Coors Field (Denver)

Coors Field opened for baseball on April 26, 1995. The Colorado Rockies had joined the National League two years earlier. They played their first two seasons in Mile High Stadium while Coors was being built.

When the National League got the OK in 1985 to expand by two teams, several cities, including Buffalo, Denver, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Washington, expressed interest in getting a franchise. One of the stipulations for being considered was having plans to build a ballpark. Denver and the state of Colorado showed that they were serious by forming the Denver Metropolitan Major League Baseball Stadium District in 1989.1

Voters in the six counties that made up metropolitan Denver approved a 0.01 percent sales tax for funding the new ballpark in 1990. This would eventually provide $168 million, or 78 percent of the cost of the ballpark. The remaining $47 million, or 22 percent, would come from the Rockies owners.2 In June of 1991, franchises were awarded to Denver and Miami.

Construction of Coors Field began on October 16, 1992. While fans waited for the new ballpark to be completed, the Rockies played at Mile High Stadium. Fans were so excited about the arrival of baseball in the mile-high city that they played to packed houses most of the first season. The original plans for Coors Field called for a seating capacity of 43,000. But after 4,483,350 people poured through the Mile High turnstiles in the first season, the club announced in October 1993 that the Coors seating capacity would be increased to 50,000.3

When Coors Field was being built, it was the first baseball-only ballpark built for a National League team since Dodger Stadium was completed in 1962.4 It was also the National League’s first new ballpark since Montreal’s Stade Olympique opened in 1977 upon the completion of the 1976 Olympics there.

Coors Field was designed by HOK Sports, later known as Populous. The company had sparked a resurgence in ballpark design with the construction of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which opened in 1992. Its design for Camden Yards incorporated the B&O warehouse building beyond the outfield and ended the generic “concrete doughnut” trend that had dominated baseball in the 1970s and 1980s.5

The design of the Coors Field recalls the same images evoked at Oriole Park. It is an industrial-strength steel and red-brick structure that incorporates an old brick building to enhance the overall atmosphere. The design provides a dramatic view of the Rockies in the distance, much as Camden Yards showcases the skyline waterfront of Baltimore.

HOK Sports wanted spectators to feel as if they were watching a game in one of the ballparks built in the 1920s and ’30s. Hand-laid brick was used for the outer façade. A clock tower was built above the ballpark’s main entrance. Adding to this “retro” feel are the asymmetrical dimensions of the outfield. These features along with the ballpark’s location near the Union Pacific railroad tracks give it the feel of a 1920s ballpark. But once fans entered Coors Field, they could enjoy all the modern amenities and conveniences they were accustomed to.

Fans meet up below the clock tower. When they enter the ballpark, they notice that the ballpark sits below street level. This was done to help it blend in with the features of the surrounding neighborhood. Although most of the seats are green, a band of purple seats along the 20th row of the upper deck makes note of the one-mile location above sea level.

During the construction of Coors Field, crews found bones on the site. They were similar in size to the ribs of plant-eating dinosaurs like Triceratops, a dinosaur that was common in Colorado in the Cretaceous period, which ended 66 million years ago. Coloradans reveled in the find. A year later, when the Rockies revealed their mascot, it was a fuzzy Triceratops named Dinger.6

One of the distinctive features of Coors Field is the Rockpile. The name is meant to remind visitors of the Rocky Mountains, which are visible in the distance. The 2,300-seat section is located in deep center field, in the upper deck, about as far from home plate as you can get inside the ballpark. (Mile High Stadium also had a Rockpile.) At first Rockpile seats were priced at $1, but that price was later available only to youngsters and seniors, everyone else pays $4.

Ballpark designers had speculated that Coors Field would see a lot of home runs. Located at 5,200 feet above sea level, it is the highest-elevation park in majors-league baseball. Designers knew that the low air density at such a high elevation could result in balls traveling farther than in other parks. To compensate, they place the outfield fences farther from home plate. The deepest part of the field is right-center, which is 424 feet from home plate.

The first game at Coors Field was played on April 26, 1995. It also turned out to be the first extra-inning game in the new ballpark. The Rockies played the New York Mets. Brett Butler of the Mets was the first batter. Bill Swift was the Rockies pitcher. Butler hit Swift’s first pitch for a single to right field for the first hit at Coors Field.

