*Originally published in June 2017
Updated for 2024:
It's time to go behind the scenes of the Colorado Rockies' home stadium, Coors Field. Seeing as Opening Day is fast approaching and the Rockies are about to be in full swing for the 2024 season, we figured this would be the perfect time for you to finally discover the secrets of the fan-favorite stadium.
Below are 8 secrets about Coors Field you may not have known, from holding cells to dinosaurs and everything else in between.
Secrets About Coors Field, Home of the Colorado Rockies:
The Fountain Feature
Seven fountains in the center field go off when the Rockies first step onto the field when the Rockies hit a home run and during the 7th inning stretch. They can shoot water nearly 40 feet in the air! The water feature was first installed in 1996 and was meant to "bring a little piece of the mountains" to the stadium. The area includes seven different types of Colorado trees, including Navajo ruby sandstone and granite marble boulders.
Brick House
It's a brick house. The stadium was constructed of 1.4 million bricks, each with "Coors Field" engraved. With an average brick weighing about four and a half pounds, the ones used to build Coors Field together weigh over 3,150 tons combined!
Purple Row
Those purple seats in the stadium's upper deck aren't just for decoration. Those 865 seats are 5,280 feet above sea level. Many folks in Denver think the entire city sits evenly above sea level. However, this is not the case. The purple seats remind them how far they must climb to be a mile high.
Private Kitchen
Players, coaches, and staff have their private kitchen. Culinary Nutrition Specialist and Executive Chef Tyler Hines plans and works with chefs to give Rockies personnel fresh and nutritionally beneficial options.
Holding Cells
There's always that one person we've sat next to at a game who has one (or five) too many beers and starts yelling profanities and other explicatives at the opposing team. When said person decides to take the field and show the players how it's done, they get thrown into a holding cell hidden in the stadium. While they're not real jail cells, they are there to be used by the Denver Police Department as they see fit.
Baseball Humidor
While it isn't much of a secret anymore, the Rockies keep their baseballs in a special storage room that maintains the same temperature and humidity as the Rawlins distribution warehouse. This has been the case since 2002. "Before the balls would dry out, get slick, and get harder to grip. The boxes are dated – 1st ones in, 1st ones out," said Rockies team officials.
Speaking of temperature, underneath the three-acre field are 45 miles worth of cables that not only melt snow off the field during the winter but help to keep the grass green during the springtime. Living in Colorado, though, there is always the possibility of getting snow in April and May, so officials at Coors Field are always prepared for the worst weather.
Dinosaurs at Coors Field
Dinosaurs once called the area where Coors Field sits their home. When the stadium was first constructed, crews found fossils that could be 66 million years old. Those wondering why the Rockies' mascot is a purple dinosaur, well, now you know!
