Metropolitan Stadium

Metropolitan Stadium
The Met; "Met Stadium"; "Old Met"
	Aerial view from northeast in 1962
	Bloomington Location in the United States Bloomington Location in Minnesota
Address	8000 Cedar Avenue South
Location	Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.
Coordinates	44°51′16″N 93°14′31″W / 44.85444°N 93.24194°W
Owner	City of Minneapolis (1956–1977); Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission (1977–1981)
Capacity	Baseball: 18,200 (1956); 21,000 (1957–1959); 30,022 (1960–1961); 39,525 (1962); 40,073 (1963–1964); 45,182 (1965–1969); 45,914 (1970–1972); 45,921 (1973–1974); 45,919 (1975–1981); Football: 41,200 (1961–1964); 47,900 (1965–1970); 49,784 (1971–1973); 47,900 (1974–1976); 48,446 (1977–1981)
Field size	Left field: 343 ft (105 m); Left-center: 365 ft (111 m); Center field: 402 ft (123 m); Right-center: 370 ft (113 m); Right field: 330 ft (101 m); Backstop: 60 ft (18 m); Wall: 8 feet (2.4 m)
Surface	Natural grass
Construction
Broke ground	June 20, 1955
Opened	April 24, 1956
Closed	December 20, 1981
Demolished	January 28, 1985
Construction cost	$8.5 million; ($95.3 million in 2023 dollars)
Architect	Osborn Architects & Engineers; Thorshov and Cerny
Structural engineer	Tepper Engineering
General contractor	Johnson, Drake & Piper/Kimmes/Axel Ohman
Tenants
	Minneapolis Millers (AA) 1956–1960; Minnesota Twins (MLB) 1961–1981; Minnesota Vikings (NFL) 1961–1981; Minnesota Kicks (NASL) 1976–1981; Chicago Cardinals (NFL) 1959 (2 games)

Metropolitan Stadium (often referred to as "the Met", "Met Stadium", or now "the Old Met" to distinguish from the Metrodome) was an outdoor sports stadium in the north central United States, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis.

The Minneapolis Millers minor league baseball team was the original tenant from 1956 to 1960, but Metropolitan Stadium was best known as the home of the American League's Minnesota Twins and the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL); both played at the "Met" for 21 seasons, from 1961 through 1981. The Minnesota Kicks of the North American Soccer League (NASL) also played there from 1976 to 1981.

Southwest of the airport, the stadium site is now the Mall of America, which opened in 1992.

^ ^a ^b ^c "Former Minnesota ballparks". ballparktour.com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
^ "Metropolitan Stadium". Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
^ "Metropolitan Stadium". Project Ballpark. Retrieved May 9, 2014.

[BPT-1] "Former Minnesota ballparks". ballparktour.com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2012-05-09.

[2] "Metropolitan Stadium". Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2014.

[inflation-US-3] 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.

[4] "Metropolitan Stadium". Project Ballpark. Retrieved May 9, 2014.

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Construction
The Met "Met Stadium" "Old Met"
Aerial view from northeast in 1962

Bloomington Location in the United States Show map of the United States Bloomington Location in Minnesota Show map of Minnesota
Address	8000 Cedar Avenue South
Location	Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.
Coordinates	44°51′16″N 93°14′31″W / 44.85444°N 93.24194°W / 44.85444; -93.24194
Owner	City of Minneapolis (1956–1977) Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission (1977–1981)
Capacity	Baseball: 18,200 (1956) 21,000 (1957–1959) 30,022 (1960–1961) 39,525 (1962) 40,073 (1963–1964) 45,182 (1965–1969) 45,914 (1970–1972) 45,921 (1973–1974) 45,919 (1975–1981) Football: 41,200 (1961–1964) 47,900 (1965–1970) 49,784 (1971–1973) 47,900 (1974–1976) 48,446 (1977–1981)
Field size	Left field: 343 ft (105 m) Left-center: 365 ft (111 m) Center field: 402 ft (123 m) Right-center: 370 ft (113 m) Right field: 330 ft (101 m) Backstop: 60 ft (18 m) Wall: 8 feet (2.4 m)
Surface	Natural grass
Broke ground	June 20, 1955^[1]
Opened	April 24, 1956; 68 years ago (1956-04-24)
Closed	December 20, 1981
Demolished	January 28, 1985
Construction cost	$8.5 million^[2] ($95.3 million in 2023 dollars^[3])
Architect	Osborn Architects & Engineers^[1] Thorshov and Cerny^[4]
Structural engineer	Tepper Engineering
General contractor	Johnson, Drake & Piper/Kimmes/Axel Ohman^[1]
Tenants
Minneapolis Millers (AA) 1956–1960 Minnesota Twins (MLB) 1961–1981 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) 1961–1981 Minnesota Kicks (NASL) 1976–1981 Chicago Cardinals (NFL) 1959 (2 games)