Naturally, the game was filled with other “firsts.” The Mets’ Rico Brogna hit the first home run at the ballpark when he powered a line drive over the fence against Swift in the fourth inning. The Mets’ Todd Hundley hit the first grand slam two innings later. The Rockies’ Dante Bichette eventually won the game, 11-9, with a three-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 14th inning. These home runs were harbingers of the future.

Although the game took 4 hours and 49 minutes to complete, it was not the longest game at Coors Field. But there were other firsts that night. The first run scored (Walt Weiss in the first inning), the first batter to be hit by a pitch (Roberto Mejia in the sixth inning), the first strikeout (Swift striking out David Segui in the second inning), and more.

Other firsts occurred in rapid succession during the club’s first month at Coors Field. The following night Eric Young had the first stolen base and Andres Galarraga hit the first triple. By the end of the inaugural season, most of the “firsts” had been accomplished. One had to wait until the ballpark’s second season: On September 17, 1996, Hideo Nomo pitched the first no-hitter at Coors Field as the Dodgers beat the Rockies, 9-0. (On May 11 that season the Rockies were also the victims of the first Florida Marlins no-hitter when Al Leiter beat them 11-0.)

The last notable “first” at Coors came on April 29, 2007, when Troy Tulowitzki made the first unassisted triple play there. Tulowitzki caught a Chipper Jones line drive for the first out, then tagged Kelly Johnson out at second and caught Edgar Renteria near second after he had run on the pitch and could not get back to first in time.

In 1993 the Rockies named Don Baylor as the inaugural manager of the expansion team. He turned out to be a good choice; he led the Rockies to the postseason in just three years, faster than any previous expansion club. Baylor’s teams had records of 67-95 in 1993 and 53-64 in 1994 before the Rockies turned things around in Coors Field’s inaugural year. Their 77-67 record made them the National League wild-card team. It also earned Baylor Manager-of-the-Year honors.

The Rockies played the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series. In Game One, on October 3, before a crowd of 50,040, the Rockies led 3-1 after four innings, but eventually lost, 5-4, on Chipper Jones’s ninth-inning solo home run.

Coors Field was packed the following night as the Rockies tried to even the series. After the Braves took a 1-0 lead in the first, the Rockies tied the game in the sixth when Larry Walker hit a three-run home run off starter Tom Glavine. But once again the Braves won in the ninth inning when they scored four runs off the Rockies bullpen to win, 7-4.

The Rockies won the third game but eventually lost the series, three games to one. It was the last time Coors Field hosted a postseason game until 2007, when the Rockies not won the NL pennant and brought the World Series to Coors Field.

In their march to the World Series the Rockies first swept the Philadelphia Phillies in three games in the Division Series. Coors Field hosted the clinching third game. Jeff Baker singled in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning and Manny Corpas earned his third save in as many games to help the Rockies move on to the Championship Series. They swept that series, too, against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Coors Field hosted the final two games. In Game Three, a packed ballpark watched the Rockies win 4-1. A three-run homer by Yorvit Torrealba in the sixth inning was the difference.

Coors Field was also filled to capacity the following night to watch the Rockies clinch the National League championship. A six-run fourth inning allowed the home team to hold off the Diamondbacks, who came close with three runs in the top of the eighth inning. The final score was 6-4. The Rockies were heading to the World Series for the first time in their short history.

Although the Rockies swept through the National League playoffs, they were not so fortunate in the World Series. When Coors Field hosted its first World Series game, on October 27, 2007, the Boston Red Sox had already taken a commanding 2-games-to-none lead in the Series. The temperature when the game started was a brisk 45 degrees. Almost 50,000 fans showed up hoping to see the Rockies rebound. But the Red Sox won, dominating the hometown team, 10-5.

With their backs to the wall, the Rockies took the field the following night with their hopes clinging to a thread. Although it was late October, temperatures at game time were a balmy 68 degrees and fans were not quite as bundled up as the night before. The Red Sox jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Rockies were able to score a run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

After the Red Sox scored another run in the top of the eighth, the Rockies made one final attempt at a comeback. Garrett Atkins’ two-run homer brought the Rockies to within one run. The hometown crowd finally had something to cheer about. With everyone on their feet and hoping for a miracle, Boston’s Jonathon Papelbon shut down the Rockies in the ninth for his fourth save in as many games. The Red Sox had swept the Rockies and 50,041 fans quietly left Coors Field with their mile-high dreams vaporized into Denver’s thin air.

