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120-455: 1,500 standing-room capacity NCAA Football: 45,000 (2011) Fence height Left Field – 8 feet (2 m) Center Field – 7 feet (2 m) Dead Center Field – 10 feet (3 m) Right-Center Field – 20 feet (6 m) Right Field – 24 feet (7 m) Oracle Park is a ballpark in the SoMa district of San Francisco, California . Since 2000, it has been the home of

240-469: A cantilevered upper deck seating area that hung out over the lower seating area. Although it did not use reinforced concrete in its construction, Baker Bowl is considered the first of the jewel box parks. The first to use reinforced concrete was Shibe Park , which opened in 1909, also in Philadelphia. The upper decks were typically held up by steel pillars that obstructed the view from some seats in

360-449: A seating capacity of 40,800, but this has increased over time as seats have been added. In April 2010, the stadium became the first MLB ballpark to receive LEED Silver Certification for Existing Buildings, Operations and Maintenance. Following the 2019 season, the organization began the process of relocating the bullpens from the first and third base foul lines to behind the outfield walls in center and right-centerfield. The motivation

480-533: A 4–0 win. It was his 2nd no-hitter of his career, with both of them coming against the Padres. Oracle Park hosted Games 3, 4, and 5 of the 2014 World Series on October 24, 25 and 26. The Giants beat the Kansas City Royals 2 out of the 3 games played at Oracle Park, losing Game 3, 3–2, before winning Games 4 and 5, 11–4 and 5–0 respectively. They ultimately went on to win the series in seven games, with

600-481: A San Francisco Giant with an MLB All-Star Game selection, nine seasons played with the team, or any player with three World Series rings as a Giant. Rich Aurilia and Shawn Estes were added in 2010. Jason Schmidt and Marvin Benard were added in 2011, and Barry Bonds was added in 2017. Outside the ballpark are six statues, five of which are dedicated to San Francisco Giants all-time greats. The Willie Mays statue

720-413: A chain-link fence. Beyond the infield and between the foul lines is a large grass outfield, generally twice the depth of the infield. The playing field is bordered by fences of varying heights. The infield fences are in foul territory, and a ball hit over them is not a home run; consequently, they are often lower than the outfield fences to provide a better view for spectators. Sometimes, the outfield fence

840-409: A detailed site plan to the local fire code official, including "details of the means of egress, seating capacity, [and] arrangement of the seating...." Once safety considerations have been satisfied, determinations of seating capacity turn on the total size of the venue, and its purpose. For sports venues, the "decision on maximum seating capacity is determined by several factors. Chief among these are

960-546: A diamond. The infield is a rigidly structured diamond of dirt and grass containing the three bases, home plate, and the pitcher's mound. The space between the bases and home is normally a grass surface, save for the dirt mound in the center. Some ballparks have grass or artificial turf between the bases, and dirt only around the bases and pitcher's mound. Others, such as Koshien Stadium in Hyōgo Prefecture , Japan, have an infield of entirely dirt. Two white lines extend from

1080-532: A few which are oriented just slightly west of straight north. (Left-handed pitchers are called "southpaws", and indeed the pitcher's left hand is toward the south in the usual park layout, and this has often been cited as the source of the appellation. But this is most likely a false etymology , or partly so, as "southpaw" for left-handers has been in use since at least the mid 19th century, and applied to boxers.) Today, in Major League Baseball ,

1200-436: A fully animated giant 1920s-era tin toy. After technical problems arose with Rusty, it was removed from the wall, though the enclosure that housed him remained for years. In 2008, the enclosure was removed to make way for luxury boxes. Behind the left field bleachers is "The Coca-Cola Fan Lot". The ballpark features an 80-foot (24 m) long Coca-Cola bottle with playground slides that light up with every Giants home run, and

1320-514: A game in May 2013 with a two-run walk-off (extra-inning, come-from-behind) inside-the-park home run, the first of its kind at the then-named AT&T Park. Beyond right field is China Basin, a section of San Francisco Bay , which is dubbed McCovey Cove after famed Giants first baseman and left-handed slugger Willie McCovey , and into which a number of home runs have been hit on the fly. As of September 15, 2024, 105 "splash hits" have been knocked into

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1440-415: A miniature version of the stadium. Bubbles originally accompanied the bottle, but never worked as intended and were removed. Directly to the bottle's right from home plate is another oversized representation of a ballpark stalwart, the "Giant 1927 Old-Time Four-Fingered Baseball Glove"—this particular one is made of steel and fiberglass, which is behind the 501 ft (152.7 m) sign. Behind and farther to

1560-503: A minimum distance of 325 feet (99 m) from home plate to the fences in left and right field, and 400 feet (120 m) to center. (Rule 1.04, Note(a)). This rule was passed to avoid situations like the Los Angeles Coliseum , which was 251 ft (77 m). down the left field line. However, with the opening of Baltimore's Camden Yards (1992), the "minimum distance" rule began to be ignored. One factor may be that

1680-429: A multi-tiered seating area, a grandstand , surrounds the infield. How far this seating extends down the baselines or around the foul poles varies from park to park. In minor league parks, the grandstands are notably smaller, proportional to expected sizes of crowds compared with the major leagues. The seating beyond the outfield fence generally differs from the grandstand, though some multi-purpose or jewel box parks have

1800-479: A rugby venue in New Zealand with an ETFE roof allowing grass to be grown indoors, or NFL stadiums like State Farm Stadium and Allegiant Stadium , which allow the grass field to be grown outside and then rolled indoors for games), the first generation of indoor parks predated such abilities. Since there was not enough light to grow grass, artificial turf is installed, and this affected the game. Artificial turf

