Is closing half of the roof possible?

[Hammer]

Hi all,

Does anyone know if half of the Miller Park roof can be closed at a time? My wife and I went to the game today and sat on the 3rd base side. Wow, talk about baking! I know that the shaddows have been a big topic of conversation when they move across the area between the plate and the mound but if half of the roof was closed that problem, as well as the frying fans, would be solved.

Thanks,

Hammer

[1992casey]

Physically, it's possible. I've seen it. The roof would be moved 'manually'.

 

The Brewers may need some kind of clearance from the commissioner's office to do so, though.

[dadofandrew]

Heh, many complain when the roof is closed when it's 45 if the sun is shining. I can only imagine the outcry if they closed part of it at 70-80 degrees.

[Hammer]

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I can only imagine the outcry if they closed part of it at 70-80 degrees.

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If you would have been at the game on the 3rd base side you would have seen one elderly man looking like he was having a stroke, numerous children screaming and a LARGE amount of people standing under the overhangs due to the sun. It was hot, there was no wind at all and people were scorching.

 

Just a thought...

[jlau20]

An interesting idea, but I think the main point of a roof over a baseball field is to prevent winter weather and rain from causing delays, etc. to games.

 

Closing it on a hot summer day for shade just wouldn't be 'basebally'.

[bork]

Closing it on a hot summer day for shade just wouldn't be 'basebally'.

 

Unless you're Houston. Then you need a roof and AC to beat the crazy summer heat.

[jeffy]

Why not just by tickets on the first base side, if you want to be in the shade?

[SteveAA]

I was at the game today in 214 & thought of you guys sitting out in that sun!

I get my tickets on the first base side to avoid the dead of the summer sun!

You do have the advantage on those cool days when the roof is open & we freeze.

[Hammer]

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Why not just by tickets on the first base side, if you want to be in the shade?

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Not everyone can get those http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif That side sells out as well...

 

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I was at the game today in 214 & thought of you guys sitting out in that sun!

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Thanks http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[billyhallfan]

I get your point Hammer, but that will never happen, not to mention it would get extremely "stuffy" in there if that happened. Plus I don't ever seeing anyone agreeing to do that.

[zachjack13]

Yeah, the stadium does keep heat inside, so they have no real option. Then again, maybe the air system at Miller Park is better than when I went to a game against the Rockies on July 4th weekend in 2002 or 2003. That night, it was hot at the start of the game and the heat stayed inside the park. When I left however, there was at least a 10 degree difference outside of the stadium.

[AdvantageSchneider]

The two biggest(perhaps only) problems with Miller Park are

 

1) There is absolutely no air circulation in the stadium at all. Miller Park turns into a sauna for most afternoon games. in July and August.

2) Although almost all seats have good sight lines to the field, a large percentage of the seats do not have a full view of the field.

 

I wonder if they could throw open the doors to the stadium, if that would improve the air flow.

 

My wife and I sit on the club level behind home plate and we are luckily in the shade after the first half inning. Even with that break, my wife has often commented that she didn't think she would be able to make it through the entire game were it not for the occasional cool breeze we get from the air conditioning coming from the open press box windows.

 

(Honorable mention to poor concession service as a problem, although I don't count that as a problem with the stadium per se, as much as the workers staffing the concession stands.)

[RightFieldCoder]

The worst time in the stadium is when it's hot and there is a threat of rain. They close the roof and it becomes a sauna inside. There is no way they will close half the roof just to provide some shade. But it is entirely possible. Last year they couldn't run the motor and had to close it manually. It took 30 min to close the roof instead of 15, but that was because they would close one side all the way, walk to the other panel, and close the other half. The roof still moved at the same speed they just weren't moving both at the same time.

[bork]

Could they come up with a way to open some of the windows along the first and third base side, under the roof? They'd have to automate it some how, but that could give the stadium some cross ventilation.

[BadgerBen in KC]

Old Busch was terrible in the middle of summer in terms of air circulation. It was always completely still in there. Kauffman is terrible as well, even with the open outfield. It is just much hotter down there. I think heat and baseball go together. While it would be nice to be super comfortable at every game, we would be forced to have a metrodome like place.

[JoeHova]

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1) There is absolutely no air circulation in the stadium at all. Miller Park turns into a sauna for most afternoon games. in July and August.

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Yes, I hate this about the park as well. I wish they would have done a little more to either improve air flow or add a better cooling system (or be willing to turn it on, if they have one). It gets pretty unbearable in there with the roof closed, which is just unacceptable in my opinion, considering the expense and modernity of the stadium.

[jlau20]

Was anyone at the HR Derby at MP? That was something else. I've never felt that uncomfortable from humidity in my life after they closed the roof.

[laserbomb]

I burnt worse than on my week-long honeymoon in Mexico this June, we were more careful then. But I loved it, my new brother got us great seats for our wedding and it was my fault for forgetting the sunscreen while I packed the cooler. I know they have a better record with the roof closed, and it was a little bit of a relief when a couple clouds passed through for a few minutes at a time, but I can't support this.

[berniebrewer4life]

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I wish they would have done a little more to either improve air flow or add a better cooling system (or be willing to turn it on, if they have one).

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I'm pretty sure there is no AC, only an air circulation system. And i agree that it can get WAYYYYYYY too hot when they close it up on a humid night.

[RightFieldCoder]

Was anyone at the HR Derby at MP? That was something else. I've never felt that uncomfortable from humidity in my life after they closed the roof.

 

It was hot with a threat of rain. I was in the 2nd deck in the RF bleachers and came close to passing out a couple of times.

[jlau20]

I was in the 2nd deck in the RF bleachers and came close to passing out a couple of times.

 

I was somewhat lucky, we had seats on the Club level so it was a bit more spacious with less people overall but still, easily the most uncomfortable I've ever been at a baseball game of any sort.

[BCZF]

A good place to go if you can get tickets that has great airflow is the field bleachers, right underneath the Beerpen area(right above the Mercedes Benz picnic area). Not many rows, in the shade, bathroom right there and a concession stand right there. You are always in the shade, but get the breeze from the panels. Now some of these can be somewhat obstructed (a pole or two), but they have tv monitors in this entire section to see if by chance you have a bad view.. Cushon and Nelson do their show off of this area, but they are way off to the side

 

Again. these may be hard to get sometimes, so grab em while you can. I like them a lot.

 

I agree it can get sweltering in there at times.. I try to avoid Terrace reserved at all costs (the warm, humid air just pools up there and the glass doesnt help). Terrace box are better and only a few bucks more (because their near tunnels = more airflow)

[pitchleague]

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Last year they couldn't run the motor and had to close it manually.

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All I can picture with this statement is some guy walking around the catwalks and turning a giant hand crank like you would use to drop an awning on your porch or off your RV.

[1992casey]

When Miller Park was being constructed, I remember the Brewers saying that the HVAC system was set up so air conditioning could be added in the future.

 

What tends to happen, though, is that the roof is closed at the time rain approaches. With the amount of necessary 'lead time' we hear about when it comes to cooling some of the air conditioned retractables, I'd guess that air conditioning wouldn't do a lot of good.

 

If I'm wrong with this assessment, the team should definitely consider adding it.

[Team Canada]

That was something else. I've never felt that uncomfortable from humidity in my life after they closed the roof.

 

It was pretty bad for Yo's debut this year too. Not pass-out bad, but still super hot and muggy.