After it opened, Coors Field quickly earned a reputation as a hitter-friendly ballpark. As early as the first season, people were talking about the number of home runs. After watching homer after homer in the Dodgers’ first visit in 1995, broadcaster Vin Scully commented that any hitting record set by a Colorado player should automatically be accompanied by an asterisk.7

Early on, Coors Field earned the nickname “Coors Canaveral,” a reference to the US astronauts’ launching site.8 This reputation as a launching pad for home runs was firmly planted in the public’s mind in 1999 when the Rockies and their opponents hit a major-league-record 303 home runs.

The California Angels (then the Lost Angeles Angels) held the previous record, 248, set in 1961, their first year of existence, in their original home, Wrigley Field in Los Angeles.

In Coors Field’s first year, the home run total fell just seven short of that mark, even though the team lost nine games from the home schedule due to the players strike, which forced a late start to the 1995 season. The next season, 1996, when the Rockies played a full schedule at the ballpark, the record fell when 271 home runs were hit at Coors Field. That mark was broken with 1999’s total of 303, the record that still stood as of 2017.

No matter what index is used, Coors Field is recognized as a hitter’s ballpark. Alan Nathan, a physicist, showed that a baseball would travel 5 percent farther at Coors Field than Fenway Park. Based on his analysis, baseballs that would travel 380 feet at Fenway Park would travel 400 feet at Coors Field.9

After several years of extraordinary home-run production, the Rockies installed a humidor to help bring production back to Earth. The idea came from Rockies employee Tony Cowell, who had observed that his leather boots dried faster at a high altitude and figured that baseballs would do the same. Cowell figured that the baseballs would not travel as far if they were slightly moist.

Cowell thought that if the baseballs were kept in a humidor, they would lose some of their bounce. He tried an experiment of sorts to see if he was correct, dropping baseballs off a third-deck ramp down to the concrete. “The results were pretty striking,” Cowell said.10

With the permission of Major League Baseball,11 the Rockies installed an $18,000 humidor, a giant version of the container that keeps cigars moist. It quickly made a difference when home-run production fell from 268 in 2001, the most in the major leagues, to 185 in 2007, ranking 10th. The Elias Sports Bureau also found that runs scored per game were down as well, from 13.4 in 2001 to 10.6 in 2007.12

The humidor at Coors Field keeps balls from drying out and shrinking. It is set at 40 percent humidity to compensate for Denver’s low humidity. Rawlings, the manufacturer of baseballs, suggests humidity of about 50 percent and a 70-degree temperature.13

The longest measured home run at Coors was hit by Hall of Famer Mike Piazza on September 26, 1997, when he was with the Dodgers. Piazza’s home run was measured at 496 feet. His home run beat out the 494-foot blast by Larry Walker of the Rockies a month earlier. Giancarlo Stanton tied Walker’s mark when he hit one out of the ballpark on August 17, 2012.14

But these are just the ones that have been measured since they were hit during a game. Walt Weiss claimed he “saw Mark McGwire [hit one] off the facing of the Rock Pile. As we sit here (in the dugout) and look it doesn’t seem possible, but I was there and I saw it.”15 McGwire also hit a ball that went 510 feet during the first round of the 1998 Home Run Derby. It was the longest of the 53 home runs hit in that round.16

In recent years, fewer home runs have been hit at Coors Field but it has remained the most hitter-friendly ballpark in the major leagues by a wide margin. From 2012 to 2015 the Rockies led the league in runs scored in home games.17

Two of the highest-scoring games in modern baseball history were played at Coors Field. On May 19, 1999, the Rockies and Cincinnati Reds engaged in a 36-run slugfest. Cincinnati led 6-4 after the first inning. The Rockies tied the game in the second, but the Reds went on a scoring spree starting in the fourth inning. Cincinnati scored 17 runs from the fourth to the seventh inning. The Reds’ Sean Casey finished the game by going 4-for-4 with three walks while scoring five runs while his teammate Jeff Hammonds cleared the fences three times. The Rockies’ 12 runs were enough to win most games, but not this one; Cincinnati got 24.

