Hurricane Ike - Minute Maid Park

[Astros]

We have three big stadiums here in Houston. The Astrodome, Reliant Stadium and Minute Maid Park. All three were built to withstand hurricanes and the Astrodome was tested in 1983 (Hurricane Alicia) with flying colors. This will be the first hurricane scenario for Minute Maid Park and Reliant Stadium. The roof has been bolted down in place at Minute Maid and of course Astros games have been postponed this weekend. Sand bags and door ties are put into place. There have been some huge preparations in anticipation of this strike. The building should be fine during this storm and it is built to withstand gusts up to 250 mph and Ike is expected to bring 115 mph winds along the coastline, which is about 50 miles south. I'll post any photos that might be of interest to these forums, when I can get back to the ballpark. Below is a view looking from beyond the centerfield area with the roof closed. The huge glass wall you see faces the northwest and the glass is shatterproof. The direct winds will sail over from the opposite side during a direct hit on Houston.

[Pelt]

Stay safe!

[stlfan]

Hope they all pass the test. There was kind of a joke of a rumor or whatnot during the Cards/Cubs broadcast this week that they would move the series up here to St. Louis while the Cards were out of town.

[Astros]

Hope they all pass the test. There was kind of a joke of a rumor or whatnot during the Cards/Cubs broadcast this week that they would move the series up here to St. Louis while the Cards were out of town.

I think there was some consideration to moving the series but they opted with MLB to postpone and possibly try to at least play a double header on Monday. Of course things would have to be safe enough around the city for the Cubs to even have permission to fly to Houston. The last time a hurricane hit Houston directly was in 1983 and there was glass and debris all over downtown for a couple of days from the 40-75 story skyscrapers. I do think, however, that Minute Maid Park is one of the safest places to be in a hurricane.

[mandrake]

I think there was some consideration to moving the series but they opted with MLB to postpone and possibly try to at least play a double header on Monday. Of course things would have to be safe enough around the city for the Cubs to even have permission to fly to Houston. The last time a hurricane hit Houston directly was in 1983 and there was glass and debris all over downtown for a couple of days from the 40-75 story skyscrapers. I do think, however, that Minute Maid Park is one of the safest places to be in a hurricane.

Baseball is a sport. We love it. But when a hurricane hits our fellow Americans, I am more concerned about lives. Stay safe. Don't do anything dumb. I am sure Houston will come through with that fighting Texas spirit.

But I just saw a report where people who stayed near Galveston are already climbing up on roof tops (8pm ET). My God, the storm surge is still hours away. Our prayers go with you

[efin98]

Stupid question but did they orient the stadium with the windows facing northwest with the likelihood of at least one or two good sized hurricane hits in mind or is it an added benefit?

[Chevy114]

So they moved astros games to miller park and relient stadium games have been postponed? I thought I heard minute maid park was fine but relient lost its roof. Im sorry you guys have to go through this Houston!

[Yankees12]

Sounds like Reliant Stadium got pretty banged up - I haven't heard anything about Minute Maid though. Hopefully they get Reliant Stadium all fixed up in time for the Texans' next home game in October (it's convenient that they aren't home the next two weeks).

(Is it sad that I came so close to calling them the Oilers right then? ;))

[tugger]

So they moved astros games to miller park and relient stadium games have been postponed? I thought I heard minute maid park was fine but relient lost its roof. Im sorry you guys have to go through this Houston!

I'm guessing Houston is pretty busy cleaning up and getting the electric service back, so putting on baseball games takes a back seat to that.

Ike Robs Houston of Drinking Water, Prompts Curfew (Update3)
By Demian McLean and Tom Korosec

Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Ike left Houston without drinking water today and severed power to millions after ripping through America's fourth-largest city yesterday, flooding homes, shattering office windows and shutting oil refineries.

City police declared a nighttime curfew through next weekend, warning of downed power lines, broken traffic signals and water-filled roads. Power crews worked to restore electricity to the region, a task that could take a month, said utility CenterPoint Energy Inc.

``We need to be patient; it can't be done in a day,'' Houston Mayor Bill White said in a televised press conference. He asked residents to boil tap water, as flooding may have tainted it with bacteria.

Ike, the first hurricane to hit a major U.S. metropolitan area since Katrina in 2005, scattered 2.3 million people in two states before making landfall yesterday. The storm weakened to a tropical depression as it moved inland today over Missouri and Illinois, prompting flood warnings.

Eight deaths were attributed to Ike, including five in Texas, two in Louisiana and one in Arkansas, the Associated Press reported.

[Astros]

I have stepped back into Minute Maid Park this morning. The ballpark held up very well in the hurricane. There was minor damage to the atrium that connects Union Station to the ballpark structure. Some of the offices in Union Station had minor water damage and a temporary awning that had been constructed earlier this year at the home plate entrance was torn apart. The Minute Maid Park sign that is along the northern facade of the retractable roof had the orange cover that reads "park" blown away. I left my USB cord at home so I will post some photos tomorrow.

The team left Saturday as the only flight out of IAH Bush to play that same night at the "neutral site" known as Wrigley West- ahem, Miller Park. Anyway.

I've heard about some damage to the roof at Reliant Stadium. I believe the Astrodome did just fine once again. I haven't gone down to that area to see for myself.

There is power out to about 66% of the Houston area (me included) but the power companies are making good progress everyday with the help of trucks and employees from near and far away states. There are many trees down, signs blown over and some long lines at gas stations but it is much worse 50 miles south of downtown in Galveston and its near vicinity. There is a lot of devastation there and the island is closed. Overall Texans around here are helping each other and the local government in the Houston area is working very well in an imperfect environment right now. I'm not sure what the national coverage is on TV, but Houston is not in ruins or anything like that. We're actually very lucky in this area although the city took a direct hit. The people who live in the Texas City/Galveston/Bolivar areas are the ones who are really suffering because they have no timeline on when they'll be allowed back.

