I'll Miss You, Metrodome

This year I have been lucky enough to see some pretty great baseball stadiums. We drove up from school to the beautiful Miller Park in, what I like to call, the “hidden gem of the Midwest”….Milwaukee, WI. I got to see the Twins as the away team for the first time in my life and it was just as much fun as I had hoped. Driving up to Miller Park on I-94 is a whole life experience in itself. If you’ve never seen Miller Park, it is amazing on the horizon. The retractable roof looms over the skyline and once you’re inside, there’s not a bad seat in the place.

I’m in LA for the summer and we were lucky enough to take part in the “Freeway Series” between the Dodgers and the Angels. It was me and my buddy’s first time at Dodger stadium. For opening in 1962, the stadium is still in great condition. According to Ballparks.com, Dodger stadium is the cleanest ballpark in the Majors. It by no means was dirty…but cleanest in the majors…I don’t know about that. This experience was enough to be a whole different article later down the road.

Being from Minnesota I, like many other pour souls since 1982, have had the true pleasure of attending games at the Metrodome. There is nothing in the world that says “great baseball” like a Teflon covered toilet filled with Dome Dogs, field-turf and a team from 1993-2001 that could make the Bad News Bears look like the Yankees. In a conversation recently with someone from Kansas City, she told me that “Kaufmann Stadium is not that nice…it’s kind of dirty…” Clearly, for any Twins fans reading this, this statement is kind of frustrating right? Kaufmann Stadium, although home to the Royals, is one of the most beautiful stadiums in the Majors. Waterfalls, baseball outdoors, real grass and a wall that is the same height all around. She hasn’t been to the Dome before, so there isn’t any first hand experience, understandable.

The Twins have gotten legislation to build the new park (and if I have anything to say about it…Ron Coomer Stadium) and it should be ready in time for the 2010 baseball season. We were there when Governor Pawlenty signed the bill that finally got the stadium to be built and it was a pretty emotional moment for me.

Why?

Because deep down inside, I am going to miss the Metrodome.

I know…I know…it sounds terrible. I’ve told people that with each half inning spent in the Dome…your soul dies a little bit. Only a handful of the seats face home plate, there’s a baggy in right field that is covered with a huge Dodge Ram ad and the bullpens are so accessible to fans that I feel like I’m waiting for the call from Gardy.

But these are the things that make the Dome so special. With all of the new stadiums being built, the Dome and Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay are the only places that you can go to see indoor baseball. I’ve never been to Tropicana Field, but I’m pretty sure that it is better than the Metrodome. Unlike when driving up to Miller Park, I don’t get that “takes my breath away” feeling. I get that “I should have stopped at 5 cups last night” feeling. The Dome smells like hot dogs and stale air. My butt usually falls asleep around the 4th inning or so and proven by Lew Ford a couple of weeks ago, the Teflon cover can make a bad fielder look even worse.

Another thing I noticed that separates the Dome from real stadiums is the fact that at real stadiums (i.e. not the Dome) they don’t drive vehicles onto the playing field. Chevy was out in full force at Dodger Stadium and they drove a Cobalt onto the warning track and backed it off quickly. If you’ve ever been to a Twins game or even a Vikings game, you will see a Dodge Ram pull onto the right field “grass”…a man tear across the field on a snow-mobile and even a stupid little bear whip donuts on an ATV before and after games. When your playing surface can double as a parking lot, monster truck race course and an obstacle course for fly balls…it is time for a new stadium.

When all is said and done…I’m going to miss the Metrodome. With no retractable roof at the new park, expect some rain/snow/sleet/tornado/flash flood delays. You may be thinking to yourself “rain/snow/sleet/tornado/flash flood in April-October?...Doubt it”. Well in that case, you are probably not from Minnesota. Minnesota weather makes “The Day After Tomorrow” look like “Weekend at Bernie’s”. Trust me Minnesota fans, the thought will cross your mind of you missing knowing exactly what to wear to the Dome every time. 72 degrees with a light breeze for 82 games a year. As a buddy of mine puts it, “rain or shine…there was always a game”.

So come 2010, we will have to say goodbye to the Metrodome and hello to the new Twins park. I will say my goodbye vocally…but the Metrodome will always be in my heart….and stomach.