1920-478: A similar boom. One of the first major league ballparks to be called a "stadium" was actually the Polo Grounds, which was temporarily renamed Brush Stadium from its reconstruction in 1911 until the death of owner John T. Brush in the 1920s. By then, the most famous baseball "stadium" of them all had been constructed: Yankee Stadium . From that point until the retro building boom of the 1990s, the suffix "Stadium"

2040-436: A splash hit, doing so on August 14, 2024. On June 27, 2010, David Ortiz became the first American League player to hit a splash hit. Since then, the only other AL players who have are Mitch Moreland , Adam Dunn , Rougned Odor , and Shin-Soo Choo . Behind the scoreboard in center field is a pier where ferries let fans off at the park. On game days, fans take to the water of McCovey Cove in boats often with fishing nets in

2160-567: A telephone company serving California based in San Francisco, purchased the naming rights for the planned ballpark for $ 50 million for 24 years. The stadium was named Pacific Bell Park, or Pac Bell Park for short. Just days before the sponsorship was announced, SBC Communications had announced their intention to acquire Pacific Bell's parent company, Pacific Telesis , a deal which closed in April 1997. SBC eventually stopped using

2280-494: A theatre or other performing space, the "seating capacity of the performance facility must be disclosed". Seating capacity may influence the kind of contract to be used and the royalties to be given. The seating capacity must also be disclosed to the copyright owner in seeking a license for the copyrighted work to be performed in that venue. Venues that may be leased for private functions such as ballrooms and auditoriums generally advertise their seating capacity. Seating capacity

2400-462: A triple. It is 415 feet (126.49 m). Triples Alley is also infamous for bad bounces, most notably when Ichiro Suzuki hit the first-ever inside-the-park home run in an All-Star Game in 2007 , by lining the ball off one of the archways and sideways past the outfielders. Nate Schierholtz performed the same feat in the 2009 season as a pinch hitter. Aubrey Huff did it again in the 2010 season, as did Conor Gillaspie in 2011. Ángel Pagán ended

2520-480: Is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part based on the placement of bases, and the outfield is where dimensions can vary widely from ballpark to ballpark. A larger ballpark may also be called a baseball stadium because it shares characteristics of other stadiums . A baseball field can be referred to as

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2640-538: Is also an important consideration in the construction and use of sports venues such as stadiums and arenas . When entities such as the National Football League 's Super Bowl Committee decide on a venue for a particular event, seating capacity, which reflects the possible number of tickets that can be sold for the event, is an important consideration. Seating capacity differs from total capacity (sometimes called public capacity ), which describes

2760-476: Is harder, and thus a ball hit on the ground moves faster and bounces higher. This, coupled with the usually dull white or gray roofs that could camouflage a fly ball, causing what Twins fans called a "dome-field advantage". A park of note is Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The park was designed with a large tower that loomed over top. Cables came down from the top of the tower to connect to the large oval center of

2880-417: Is little consistency in the choice between "Field" and "Park". For example, Houston's Minute Maid Park was originally named "Enron Field". Seating area design of stadiums is affected by many variables, including required capacity, audience access, and road traffic. Early ballparks like Elysian Fields were a far distance from the city center. Each game was an event, and fans traveled by public transit to watch

3000-423: Is little space between the field and the street beyond. Some in-play scoreboards and high fences reached 50 to 60 feet (18 m), whereas a few outfields were even lined with hedges rather than normal fences or walls. The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome , when set up for baseball, had a 23-foot (7.0 m) right field "fence" that was actually a relatively thin blue plastic sheet covering folded up football seats. It

3120-518: Is located behind the manual scoreboard, complete with a bowling alley and pool tables. Former players and VIPs are the only patrons of this exclusive area. Five other ballparks also use hand-operated out-of-town scoreboards: Coors Field, Fenway Park, Minute Maid Park , Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and Wrigley Field . Starting in 2004, the Giants installed 122 wireless internet access points, covering all concourses and seating areas, creating one of

3240-434: Is located in front of the ballpark entrance at 24 Willie Mays Plaza and is surrounded with 24 palm trees, in honor of his number 24 uniform, retired by the Giants. It was dedicated at noon on March 31, 2000, prior to the opening of the ballpark and was commissioned by Giants Managing Partner Peter Magowan . Another statue was dedicated to Willie McCovey in 2003, and is located at McCovey Point across McCovey Cove . Around

3360-431: Is made higher in certain areas to compensate for close proximity to the batter. In many parks, the field is surrounded by an area roughly 10 feet (3.0 m) wide made of dirt or rubberized track surface called a " warning track ". In the 1937 refurbishment of the original Yankee Stadium , a running track that ran the perimeter of the field was incorporated into the field of play as the first warning track. MLB formalized

3480-570: Is provided within San Francisco by Muni Metro or Muni Bus, from the Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley via Caltrain , and from parts of the Bay Area across the water via various ferries of San Francisco Bay . The Muni 2nd and King Station is directly outside the ballpark, the 4th and King Caltrain station is 1.5 blocks from the stadium, and the Oracle Park ferry terminal is outside

3600-437: Is the catcher's box, where the catcher and the home plate umpire stand. Next to the first and third base are two coaches' boxes, where the first and third base coaches guide the baserunners, generally with gestures or shouts. As the baserunner faces away from the outfield when running from second base to third, they cannot see where the ball is and must look to the third base coach on whether to run, stop, or slide. Farther from

