I still think of the Colorado Rockies as being a "new" Major League Baseball team. The truth, however, is that they have been around for almost 30 years. That big anniversary is next year! The team's home stadium, Coors Field, opened at the start of the 1995 season and was a big factor in revitalizing the city's LoDo neighborhood. It's a great park to visit and it has many unique features. One that often leaves out-of-town visitors scratching their heads is the fact that in the upper deck there is a single row of seats that are bright purple, while every other seat in the house is green. What's up with that?
As you probably know, Denver is called the "Mile High City." So, the row of purple seats is marking the spot where you are officially a mile above sea level at Coors Field. So, if you're from out of town and are already having trouble with the thin Colorado air, imagine what it's like when you're watching the ball game from the purple seats!
Now, I know what you're thinking. Over on the other side of downtown Denver is the Colorado State Capital Building where just a few feet from ground level is a step that marks the spot where you are a mile above sea level. How can that spot be ground level at the capital, but way up in the upper deck at the ballpark? Well, it can be cleared up when you think about the name of the neighborhood where Coors Field is. It's referred to as Lower Downtown, or LoDo. This is confusing if you look at a map because LoDo is in the upper west portion of downtown Denver. How is that "lower" downtown? Well, it has to do with elevation. It's Lower Downtown not because of its position on the map, but because the elevation is slightly lower there. So the mile marker can be at ground level at the capital, and be up in the purple seats a few blocks away. Makes perfect sense, don't it?
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