Nine years later, the Rockies got into another hitting contest and come out on top. On July 4, 2008, the Rockies and Florida Marlins celebrated Independence Day with plenty of fireworks. The two teams combined for 43 hits and 35 runs. Colorado’s first four batters went a combined 16-for-22 with five homers and 13 runs. The Rockies entered the ninth inning trailing 17-16 but scored two runs on four singles in the ninth for a walk-off win.18

Over the years, many baseball players have knocked the ball out of Coors Field. The Rockies player with the most home runs there is Todd Helton. During his tenure with the Rockies, Helton hit 227 home runs at the ballpark. Barry Bonds hit 26 home runs at Coors Field and holds the record for the most home runs by an opposing player.19

Naturally, the accomplishments of pitchers at Coors Field tend to be overlooked. As of 2017, there has been just one no-hitter there, by Nomo in 1996. Nomo shut down the home team before 50,099 spectators, the largest crowd to watch a no-hitter in an existing ballpark as of 2017.20

The longest game in Coors Field history was not a high-scoring game. The Rockies beat the Giants, 4-3, on July 4, 2010. By the time the home team won in the bottom of the 15th inning, 5 hours and 24 minutes had passed. Jason Hammel started for the Rockies while Matt Cain took the mound for the Giants. Both pitchers threw seven strong innings.

The Rockies took the lead after Dexter Fowler tripled in the third inning and scored on Jonathan Herrera’s sacrifice fly. The Giants’ Travis Ishikawa singled home Pablo Sandoval to tie the game in the top of the eighth. From that point on both teams were scoreless for the next seven innings. Over those seven innings the Rockies left 15 runners on base. They left the bases loaded in the 10th, 13th, and 14th innings. Fowler hit his second triple of the night as he led off the 15th inning. Todd Helton then hit a fly ball deep down the left-field line and Fowler scored to end the game.21

It did not take long after the ballpark opened for a player to hit for the cycle. John Mabry of the Cardinals accomplished this feat on May 18, 1996. Mabry singled in the second inning, doubled the fourth, tripled and scored in the Cardinals’ four-run fifth, and in the seventh, he launched the ball over the center-field wall for a home run to become just the 11th major leaguer to hit for a natural cycle (single, double, triple and homer in that order). Mabry’s achievement came in a losing effort; the Rockies won, 10-7.

Two years after it opened, Coors Field hosted the All-Star Game on July 7, 1998. After the US Air Force was honored in pregame celebrities, the game literally took off. The American League beat the National League, 13-8, in a game that saw both teams collect 31 hits. Three home runs were hit during the game, including a solo shot by Roberto Alomar that cemented the American League’s lead and earned Alomar MVP honors.

Coors Field’s location has allowed it to host some interesting events. The coldest baseball game since baseball began recording such things in 1991 took place on April 23, 2013. The day started ominously for a baseball game. Grounds crews began clearing several inches of snow from the playing surface at 6 A.M. Although the field was clear when the game started, some parts of the ballpark remained closed, including the Rock Pile section. Workers made sure the batters eye background in center field was green by hosing off the snow on the stand of evergreen trees behind the wall.

The temperature at game time was 23 degrees. Although most players bundled up, Atlanta pitcher Mike Minor chose to wear short sleeves. He told reporters after the game that he felt restricted with long sleeves. But that doesn’t mean that he didn’t notice the temperature. He said: “The biggest thing was grip, just being cold and dry. I pretty much just battled through it.” At one point, Minor said, he got so cold that he had a trainer rub his back, arms, and thighs with a heating ointment.22

The Braves won, 4-3. Some 19,124 fans showed up for the game but there is no record of how many stayed for the entire 2 hours and 37 minutes that it took to finish it.

Although Coors Field is the most hitter-friendly ballpark in the major leagues, there have been a few moments when the pitchers took command of the game. On July 9, 2005, in its 10th year, the ballpark finally had its first 1-0 game. Before that the ballpark had witnessed three 2-0 games. The 1-0 game (won by the Rockies) came in Coors Field’s 847th regular-season game, the most games played at any major-league ballpark before its first 1-0 game.23

Jason Jennings pitched seven scoreless innings before getting a little help from his bullpen. Brian Fuentes, the Rockies closer, escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to earn a save. Colorado got its run in the sixth when Aaron Miles beat out a bunt and scored on a double by Luis Gonzalez.

