Mile High Stadium
Mile High Stadium broke ground in 1947 and opened on August 14th, 1948. It originally seated about 18,000, but later expanded to over 76,000 seats. In 1993, the Colorado Rockies would play in that stadium. Nearly four and a half million people who lived in the area would attend at least one Rockies game that year. The Denver Broncos and the Rockies weren’t the only teams that played there. Originally, it was a Western league stadium for the Denver Bears from 1948 to 1959. The Broncos would play at the Stadium in 1960. They were originally an AFL team, but would join the NFL in 1966.
Mile High Stadium had many renovations to it. There were tens of thousands of seats added to it. The stadium also needed to be transformed into an NFL field after the Bears left in 1968. When the Rockies came, the stadium was very unusual for baseball. Left Field was 333 ft (101 m) away from home plate. Left-Center had a distance of 366 ft (112 m). Center Field was 423 ft (129 m) away from home plate. Right-Center was 400 ft (122 m). But the Right Field was the longest in the MLB at the time, with a distance of 370 ft (113 m) away from home plate.
Mile High Stadium left a huge impact on the people in the Denver area. Over four million people went to an MLB game in the Rockies inaugural season. In the second year ticket sales were also optimal for the Rockies. While some of the viewing sites weren’t optimal for baseball, people still wanted to go see their MLB team for the experience. With over 76,000 seats available there was no shortage for people who wanted to attend one of the 81 games that season. Mile High Stadium will be remember as the stepping stone stadium for the Rockies because it would leave a significant impact on baseball fans in Colorado.