3720-590: The 2013 World Baseball Classic on March 17–19. On July 23, 2013, due to a previous rain-out in Cincinnati, Oracle Park served as the "home" venue of the Cincinnati Reds for the second game of a doubleheader against the Giants. Giants manager Bruce Bochy won his 1,500th career game. On June 25, 2014, Tim Lincecum pitched the 3rd no-hitter at Oracle Park against the San Diego Padres in

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3840-629: The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis , which instead of a rigid masonry roof was covered by inflatable fiberglass sheeting, held up by air pressure. A drawback to this design, at least in Minnesota's severe winter climate, was revealed when the dome collapsed three times in its first three years of operation due to accumulated snow. The Tokyo Dome has a similar roof; due to Tokyo's considerably milder winter climate, that stadium has not had

3960-571: The Kingdome , whose formal name was "King County Domed Stadium", and the Metrodome, for which the Minneapolis highway signs directed the driver to "Metrodome Stadium". The retro era of the 1990s and early 2000s saw some venues return to using "park" in a stadium's name, even in domed structures such as T-Mobile Park and American Family Field (which opened with the name Miller Park). There

4080-618: The Oakland Coliseum being the last one in use. The Athletics moved out of Oakland Coliseum in 2024 and have temporairy moves into West Sacramento 's Sutter Health Park for three seasons as a new dedicated facility of their own is built in Las Vegas. Their former co-tenants, the NFL Oakland Raiders , moved to Las Vegas in 2020 & into Allegiant Stadium . Note: To reduce redundancy, this table does not list

4200-632: The San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). The stadium stands along San Francisco Bay ; the section of the bay beyond Oracle Park's right field wall is unofficially known as McCovey Cove , in honor of former Giants player Willie McCovey . Previously named Pacific Bell Park , SBC Park , and AT&T Park , the stadium's current name was purchased by the Oracle Corporation in 2019. Oracle Park has also hosted professional and college football games. The stadium

4320-458: The second Yankee Stadium , built 2009, used the same dimensions as the original Yankee Stadium . The heights of the fences can also vary greatly, the most famous example being the 37-foot (11 m)-high Green Monster in Fenway Park 's left field. Such tall fences are often used to stop easy home runs in a section of the ballpark where the distances from home are shorter, or where there

4440-577: The 22nd perfect game in MLB history—and first in Giants history—against the Houston Astros . Oracle Park hosted Games 1 and 2 of the 2012 World Series on October 24 and 25. The Giants beat the Detroit Tigers twice, 8–3 and 2–0 respectively. The Giants would go on to win the 2012 World Series in a four-game sweep at Comerica Park . The stadium hosted of the semifinal and final rounds of

4560-466: The Cove by Giants players since the park opened; 35 of those were hit by Barry Bonds, who remains the only player to record two splash hits in the same game. The most recent splash hit occurred on September 15, 2024, by Heliot Ramos . Ramos became the first right-handed batter to record a "splash hit", as all 104 previous hits were done by left-handed batters. These hits are tallied on an electronic counter on

4680-419: The Giants decided to make their garden smaller to fit the bullpens behind the center-field wall. With this renovation, the dimensions of the park have slightly shrunk. Left-center was trimmed down from 404 feet to 399 feet, right-center (known as Triples Alley) was trimmed down from 421 feet to 415 feet (to represent the San Francisco area code), and dead-center was trimmed down from 399 feet to 391 feet, making it

4800-471: The Giants former home in New York, The Polo Grounds ). Prior to these modifications, multiple players both home and away had experienced various levels of injury sustained by tripping over the bullpen mounds while chasing foul balls. Most notably, former Giants outfield prospect Mac Williamson sustained a concussion during such a play that significantly altered his season. On April 3, 1996, Pacific Bell ,

4920-433: The Giants the option of ending the naming deal a year early, if the team could quickly find a new partner. The Giants and Oracle Corporation came to a rapid agreement, with the old AT&T Park signs being replaced with temporary Oracle Park banners on January 10. The Giants renovated the center field section of Oracle Park between October 2019 and June 2020. The bullpens were moved from foul territory into center field, so

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5040-670: The Giants would win the game in extra innings for their only win in the series). The opening series took place April 11–13, 2000, against the Los Angeles Dodgers (the team the Giants faced in their final series at Candlestick Park), and the Giants were swept in three games. In the first game of that series, the Giants lost 6–5, highlighted by three home runs from the Dodgers' Kevin Elster . On May 1, 2000, Barry Bonds became

5160-644: The Giants' Jonathan Sánchez pitched the first no-hitter. On October 27 and 28, 2010, the Giants hosted the first two games of the World Series, beating the Texas Rangers in both games. They ultimately went on to win the series four games to one, their first championship since the team moved to San Francisco in 1958, though the clinching game was played at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington rather than at Oracle Park. On June 13, 2012 , Matt Cain threw

5280-404: The Metrodome's snow-related issues. Seating capacity Safety is a primary concern in determining the seating capacity of a venue: "Seating capacity, seating layouts and densities are largely dictated by legal requirements for the safe evacuation of the occupants in the event of fire". The International Building Code specifies, "In places of assembly, the seats shall be securely fastened to

5400-466: The Pacific Bell name for marketing, and reached an agreement with the Giants to change the stadium's name to SBC Park on January 1, 2004. After SBC bought AT&T Corporation on November 18, 2005, the name of the merged company became AT&T Inc. As a result, in 2006 the stadium was given its third name in six years: AT&T Park. On January 9, 2019, it was reported that AT&T had given

5520-468: The advertisement's top dimensions. One notable example of this occurred during Game 3 of the 2016 NLDS against the Chicago Cubs . Kris Bryant hit a ball well into left field, with Giants left fielder Gregor Blanco attempting a catch. The ball landed on the roof of one of the cars, past the wall, and out of his reach, rendering it a home run and tying the game in the top of the ninth inning (though