When he was asked about the win after the game, Rockies manager Clint Hurdle laughed and reminded reporters that his pitching staff had allowed 12 runs the night before. “What a difference 22 hours makes,” Hurdle said.24

In subsequent years, there were eight more 1-0 games at Coors Field. The last time (as of the end of the 2017 season) that fans witnessed one was on June 12, 2010. On that day, Jason Hammel pitched eight scoreless innings and scored the lone run of the game in the sixth inning. He walked to lead off the inning, went to third base on a single by Todd Helton, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Gonzalez. After the game, Hammel joked with reporters, “I’ve got to do everything here.”25

Although low-hitting games are rare at Coors Field, the Rockies have been successful in such contests. They are 6-3 in the nine 1-0 games at the ballpark.

Another interesting game at Coors Field took place on August 22, 2000, against Atlanta. With the game tied, 3-3, in the 11th inning, John Wasdin came into the game as the Rockies’ seventh pitcher. He was the last man out of the bullpen but manager Buddy Bell figured that Wasdin would be good for a few innings since he had not pitched for a few days. Wasdin confounded Bell’s strategy by hitting hit the first batter he faced and was ejected.26

Bell was forced to bring in a starting pitcher, Brian Bohanon, who retired the Braves, throwing 10 pitches. Bohanon had thrown 99 pitches the night before and was spent. After the Rockies failed to score in their half of the inning, Bell turned to backup catcher Brent Mayne. “Can you pitch?” Bell asked. “Yeah, I can pitch,” Mayne replied.27

Mayne retired the first two batters, Tom Glavine on a grounder and Weiss on a fly ball. But Rafael Furcal singled and went to second on a wild pitch as Mayne worried that “I didn’t want to balk. I was thinking what is the balk (rule)? Can I go into the glove and take the ball out of my glove? That was probably the most nerve-wracking thing.”28 But Mayne recovered and got Chipper Jones to ground out.

The Rockies hit back-to-back singles in the bottom of the 12th inning. Suddenly it was Mayne’s turn to bat but he had an injured wrist. Bell pinch-hit Adam Melhuse, who singled in the winning run. Mayne was credited with the win, the first time a catcher was credited with a win at Coors Field.29

The ballpark has witnessed several other notable achievements. On August 7, 2016, Ichiro Suzuki, playing for the Marlins, got his 3,000th major-league hit, a triple in the seventh inning to become the 30th player to reach that milestone. As Suzuki arrived at third, third-base coach Lorenzo Bundy hugged him and the Marlins streamed out of the dugout to congratulate him. Always modest, he waved his helmet to acknowledge the cheers at Coors Field.

Rockies pitcher Chris Rusin said after the game that he was fine with being a part of history. “Congratulations to him. All I ask for is a signed bat in return. It’s crazy to be a part of.”30

At 42 years and 290 days, Suzuki was the second oldest player by three days over Rickey Henderson to reach the milestone. Only Cap Anson, who was 45 when he got his 3,000th hit in 1897, was older.

As of 2018 only one Rockies player has had his number retired, Todd Helton. Helton played for the Rockies from 1997 to 2013 and his number 17 was retired on August 17, 2014. Helton was the Rockies’ first-round pick in the 1995 first-year player draft. He debuted with the Rockies on August 2, 1997, and played the next 17 years in a Rockies uniform.

Rockies owner Dick Montfort explained the decision to hang Helton’s number from Coors Field’s rafters: “Seventeen years is the first thing. No one else has been here that long and for his whole career. He was one of our earliest top draft picks. He holds a lot of team records. With his play and his leadership, it was just natural [to retire his number].31

Coors Field hosted its first concert on July 3, 2015. More than 42,000 people packed the ballpark to hear the Zac Brown Band. Seats and a dance floor were placed on the field. A large stage was placed against the center-field wall to allow the sound from the band to echo throughout the ballpark.

“This is a very, very special night to be the first band to play in this stadium. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” said Brown as he returned to the stage for an encore.32 The crowd cheered and Brown didn’t even bother to sing the chorus to his final song, “Chicken Fried.” Instead he just watched from the stage as thousands roared out the words in unison. The band returned to Coors Field on July 29, 2017, for another concert.

Coors Field hosted several hockey games in 2016. The first was played on February 20. A hockey rink was set up to allow the University of Denver to play Colorado College. The two teams had played each other for 66 years but this was the first time that they played in a ballpark.33

Denver University coach Jim Montgomery lined up for television interviews in front of a large photo of a Larry Walker, a former hockey player. “I want to stand by Larry Walker. He’s Canadian. He’s the pride of Canadian baseball,” Montgomery said.34  A crowd of more than 35,000 watched Denver University win 4-1 in balmy 50-degree weather.

