page_title: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
section_title: Minnesota Twins baseball
hierarchical_section_title: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome / Stadium usage / Minnesota Twins baseball
caption_attribution_description: I took this photo early in the final game of the AL Division Series with the Yankees, at the en:Metrodome on en:October 9, en:2004. en:Category:Images of Minneapolis, Minnesota
context_page_description: The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League's Minnesota Vikings and Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins, and Memorial Stadium, the former home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team.
  The Metrodome was the home of the Vikings from 1982 to 2013, the Twins from 1982 to 2009, the National Basketball Association's Minnesota Timberwolves in their 1989–90 inaugural season, the Golden Gophers football team until 2008 and the occasional home of the Golden Gophers baseball team from 1985 to 2010 and their full-time home in 2012. It was also the home of the Minnesota Strikers of the North American Soccer League in 1984. On January 18, 2014, the Metrodome roof was deflated, signaling the beginning of demolition work. The Vikings played at the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium for the 2014 and 2015 NFL seasons, ahead of the planned opening of U.S. Bank Stadium in 2016.
context_section_description: When opened in 1982, the Metrodome was appreciated for the protection it gave from mosquitoes, and later the weather. Over the years there had been a love-hate relationship with the fans, sportswriters, and stadium.
  The Minnesota Twins won two World Series championships at the Metrodome. The Twins won the 1987 World Series and 1991 World Series by winning all four games held at the Dome in both seasons. The loud noise, white roof, quick turf, and the right-field wall (or "Baggie") provided a substantial home-field advantage for the Twins. The 1991 World Series has been considered one of the best of all time.
  For Twins baseball, the address of the Metrodome became 34 Kirby Puckett Place, an honor given to one of the most famous Minnesota Twins players. In 1996, a section of Chicago Avenue in front of the Metrodome was renamed Kirby Puckett Place by the city of Minneapolis. The Metrodome Plaza was added along Kirby Puckett Place before the 1996 season. Before that, the address for the Twins was 501 Chicago Avenue South. For baseball, the Metrodome informally has been called "The House That Puck Built."
  By 2001, several newer purpose-built Major League Baseball stadiums had been constructed, and the Metrodome was considered to be among the worst venues in Major League Baseball.
  Only two Twins games at the Metrodome were ever postponed. The first was on April 14, 1983, when a massive snowstorm prevented the California Angels from getting to Minneapolis. The game would have likely been postponed in any case, however; that night heavy snow caused part of the roof to collapse. The second was on August 2, 2007, the day after the I-35W Mississippi River bridge had collapsed a few blocks away from the Metrodome. The game scheduled for August 1 was played as scheduled (about one hour after the bridge had collapsed) because the team and police officials were concerned about too many fans departing Metrodome at one time, potentially causing conflict with rescue workers. The August 2 ceremonial groundbreaking at the eventual Target Field was also postponed, for the same reason. The Metrodome carried a memorial decal on the backstop wall for the remainder of the 2007 season.
  The Twins played their final scheduled regular season game at the Metrodome on October 4, 2009, beating the Kansas City Royals, 13–4. After the game, they held their scheduled farewell celebration. Because they ended the day tied with the Detroit Tigers for first place in the American League Central, a one-game playoff between the teams was played there on October 6, 2009, with the Twins beating the Tigers 6–5 in 12 innings. The division clincher would be the Twins' last win at the Metrodome. The announced crowd was 54,088, setting the regular-season attendance record.
  The final Twins game at the Metrodome was on October 11, 2009, when they lost to the New York Yankees 4–1, resulting in three-game sweep in the 2009 ALDS. The Twins' appearance in this series gave Metrodome the distinction of being the first American League stadium to end its Major League Baseball history with post-season play. The only other stadiums whose final games came in the post-season are Atlanta Fulton County Stadium (1996), the Houston Astrodome (1999) and St. Louis's Busch Memorial Stadium (2005), all of which were home venues for National League teams with the departure of the Twins this leaves the Tampa Bay Rays the last remaining major league team to play their games in a domed stadium.
caption: Action during a Twins game during the 2004 American League Division Series
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