5640-529: The arrival of the Giants in 1958. On September 6, 2008, during a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates , a fifth statue depicting Giants great Orlando Cepeda was dedicated at the corner of 2nd Street and King Street, next to the ballpark. A sixth statue, dedicated on August 13, 2016, honors former Giants pitcher Gaylord Perry in the same location. All five player statues were created by sculptor William Behrends of North Carolina. One feature of

5760-400: The automated scoreboards, which now include a new HD videoboard by Mitsubishi , the park has a manually-operated scoreboard on the right field wall, which displays all the scores of Major League Baseball games being played elsewhere. The manual scoreboards are operated by three employees, whose work on game days starts at least two hours before the first pitch. A members-only bar, Gotham Club,

5880-609: The ballpark began on December 11, 1997, in the industrial waterfront area of San Francisco known as China Basin in the up-and-coming neighborhoods of South Beach and Mission Bay . The stadium cost $ 357 million to build and supplanted the Giants' former home, Candlestick Park , a multi-use stadium in southeastern San Francisco that was also home to the NFL 's San Francisco 49ers until 2014, when they relocated to Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara . A team of engineers from UC Davis

6000-456: The ballpark is the long-running Chevron advertisement located in left field, featuring an outline of the company's claymation Chevron Cars . The top 'roofs' of the cars (along with a dog and a surfboard hanging out a car window) are extended out, rendering it several inches higher than the wall base, creating a ground rules issue. Several instances where potential over-the-wall catches to take away home runs were thwarted have occurred because of

6120-429: The bases: an urban location, with plenty of parking and public transportation available. The first professional baseball venues were large wooden ballparks with seats mounted on wood platforms. Although known for being constructed out of wood, they featured iron columns for better support. Some included one tier of inclined seating, topped with either a flat roof or, in some instances, a small upper tier. The outfield

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6240-422: The bottom in this category in large part because of Oracle Park's extreme advantage to pitchers. This hurt the run production of Giants players and also discouraged power hitters from wanting to play for the Giants. From 2017 to 2019, one of the common criticisms of the Giants was their lack of offensive output and unwillingness to adjust to a home run-heavy offense. However, the Giants significantly improved in 2020,

6360-403: The cable car had a label that stated "No Dodgers Fans Allowed" , as well as one end of the car numbered 24 in honor of Willie Mays and the other end numbered 44 in honor of Willie McCovey. The foghorn —a feature introduced at Candlestick Park by the current Giants ownership group – was transferred to Oracle and hung underneath the scoreboard. It blows when a Giants player hits a home run or at

6480-537: The clinching game played at Kauffman Stadium rather than at Oracle Park. As of 2019, the Giants have not hosted a World Series clincher at Oracle Park, but they did host two at Candlestick Park : the first being in 1962 , which was won by the New York Yankees , and the second in 1989 , which the Oakland Athletics won in a four-game sweep. Ballpark A ballpark , or baseball park ,

6600-553: The completion of Dodger Stadium in 1962. However, the Giants did receive a $ 10 million tax abatement from the city and $ 80 million for upgrades to the local infrastructure (including a connection to the Muni Metro ). The Giants have a 66-year lease on the 12.5-acre (51,000 m) ballpark site, paying $ 1.2 million in rent annually to the San Francisco Port Commission. The park opened with

6720-543: The conclusion of a Giants win. Located behind the centerfield bleachers, the ballpark features the @Café, a social media café, which opened in the 2013 season. The cafe serves Peet's Coffee and features large screens that show off fans' social media posts from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, which are curated by the Giants organization. The cafe replaced a team-themed Build-A-Bear Workshop store, where fans could build their own stuffed Giants' mascot , Lou Seal , or create other Giants-themed stuffed animals. In addition to

6840-826: The constraints of actual city blocks, often resulting in significantly asymmetrical outfield dimensions and large outfield walls to prevent easy home runs. Notable examples included League Park in Cleveland, which had a 40-foot (12 m)-tall wall in right field, and the Green Monster , the 37-foot (11 m)-tall left field wall at Fenway Park in Boston. Notable exceptions include Shibe Park and Comiskey Park , which were built on rectangular city blocks that were large enough to accommodate symmetrical left and right fields. Other sports, such as soccer and football , were often played at these sites (Yankee Stadium, for example,

6960-509: The earliest baseball stadiums that incorporated this type of design was Cleveland Stadium (built 1932), which featured an oval grandstand that was more friendly to goal-centered sports like football. A park built to suit all sports well, which was co-owned by the teams or the city, seemed advantageous to all, especially because it was less expensive to maintain one stadium rather than two. Some parks that were originally built for one sport were renovated to accommodate multiple sports. The shape of

7080-518: The early ballparks. With the beginnings of professional baseball, the ballfield became part of a complex including fixed spectator seating areas, and an enclosure to restrict access to paying customers, as with a fairgrounds. The name "Grounds" began to be attached to ballparks, starting with the Union Grounds in 1862. The suffixes "Field" and "Park" were still used, but many professional ballparks were "Grounds". The last major league "Grounds"

7200-554: The eastern edge of the ballpark beyond the center field bleachers. Originally designed to be a 42,000-seat stadium, there were slight modifications before the final design was complete. When the ballpark was brought to the ballot box in the fall of 1996 for voter approval, the stadium was 15° clockwise from its current position. The center-field scoreboard was atop the right-field wall, with the Giants Pavilion Building being in two separate buildings. Groundbreaking on

