappointing attendance records for a few years now, and as a result, ticket prices are usually very inexpensive.
The stadium itself has a distinctive boxy, modern look that sets it apart from other ballparks. A large white retractable roof that’s crisscrossed with blue support beams keeps fans cool and dry on hot or rainy days, then retreats back to open everything up when the weather’s nice. Although it’s nothing like the former ballpark, the Astrodome (nicknamed the Eighth Wonder of the World) it’s still an impressive place to catch a game.
City sports fans are pretty familiar with the area around Minute Maid Park—the neighborhood is also home to the Toyota Center (Houston Rockets) and BBVA Compass (Houston Dynamo). But overall it’s not a very exciting pregame setting; the downtown Houston business crowd tends to disappear right at 5 p.m. There’s also quite a bit of construction going on across from the ballpark as METRORail expands to a new station a block away. (Currently, the closest stop is six blocks away, at Preston Station.)
There are a handful of bars within a few blocks of MMP, including the B.U.S., Home Plate, Lucky’s Pub and Little Woodrow’s. But since there isn’t too much around the stadium before the game, many fans opt to save their energy (and money) for the festivities, food and fandom inside the ballpark.
QUICK LINKS
This Astros Baseball Gameday Guide originally appeared on Mapquest. Click here to see the original article including links, special tips, quotes from super fans and much more.