[ZeoBandit]

The team left Saturday as the only flight out of IAH Bush to play that same night at the "neutral site" known as Wrigley West- ahem, Miller Park. Anyway.



It's Wrigley North, not West. :D

Glad to hear Houston is doing well and recovering from Ike.

[Doug C.]

I have stepped back into Minute Maid Park this morning. The ballpark held up very well in the hurricane. There was minor damage to the atrium that connects Union Station to the ballpark structure. Some of the offices in Union Station had minor water damage and a temporary awning that had been constructed earlier this year at the home plate entrance was torn apart. The Minute Maid Park sign that is along the northern facade of the retractable roof had the orange cover that reads "park" blown away. I left my USB cord at home so I will post some photos tomorrow.

The team left Saturday as the only flight out of IAH Bush to play that same night at the "neutral site" known as Wrigley West- ahem, Miller Park. Anyway.

I've heard about some damage to the roof at Reliant Stadium. I believe the Astrodome did just fine once again. I haven't gone down to that area to see for myself.

There is power out to about 66% of the Houston area (me included) but the power companies are making good progress everyday with the help of trucks and employees from near and far away states. There are many trees down, signs blown over and some long lines at gas stations but it is much worse 50 miles south of downtown in Galveston and its near vicinity. There is a lot of devastation there and the island is closed. Overall Texans around here are helping each other and the local government in the Houston area is working very well in an imperfect environment right now. I'm not sure what the national coverage is on TV, but Houston is not in ruins or anything like that. We're actually very lucky in this area although the city took a direct hit. The people who live in the Texas City/Galveston/Bolivar areas are the ones who are really suffering because they have no timeline on when they'll be allowed back.

From the aerial video I saw, it looked like the Astrodome came through in good shape. I didn't notice any damage at all to the roof.

Did you happen to notice if that old church right across from Minute Maid was damaged?

[Astros]

From the aerial video I saw, it looked like the Astrodome came through in good shape. I didn't notice any damage at all to the roof.

Did you happen to notice if that old church right across from Minute Maid was damaged?

Annunciation Church across from Union Station along Texas Avenue looks fine. It appears they had some minor roof damage as I saw a worker on top, but overall the building and the steeple looks to be in good shape.

[Doug C.]

That sounds good. That is a beautiful church. I found a picture of Reliant Stadium and the Astrodome on Getty images. It looks like the Dome is missing a few windows off of the roof. I wonder if that damage is from the hurricane or if its from the pieces flying from Reliant's roof. Here is a link:

http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Detail.aspx?axd=DetailPaging.Search|1&axs=0|82806718%2c82806706%2c82806702%2c82806707%2c 82806507%2c82806553%2c82806505%2c82806506%2c828065 09%2c82806704%2c82806703%2c82806535%2c82806536%2c8 2806534%2c82806533%2c82806590%2c82806564%2c8280670 8%2c82806712%2c82806714%2c82806713%2c82806532%2c82 806563%2c82806710%2c82806589%2c82814284%2c82814145 %2c82814147%2c82814194%2c82814204%2c82814277%2c828 14278%2c82814146%2c82814207%2c82814186%2c82814188% 2c82814187%2c82814185%2c82814225%2c82814251%2c8281 4189%2c82814183%2c82814110%2c82806560%2c82806711%2 c82806705%2c82806709%2c82842494%2c82842483%2c82806 591%2c82844288%2c82844307%2c82844267%2c82844303%2c 82844283%2c82842485%2c82844269%2c82844286%2c828442 95%2c82844277|0&id=82806702

[mandrake]

One of my friends works at USGS and sent me satellite photos from Gilchrest, TX. Unbelievable damage for a Cat 2 storm.

[Doug C.]

One of my friends works at USGS and sent me satellite photos from Gilchrest, TX. Unbelievable damage for a Cat 2 storm.

Yes, they got hit hard. There are several similar small towns that are pretty much gone. As bad as Galveston is, it could have been much worse if Ike had not taken a bit of a turn to the east at landfall. Just a few miles can make a big difference that close to they eye. They could have gotten another 10 feet in storm surge.

[Astros]

Here are some photos from Minute Maid Park showing the minor damage from Hurricane Ike. Also included is a photo of the 75 story Chase Tower that suffered many damaged windows. It is thought that a tornado may have come through that area of downtown about 7 blocks away from Minute Maid Park.

[PeteU]

One of my friends works at USGS and sent me satellite photos from Gilchrest, TX. Unbelievable damage for a Cat 2 storm.

Cat 2s are nothing to sneeze at. Wilma was a Cat 2 by the time it reached South Florida and it caused plenty of heartache. And the storm surge is what really does the damage, so I'm not surprised at all to see what happened in Galveston.

Heck, even Cat 1s have the potential to be messy.

[mandrake]

Cat 2s are nothing to sneeze at. Wilma was a Cat 2 by the time it reached South Florida and it caused plenty of heartache. And the storm surge is what really does the damage, so I'm not surprised at all to see what happened in Galveston.

Heck, even Cat 1s have the potential to be messy.

Agree 100% with you. It infuriates me when people throw "hurricane parties", or when people in places like Key West refuse to budge. I have been to Islamorada and seen what happened to that part of the Keys in 1935.Also , my parents tell me about a hurricane that hit LI in 1938, killing maybe 800 when very few people lived out there. Now, tons of miion dollar mansions sit there, just waiting for history to repeat itself. And it will.

Can you imagine if Cat 5's like Rita or Katrina plowed into Galveston when they were up to 175mph with a possible 25 foot or more surge??