7320-410: The elements. Besides the drawbacks of the cantilever design, there were other issues with these parks. With few exceptions, seating was angled to face the center of the field of play, rather than home plate. The furthest seats in these parks were 500 feet (150 m) or more from the plate. The capacities of these stadiums were larger than previous baseball stadiums. Typical game attendance did not fill

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7440-497: The fans had difficulty seeing over the football benches. This was evident in the movable seating sections in RFK Stadium. The first ten rows of the football configuration were practically at field level, and fans in those sections often stood up on their seats to get a better view. Other stadiums overcame this simply by covering those seats, not bothering to sell them. Despite being cost-effective, these problems eventually caused

7560-480: The fewest home runs per game 6 out of the past 7 years, the one exception coming in 2013, when it was the 3rd lowest. The most prominent feature of the ballpark is the right-field wall, which is 24 feet (7.3 m) high in honor of former Giants Willie Mays , who wore number 24. Because of the proximity to the San Francisco Bay , the right-field foul pole is only 309 feet (94.2 m) from home plate,

7680-453: The field. Like its English relative, cricket , there is significant flexibility in the shape and size of the rest of the playing area. Baseball leagues may specify a minimum distance from home plate to the outfield fences. Generally, the higher the skill level, the deeper the minimum dimensions must be, to prevent an excess of home runs. In the major leagues, a rule was passed in 1958 that compelled any new fields built after that point to have

7800-601: The first indoor sports stadium ever built, was built to escape the hot and very humid climate of Houston and the Kingdome was built to escape Seattle's constant fall and winter rains. In Japan, domed stadiums were built to escape frequently rainy climates, as well as extreme snowfall in Sapporo. There is little to no natural light in these parks, necessitating the use of one of the most distinguishing aspects of an indoor park: artificial turf. While technology now allows for grass to be used in indoor venues (see Forsyth Barr Stadium ,

7920-405: The first player to hit a "splash hit" home run into McCovey Cove . In just its first few years of existence, the ballpark saw its share of historic events primarily due to veteran Giants outfielder Barry Bonds . On April 17, 2001, Bonds hit his 500th career home run at then-Pacific Bell Park. Later that year, he set the single season home run record when he hit home runs number 71, 72, and 73 over

8040-426: The first year the dimensions were moved in. Things would trend upward with a massive bounce-back season in 2021; several Giants such as Brandon Belt and Mike Yastrzemski fueled the offense with more home runs, especially to a shortened triple's alley (which was infamous for turning what would be a long HR in several ballparks into deep 420-foot+ flyouts, killing several promising San Francisco scoring opportunities in

8160-404: The floor" but provides exceptions if the total number of seats is fewer than 100, if there is a substantial amount of space available between seats or if the seats are at tables. It also delineates the number of available exits for interior balconies and galleries based on the seating capacity, and sets forth the number of required wheelchair spaces in a table derived from the seating capacity of

8280-598: The form of 12 advanced moving light features. Speaker upgrades were also done with the addition of subwoofers, allowing a more immersive audio experience. The stadium contains 68 luxury suites, 5,200 club seats on the club level, and an additional 1,500 club seats at the field level behind home plate. On the facing of the upper deck along the left-field line are the retired numbers of Bill Terry , Mel Ott , Carl Hubbell , Monte Irvin , Will Clark , Willie Mays , Barry Bonds , Juan Marichal , Orlando Cepeda , Jackie Robinson , Willie McCovey , and Gaylord Perry , as well as

8400-399: The foul poles and did not completely enclose the field. Plans were made to enclose the grandstand and build a dome, but engineers discovered that the structure could not handle the load of the proposed dome. Thus, the area behind the outfield fence remained open. One major innovation of the multi-purpose parks was the cantilevered upper deck. In earlier ballparks, the columns used to support

8520-547: The four pillars at the end of the National Anthem, as well as when the Giants hit a home run or win a game. The right field area was designed to resemble the Polo Grounds . This deep corner of the ballpark has been dubbed "Death Valley" and " Triples Alley". Like its Polo Grounds counterpart, it is very difficult to hit a home run to this area, and a batted ball that finds its way into this corner often results in

8640-426: The game. With the growth of professional leagues, and consequent growth in the quantity of games, each game became less of an event, and fan convenience became more important. Many professional ballparks were built either near the city center, or in working-class neighborhoods, based on the expected economic level of the average fan. Consequently, the classic ballparks typically had little space for automobiles, as it

8760-415: The grandstand surround the entire field. This area could contain inexpensive bleacher seats, smaller grandstands, or simply inclined seating. In local ballparks, there are often simply a set or two of aluminum bleachers on the first-base and third-base sides. Distinctive from "goal games" such as football and basketball , which have fixed-size playing areas, the infield is the only rigidly laid-out part of

8880-429: The home plate area, aligned with the first and third bases. These are the foul lines or base lines , usually differentiated by referring to them as the first base line, or the third base line. If a ball hit by the batter lands outside of the space between these two lines or rolls out of this space before reaching first or third base, the ball is "foul" (meaning it is dead and the play is over). If it lands between or on

9000-772: The hope of collecting a home run ball. Just beyond the wall, behind the King Street ballpark, is a public waterfront promenade. Across the cove from the ballpark are McCovey Point and China Basin Park, featuring monuments to past Giants legends. When the park opened in 2000, taking residence on the right field wall was Rusty the Mechanical Man, a two-dimensional, robotic baseball player that stood 14 feet (4.3 m) tall and weighed 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 tons. The Santa Clarita -based firm Technifex engineered, fabricated and programmed Rusty to appear after major plays during games as

