Coors Field is the home of the Colorado Rockies in Denver, Colorado. It can hold over 50,000 fans and brings in a couple of million fans each season.
I’ve been to this stadium more times than I can count, but I also found myself asking what’s so special about Coors Field. So I did some research and discovered some fun facts.
Some of these Coors Field facts might even surprise the biggest fans of the Rockies!
1) Row of Purple Seats Are One Mile Above Sea Level
If you look way up into the upper section of Coors Field, you’ll notice the 20th row of seats are all purple.
This row of purple seats is exactly one mile above sea level. Any fans sitting in these seats are exactly 5,280 feet above sea level.
This purple row stretches from the foul pole on the third base side to the foul pole on the first base side.
Another fun fact – this row of purple seats also extended into the upper section of the outfield seats, but those purple seats were removed in 2014 when the Rockies converted that entire section of Coors Field into what fans now know as “The Rooftop”.
2) Last Row of the Rockpile Are The Furthest Seats from Home Plate in All of MLB
The Rockpile seats are known for being the cheapest seats in the stadium. They may also be some of the cheapest seats in any MLB park.
There’s a good reason for these seats being cheap.
The very last row of the Rockpile is about 600 feet from home plate, making them the furthest seats from home plate of any MLB ballpark.
Surprisingly, these seats aren’t a bad view of the game. I’ve sat there multiple times and still had a great time.
And the good news for fans who are just visiting Coors Field to experience the stadium is that they can purchase these Rockpile tickets for cheap and still have access to the entire concourse of Coors Field.
3) Baseballs Travel 9% Further At Coors Field
Coors Field is known for being a hitter’s ballpark and that’s directly related to the elevation of the stadium.
Because Coors Field is almost one mile above sea level, baseballs travel 9% further when they’re hit.
That usually translates into more home runs at Coors Field.
4) Coors Field Has the Record For Most Home Runs in a Season With 303
When I heard this statistic I was skeptical for two reasons:
- There’s very little data available for how many home runs are hit in each ballpark
- 303 is one of the area codes for Colorado, which made it seem like this number was just made up
But the MLB has a page about the history of Coors Field and they actually have this exact statistic.
So now I’m a believer.
In 1999, there were 303 home runs hit at Coors Field. This is the most home runs hit in any MLB ballpark in one season.
Out of the very few stats I saw on other stadiums, it looks like max amount of home runs is usually somewhere around 240 home runs per stadium each season. So it seems like Coors Field will be holding this record for a while.
5) Rockies’ Mascot is Named After Dinosaur Bones Found During Construction
When Coors Field was being constructed in 1993, a rib fragment of a dinosaur was discovered.
Scientists determined the bone belonged to a type of horned dinosaur. A horned dinosaur, like a triceratops.
From the discovery of the dinosaur bone during the construction of Coors Field, Dinger was born as the Rockies’ mascot. Dinger is a purple triceratops dinosaur.
The Rockies even unveiled Dinger during the 1994 season by having him hatch out of an egg.
6) Coors Field Has Heated Infield And Grass
One cool feature of Coors Field is its heated infield and grass.
45 miles of electric heating cables are installed at Coors Field that heat the infield and the outfield.
These electric cables are broken up into three zones, and each zone can have its own temperature.
The temperature at Coors Field can vary quite a bit during the season (sometimes it snows) and these electric cables help the grounds crew keep the field green, playable, and looking nice.
7) Coors Field Was Made From 1.4 Million Bricks And 8,975 Tons of Steel
Not only is Coors Field made from 1.4 million bricks, each one of those bricks is also engraved with the words “Coors Field”.
That’s a lot of material!
8) First Game Was Played On April 26, 1995
While construction on the stadium began in 1992, the very first game at Coors Field didn’t take place until April 26, 1995.
In this home opener, the Rockies beat the New York Mets 11-9 in 14 innings.
Sounds like an exciting way to start baseball at a brand-new stadium!
9) Before Coors Field Was Built, The Rockies Played 2 Seasons at Mile High Stadium
The first game at Coors Field was played in the 1995 season, but the Rockies were added to the MLB to begin the 1993 season.
The Colorado Rockies played at Mile High Stadium for 2 seasons before they eventually moved to Coors Field in 1995.
Mile High Stadium was home to the NFL team the Denver Broncos and the Rockies shared this stadium with them during the 1993 and 1994 seasons.
An additional fun fact – the Rockies hold the record for all-time attendance at a stadium during the 1993 season when they played all their games at Mile High Stadium. 4,483,350 fans attended the Rockies games that season.
10) Coors Field Was The First Stadium With a Humidor for Storing Baseballs
The Rockies built a humidor at Coors Field for the start of the 2002 season. The humidor keeps baseballs at 70 degrees and 50% humidity.
It is well-known that baseballs travel further at Coors Field because of its elevation. They typically travel 9% further.
So the purpose of installing a humidor at Coors Field was to reduce the bounce of the ball off of the bat, reducing the effects that elevation had on baseballs.
An additional effect of the humidor was that pitchers had better grip on the baseballs.
Both of these factors led to pitchers having a slightly lower ERA at Coors Field since the humidors were installed.
And as of the 2022 season, all MLB stadiums store their baseballs in a humidor.