A week later, the National Hockey League held its annual Winter Classic hockey game at the ballpark. The Colorado Avalanche lost to the Detroit Red Wings, 5-3.

Coors Field is sure to continue as a focal point for the Denver sports fans in years to come. The ballpark is located in the “LoDo” area of downtown Denver. This part of town is Denver’s answer to New York’s Soho. It is a rejuvenated area containing art galleries, small shops, and artists’ lofts.35 With so much excitement surrounding it, Coors Field brings even more excitement as the home team plays for the opportunity to bring another World Series to the city.

 

This biography appears in “Major League Baseball A Mile High: The First Quarter Century of the Colorado Rockies” (SABR, 2018), edited by Bill Nowlin and Paul T. Parker.

 

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author also utilized the Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org websites for box scores, player, team, and season pages, pitching and batting game logs, and other material pertinent to this biography. FanGraphs.com provided some statistical information.

 

Notes

1 “Coors Field,” BallparksofBaseball.com, accessed August, 22, 2017.

2 Paul Munsey, “Coors Field,” Ballparks.com, June 2007.

3 Ibid.

4 Ibid.

5 Allison Mast and Kevin D. Murphy, “The Rebirth of the Ballpark Could Be Baseball’s Saving Grace,” BaseballInsider.com, April 9, 2017.

6 James Hagadorn, “Fossils Underfoot,” Front Porch (Northeast Denver), June 1, 2014.

7 Mike Downey, “Nursing a Denver Hangover,” Los Angeles Times, May 10, 1995.

8 Patrick Saunders, “Tony Cowell’s Humidor Brought Rockies Baseball at Coors Field Back Down to Earth,” Denver Post, May 13, 2017.

9 Alan Nathan, “Baseball at High Altitude,” Physics of Baseball, accessed August 24, 2017.

10 Saunders, “Tony Cowell’s humidor.”

11 Hal Bodley, “Baseball Gives Rockies’ Humidor Its OK,” USA Today, June 14, 2002. MLB said, “We’re satisfied with what (Cowell) saw and feel the matter in which the balls are stored is consistent with what would probably be recommended if we were to make such a recommendation.”

12 Saunders, “Tony Cowell’s Humidor.”

13 Ibid.

14 “Coors Field Home Runs: Who Hit the Longest, and Who Hit the Most,” Denver.CBSLocal.com, June 10, 2015.

15 Ibid.

16 Jayson Stark, “25 Greatest Home Run Derby Moments,” ESPN.com, July 12, 2010.

17 “How Do Ballpark Factors Affect Batters for MLB DFS?,” DFS Strategy.com,  March 24, 2016.

18 Ibid.

19 “Coors Field Home Runs.”

20 Graham Night, “No Hitters Thrown by Ballpark,” Baseball Pilgrimages.com, accessed September 4, 2017.

21 Ryan Freemyer, “A Look at the 3 Longest Games the Colorado Rockies Have Ever Played,” Purplerow.com, September 16, 2015.

22 Ibid.

23 “Rockies’ 1-0 Victory a First in 11-Year History of Ballpark,” ESPN.com, July 10, 2005.

24 Ibid.

25 “Rockies’ Hammel Tosses 8 Shutout Innings, Scores Game’s Only Run,” ESPN.com, July 13, 2010.

26 Grant Brisbee, “The Time a Catcher Pitched at Coors Field and Won,” SB Nation.com, August 21, 2015.

27 Ibid.

28 Ibid.

29 Ibid.

30 “Rusin Gives Up Ichiro’s 3,000th Hit; Rockies Lose to Marlins,” USA Today.com, August 7, 2016.

31 Thomas Harding, “Helton Calls No. 17 Jersey Retirement ‘Very Special,’” MLB.com, February 6, 2014.

32 Evan Semón, “Zac Brown Band Plays the First Major Concert at Coors Field,” Denver Post, July 4, 2015.

33 Nick Groke, “Big Hockey Crowd at Coors Field Sees Denver Play Like Kids vs Colorado College,” Denver Post, February 20, 2015.

34 Ibid.

35 Herbert Muschamp, “A Wonder World in the Mile High City,” New York Times, May 7, 1995.