9120-440: The indoor stadiums of the multi-purpose era in this section. *A baseball-only ballpark converted to a multi-purpose stadium. **A football-only stadium converted to a multi-purpose stadium. ‡ denotes stadium is also a retractable-roof ballpark An important type of ballpark is the indoor park . These parks are covered with a fixed roof, usually a hard concrete dome. The reasons to build indoor parks are varied. The Astrodome ,

9240-401: The infield on either side are the dugouts, where the teams and coaches sit when they're not on the field. They are named such because, at the professional levels, this seating is below the level of the playing field to not block the view from prime spectator seating locations. In amateur parks, the dugouts may be above-ground wooden or CMU structures with seating inside, or simply benches behind

9360-580: The largest public hotspots in the world at the time. On September 23, 2008, the Giants Wall of Fame was unveiled on the King Street side of the ballpark, as part of the 50th-anniversary celebration of the Giants' move to San Francisco. 48 retired players were inducted, based on longevity and achievement. Eligibility requirements for players to be on the Wall are either a minimum of three seasons with three MLB All-Star selections in every season, five years as

9480-414: The last one, Oriole Park V, burning down in 1944. The earliest ballparks built or rebuilt of reinforced concrete , brick, and steel are now known as the jewel box ballparks or classic parks . Two-tiered grandstands became much more prevalent in this era, as well. The Baker Bowl in Philadelphia, which opened in 1895, was the first to use steel and brick as the primary construction materials and included

9600-439: The left is "The Little Giants Park", a miniature baseball diamond. To the right of the glove sculpture is a large plaza area for functions and parties to be held during games. It is also the site of "Orlando's", the concessions stand of Giants great Orlando Cepeda . Right-center field features a retired San Francisco cable car numbered 44 (retired cable car #4, formerly #504) in honor of Giants great Willie McCovey . Originally,

9720-436: The lines, it is "fair". At the end of the lines are two foul poles, which help the umpires judge whether a ball is fair or foul. These "foul poles" are actually in fair territory, so a ball that hits them on the fly is a home run (if hit on the bounce, it is instead an automatic double). On either side of home plate are the two batter's boxes (left-handed and right-handed.) This is where the batter stands when at bat. Behind home

9840-452: The lower level. However, because of the supports used, the upper decks could come very close to the field. The two-tiered design was the standard for decades, until the New York Yankees built Yankee Stadium . To accommodate the large crowds Babe Ruth drew, Yankee Stadium was built with three tiers. This became the new standard until some recently built parks reverted to two, including PNC Park in 2001. Most jewel box parks were built to fit

9960-664: The most famous examples is the original Yankee Stadium, whose odd-shaped plot of land caused right field to be over 100 feet (30 m) shorter than left, although this difference lessened over time. The rectangular Polo Grounds had extremely short distance down the lines, 258 ft (79 m). to right and 280 ft (85 m). to left. In contrast, the deepest part of center field was nearly 500 ft (150 m). from home plate. Older ballparks, such as Fenway Park , were grandfathered in and allowed to keep their original dimensions. Also, new parks have sometimes received special dispensation to deviate from these rules. For instance,

10080-487: The old Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., part of center field had to be built around a cluster of apartment houses and the result was a rather large angular indentation in the left-center field fence. Now, these variations are mostly influenced by the specifications and whims of the designers. New "retro" parks, which try to recapture the feel of the jewel box parks, are often designed to have these quirks. Baseball

10200-611: The park to pass Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time list. On August 7, 2007, Bonds hit his 756th home run, breaking Hank Aaron 's record. The park hosted games three through five of the 2002 World Series against the Anaheim Angels , which the Giants lost four games to three. It also hosted the 2007 MLB All-Star Game , which the American League won 5–4 over the National League . On July 10, 2009,

10320-552: The parks generally depended on the original use. Ballparks that were renovated to accommodate football, like Candlestick Park and Anaheim Stadium , were usually asymmetrically shaped. Football stadiums that were renovated to accommodate baseball, like Sun Life Stadium and Mile High Stadium , were usually of a rectangular shape, though Mile High actually started its life in 1948 as a Minor League Baseball park known as Bears Stadium. Parks that were built to serve both were usually circular and completely enclosed on all sides. These were

10440-495: The parks that gained multi-purpose parks the reputation as bland cookie-cutter structures. The first of these parks was DC Stadium (renamed RFK Stadium in 1969) in the District of Columbia . RFK is unique in that it hosted two different baseball teams , and that it was the first to originally be intended for multiple sports. A notable variant among the cookie-cutter stadia was Shea Stadium . Its grandstand extended just beyond

10560-451: The parks to become unfashionable. The multi-purpose architecture reached a climax when Toronto's SkyDome (now Rogers Centre ) opened in 1989. It had state-of-the-art amenities including a retractable roof, hotel, and a restaurant behind the outfield from where patrons could view the games. Rogers Centre was renovated into a baseball only stadium from 2022 to 2024. There are no more purely open-air multi-purpose parks still in use today, with

10680-418: The past). Oracle Park still ranks towards the bottom of the home run category, but this designation is not as consistent anymore. During the 2023–24 offseason, the Giants installed new programmable LED lighting technology providing full color spectrum capabilities and motion lighting effects for Giants home runs, wins and other special occasions. Oracle Park became the first MLB ballpark to have spotlights, in

10800-435: The playing field running toward the north or east or some direction between. Major League Baseball Rule 1.04 states that it is "desirable" (but not required) that the central axis run east-northeast (about 22 degrees north of east). This is to prevent the setting sun from being in the batter's eyes. In practice, major league parks vary up to about 90 degrees from east-northeast in either direction, but none face west, except for

