We’re tired of getting snowed out in Colorado

Recently, Gus made a comment that MLB should advocate for new ballparks to have a retractable roof. It adds significantly to the cost of building the stadium but it’s difficult to recall any of the teams that have a retractable roof wishing that they didn’t have one. Is it a case of teams opting for a traditional open stadium being penny-wise and pound-foolish? Perhaps. And no doubt it’s easy to spend the money of taxpayers from other cities.

It’s sort of hard to wrap your head around the idea that an expansion team from the early 90s has the 13th-oldest park in MLB yet that’s what the Rockies have in Coors Field. And it’s a beautiful park, one that doesn’t have a dome or retractable roof. But the Mets have had a game snowed out there in each of the past two seasons, which is kind of remarkable for a team that plays there just one series per year.

You constantly hear people blame that on the schedule, saying teams in the north shouldn’t play home games early in the season. There are only two things wrong with that statement. First, having a snow out on May 20 doesn’t exactly scream early in the season. And second, it’s not fair to the other teams in the league to have their home dates front loaded in the season, when the weather isn’t as nice and kids are still in school. Everyone prefers home games in July to home games in April.

But perhaps the schedule makers can look at the teams who miss the most games early in the season and not have those teams play home games against teams outside of their division in April. If the current schedule has the Mets done with games against the Cardinals and Diamondbacks by mid-May, maybe they can make it so the Rockies and Twins don’t play home games against the Mets in April. But it’s a massive undertaking to create a 162-game season for 30 teams. It’s not like there’s some magic configuration that will make everyone happy.

So, let’s go back to Gus’ retractable-roof stadium idea.

Currently, there are only seven parks with a retractable roof – Brewers, Diamondbacks, Rangers, Marlins, Astros, Blue Jays and the Mariners. And, of course, the domed stadium in Tampa Bay. The oldest of the retractable-roof stadiums in MLB is the Rogers Centre in Toronto, built in 1989 or six years prior to the construction of Coors Field.

Of course, domed stadiums have been around since the 1960s. But it’s not the greatest baseball experience in the best of circumstances. And the prevailing wisdom was that fans in Denver wanted to be outdoors so a dome was never a serious consideration, despite the elements. And it’s hard to kill the Rockies for not being an early adopter of the retractable roof.

But that won’t be the case if/when they build a new park.

Shea Stadium opened in 1964 and lasted thru 2008, a span of 45 years. It’s certainly not the longest an MLB park has been in operation but it’s not like it had the shortest life span, either. The Braves played in Turner Field from 1997 to 2016, a span of just 20 years. The Ballpark in Arlington opened in 1994 and the Rangers last played there in 2019, a span of 25 years.

So, with Coors Field nearing its 30th year in operation, it’s not too soon to start contemplating its replacement. And from an outsider’s point of view, they absolutely need to have a retractable roof. But I would have said the same thing about the Twins and their park, built in 2010, is an open-air stadium. However, after they played all of those seasons in the Metrodome, hardly a good baseball experience, it’s tough to crucify them for opting for an open-air park.

But the Rockies don’t have that excuse. And who knows, maybe a retractable roof that’s closed half of the time might have some impact on the offensive levels of the games played. We all remember what a good pitcher’s park the Astrodome was. The Rockies are cursed with the conditions they currently play in. It burns out their pitchers and gives a false sense of security with their hitters, who suffer the “Coors Field hangover” whenever they go on the road and play in neutral parks.

It’s possible that a retractable-roof park could be a win-win-win situation. It would be good for their fans, good for opposing teams and perhaps good for the Rockies, themselves. Wouldn’t that be worth an extra $500 million in the construction of the new stadium? What’s half a billion dollars among friends, anyway?