10920-471: The primary sports program and the size of the market area". In motion picture venues, the "limit of seating capacity is determined by the maximal viewing distance for a given size of screen", with image quality for closer viewers declining as the screen is expanded to accommodate more distant viewers. Seating capacity of venues also plays a role in what media they are able to provide and how they are able to provide it. In contracting to permit performers to use

11040-412: The quaint, "retro" look of Camden Yards, with its irregular measurements, proved to be very popular, along with a traditionalist backlash against the symmetrical, multi-purpose, "cookie-cutter" stadiums. Since the opening of Camden Yards, many other "retro" stadiums have been built, each with asymmetrical fences. These distances vary from park to park, and can even change drastically in the same park. One of

11160-606: The retired uniforms, denoted "NY", of Christy Mathewson and John McGraw who played or managed in the pre-number era. These two pre-number–era retired uniforms are among only six such retired uniforms in all of the Major Leagues. Oracle Park has a reputation of being a pitcher's park and the most pitcher-friendly ballpark in the National League, because the depth of the outfield limits home runs, according to ESPN. ESPN's MLB Park Factors lists Oracle Park as having

11280-412: The right field wall. Opponents have hit the water on the fly 54 times; Todd Hundley of the Los Angeles Dodgers was the first visitor to do so on June 30, 2000. Curtis Granderson , Luis Gonzalez , Cliff Floyd , and Max Muncy are the only visiting players to do so twice. Carlos Delgado and Adam LaRoche have performed the feat thrice. Michael Harris II is the most recent visiting player to record

11400-401: The roof. This oval center was supposed to be lifted by the cables, opening the park up if the weather was pleasant. However, the mechanism never worked correctly, and what was supposed to be a retractable roof was initially not used, then used for only a short period of time, and later replaced with a permanently fixed roof, making the stadium a strictly indoor facility. Another notable park was

11520-517: The second shortest dead-center field distance in MLB, behind only Fenway Park in Boston . With this renovation, approximately 650 bleacher seats had to be removed, so the two terraces could be built for fans to watch the relief pitchers warm-up from up close. The center field wall shortened from eight feet to seven feet, but after the Giants first exhibition of the 2020 season , the dead-center field part of

11640-501: The shortest in the NL [only AL Fenway Park 's is shorter, at 302 feet (92.0 m)]. The wall is made of brick, with fenced-off archways opening to the Cove beyond, above which are several rows of arcade seating. The fence angles quickly away from home plate; right-center field extended out to 421 feet (128.3 m) from home plate (changed with the 2020 renovations to 415 feet). Atop the fence are four fountain pillars. Jets of water burst from

11760-418: The space. The International Fire Code, portions of which have been adopted by many jurisdictions, is directed more towards the use of a facility than the construction. It specifies, "For areas having fixed seating without dividing arms, the occupant load shall not be less than the number of seats based on one person for each 18 inches (457 mm) of seating length". It also requires that every public venue submit

11880-401: The stadiums. Due to the rectangular shape needed for football or soccer, outfield dimensions were generally symmetrical, and even seats at field level down the lines could be far from the action. Multi-purpose stadiums also posed issues for their non-baseball tenants. The "cookie-cutters" with swiveling, field-level sections proved problematic. Because the front rows were too close to the field,

12000-411: The stands. In Citi Field and Oracle Park , part of the right field fence juts unevenly into the outfield as if the builders were trying to create an unpredictable ricochet effect for balls hit against it. Some "retro" parks, such as Globe Life Park in Arlington , throw in a sudden and small inward turn (often referred to as a jog) just to give a little quirkiness to the design. Milwaukee's Miller Park

12120-642: The statue are a number of plaques that celebrate the winners of the Willie Mac Award . The statue is located at China Basin Park next to the Barry Bonds Junior Giants Field, a T-ball park. Also located on the sea wall promenade are plaques showing the Opening Day roster of every Giants team from 1958 through 1999. Giants fans who contributed funds to China Basin Park had their own tiles with their own inscriptions set into

12240-417: The suburbs and bought cars, the lack of parking became an important issue. Some ballparks remedied this problem through the construction of parking garages in the vicinity, or building new ballparks with ample parking. Others built ballparks in the suburbs, typically with large parking areas. The ballpark/stadium thus became an "island" in an "ocean" of parking space. The modern "retro" trend seeks to cover all

12360-438: The total number of people who can fit in a venue or in a vehicle either sitting or standing. Where seating capacity is a legal requirement, however, as it is in movie theatres and on aircraft , the law reflects the fact that the number of people allowed in should not exceed the number who can be seated. Use of the term "public capacity" indicates that a venue is allowed to hold more people than it can actually seat. Again,

12480-427: The upper decks obstructed the view from some seats in the lower deck. In the new design, the upper decks were extended upwards and the columns were removed. However, even though the extension counterbalanced some of the weight, the upper decks could no longer extend as close to the field and had to be moved back. Also, the roofs could no longer be as large, and often only covered the top 15 or so rows. This exposed fans to

12600-432: The wall (covering the garden) was raised from seven feet to ten feet to improve visibility to the hitter. Despite having the unique moniker of the least home-run friendly field over several seasons prior to the renovations, it is believed that these renovations were made to increase home run output from the Giants. The MLB has seen a surge in home run production in recent years, and the Giants consistently ranked well towards

12720-560: The wall. A third statue , dedicated in 2005, honors former Giants pitcher Juan Marichal , and is located outside the ballpark at the Lefty O'Doul Gate entrance. The fourth and only non-human statue is located at the park's ferry plaza behind center field, also known as Seals Plaza. A statue of a seal bobbing a baseball on its nose honors the memory of the San Francisco Seals , the minor league baseball club that played before

12840-434: The warning track as a requirement in 1949. Beyond the outfield fence in professional parks is an area called the batter's eye . To ensure the batter can see the white ball, the batter's eye contains no seating and is darker in color. The batter's eye area can be anything from a dark wall to a grassy slope. Most major league ballparks are oriented with the central axis (home plate through second base through center field) of

12960-486: The weekend of October 5 to close the season. On August 9, 2002, Bonds hit his 600th career home run at the park. On April 12, 2004, Bonds hit career home run 660 at SBC Park to tie Willie Mays for third on the all-time list and on the next night, he hit number 661 to move into sole possession of third place. On September 17, 2004, Bonds hit his 700th career home run at the park to become just the third member of baseball's 700 club. On May 28, 2006, Bonds hit his 715th home run at

13080-861: The wooden stands aged and dried. Many parks caught fire, and some were leveled completely. This problem, along with the popularization of baseball and expectations for long-term use of the parks were major factors that drove the transition to the new standard materials for ballparks: steel and concrete. Some famous wooden parks, such as the Polo Grounds III in New York and National League Park in Philadelphia, burned and were rebuilt with fire-resistant materials (Polo Grounds IV and Baker Bowl). Others were simply abandoned in favor of new structures built elsewhere. These new fire-resistant parks often lasted for many decades, and (retrospectively) came to be known as "jewel boxes". There are no more professional ballparks in existence left with this architectural trend, with

13200-399: Was bordered by tall walls or fences covered in advertisements, much like today's minor league parks. These advertisements were sometimes fronted with bleacher seats, or "bleaching boards". Wood, while prone to decomposition, was a relatively inexpensive material. However, the use of wood as the primary material presented a major problem, especially as baseball continued to thrive. Over time,

13320-403: Was consulted in the design process of the park, resulting in wind levels that are approximately half those at Candlestick. But due to Oracle Park's location at San Francisco Bay , cold fog and temperatures in summer months are still not unusual at Giants games, despite reduced wind levels. When it opened on March 31, 2000, the ballpark was the first MLB ballpark built without public funds since

13440-782: Was designed to accommodate football). In contrast to the later multi-purpose parks, the seats were generally angled in a configuration suitable for baseball. The "retro" ballparks built in the 1990s and beyond are an attempt to capture the feel of the jewel box parks. The only jewel box parks still used by Major League Baseball are Fenway Park and Wrigley Field . From the 1960s until the arrival of retro parks in 1992, baseball built many multi-purpose ballparks . Also derisively known as "concrete donuts", "cookie-cutters", or "giant ashtrays", they were usually tall and circular or square structures made entirely of, usually bare, reinforced concrete. The parks were built to hold baseball, but also were able to host other sports, such as football and soccer. One of

13560-454: Was designed, with the help of former player Robin Yount , to promote extra base hits . Originally (mostly in the old jewel box parks) these variations resulted from the shape of the property where the park was constructed. If there was a street beyond left field, the distance to the left field fence would be shorter, and if the distance was too short, the fence would be higher. For example, in

13680-441: Was expected that most fans would take mass transit to the games, a situation that still prevails at Boston's Fenway Park and Chicago's Wrigley Field , for example. Some early ballparks, such as Brooklyn's Eastern Park , were abandoned because the trolley lines did not go out far enough and the team was not performing well enough for people to tolerate the inconvenience. As fans became more affluent, and especially as they moved to

13800-408: Was often called a "baggie" or "Hefty bag". Some ballparks have irregularly shaped fences. Ballparks may have round swooping fences or rigidly angled fences, or possibly a significant change in direction or irregular angle. For example, the center field stands and the left field stands at Fenway Park meet at an uneven angle, creating an indentation (called "the triangle") that angles sharply back into

13920-455: Was originally played in open fields or public parks. The genesis of modern baseball is conventionally connected with Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey , a large public park where the businessmen of New York City gathered from time to time to play organized baseball games and cricket matches, starting around the mid-1840s. The name "Field" or "Park" was typically attached to the names of

14040-498: Was the Polo Grounds in New York City, which was razed in 1964. The term " stadium " has been used since ancient times, typically for a running track and its seating area. As college football gained in popularity, the smaller college playing fields and running tracks (which also frequently had the suffix "Field") gave way to large stadiums, many of them built during the sport's "boom" of the 1920s. Major league baseball enjoyed

14160-804: Was the home of the annual college postseason bowl game now known as the Redbox Bowl from its inaugural playing in 2002 until 2013, and also served as the temporary home for the California Golden Bears football team in 2011. Professionally, it was the home of the San Francisco Demons of the XFL and the California Redwoods of the United Football League . Public transit access to the stadium

14280-419: Was two-fold: to address player safety issues that had arisen over the years by having the bullpen mounds in the field of play, and to slightly alter the dimensions of the park to perhaps increase, if ever-so-slightly, the potential for home runs in certain areas of the outfield, most notably in right-center field, affectionately known as Triples Alley (a design feature meant as an homage to the centerfield depth of

14400-491: Was used for almost every new major league venue, and was sometimes applied to the old ones, such as Shibe Park , which was renamed Connie Mack Stadium in 1954. The suffix "Dome" was also used for the indoor stadiums constructed from the 1960s onward. The official names of those arenas also often included the word "Stadium", such as the Houston Astrodome , whose formal name was "Harris County Domed Stadium" in 1965;

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