Mile High Stadium

[DiggerODell]

I couldn't resist upon looking through my archive old Mile High photographs to include these 3 "dates" of photos I took prior to the demolition. These 11-21-2000 photos were taken while old Mile High was still up and running and the new Mile was under construction.

[DiggerODell]

Here are the balance of the photos taken that particular day. The photograph showing just a parking lot is the site that Mcnichols Arena once stood. This photo (P0001037) was taken several months after it had been removed.

[DiggerODell]

Here are photos from the day they allowed the fans "one last tour" of the field, luxury suites. I used my camcorder mostly during this tour only pulling out my digital for some stills . . . thats the reason there aren't many, but it gives you a hint of what it was like on the field. It was obviously in a football configuration as this was almost 6 years after Coors Field had opened.

[DiggerODell]

Obviously, two of these 5 were taken of old Mile on 2-17-2001 and the balance were taken of the monument outside of the new Mile High.

[Gary Dunaier]

Here are photos from the day they allowed the fans "one last tour" of the field, luxury suites.

Doesn't seem like too many people showed up.

It would be awesome if the Mets and Yankees did something like this.

[DiggerODell]

Doesn't seem like too many people showed up.

It would be awesome if the Mets and Yankees did something like this.

You know Gary, actually a couple hundred were allowed to tour during one session, but after the actual tour was complete and the guide left, we were allowed to just "roam the grounds". The photos I captured don't really convey the amount of people there, but I do assure you there were atleast 150-200. They allowed tours in 2 hour increments for a couple weekends. If i remember correctly, I toured the 2nd to the last tour.

If the Mets and Yankees don't do something like this, it will be a crying shame. At least give folks a chance to walk around the old parks one last time and savior all the memories!

[curb my enthusiasm]

It's hard to believe that both Shea and Yankee Stadium will be demolished just like this in a few months. I'm sure that there will be several people on this forum taking pictures of both stadiums on their deathbeds. Those will be very dramatic photos indeed.

At least it's comforting to know that both teams will be moving into better stadiums next year (even though there are some Yankee fans here who disagree).

[Altitude]

We lost a great football cathedral to the mothership. I still miss Mile High and it's magic during the Broncos. I wish they would have rebuilt it, just like they did for Lambeau Field.

[Fudbutter]

The round hotel in some of the pictures was (and might still be) a Holiday Inn. You could get a "stadium view" room and see about half the field for baseball. We used to kick off National Park trips by flying to Denver and seeng a Zephyrs game the first night. The last time we had a reservation in that hotel was for a Mets-Rockies game in August '94. I looked forward to it all summer. Then they went on strike the week before we were to show up. Grrrrrrr.

[BMF]

wow I cant believe its only been 7 years since mile highs death. seems like longer than that

[hofflalu]

Bumping this thread to see if anyone has construction photos of the expansion of Bears/Mile High Stadium in the '60s and '70s.

[DiggerODell]

Bumping this thread to see if anyone has construction photos of the expansion of Bears/Mile High Stadium in the '60s and '70s.

hofflalu, I did not move to Denver until 1982 so I didn't see any of the first wave of expansion from old Bears Stadium to Mile High. During the club seat construction during the late 80's I wasn't interested enough in the joint to photograph it as it was not baseball related. I sure hope some others can help you, it would be interesting particulary to see photos during the 40's, 50's & 60's.

[KurtDman24]

Nice shots Digger.

I just had a thought. What if you were part of the crew that built this stadium? Still seems to be a viable place for football.

[RfkFedEx]

Ever wonder how the utilities on the movable side hooked up when the stadium was reconfigured for baseball?

Plumbing and sewer pipes for the rest rooms? Electrical wiring, plumbing, and gas pipes for the concession stands?

There must have been two sets of master feeds for each configuration unless there were no concessions or rest rooms on that side.

[chip]

Good question!

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Pete Flynn once said that they had to move around all the plumbing and wires when they converted Shea from baseball to football and back. Probably the same story here.

[RfkFedEx]

I could the see the need to disconnect the wiring and plumbing from the Shea dugouts when reconfiguring to football. Shea would have had nothing to the scale of Mile High if the movable side in Denver had as many restrooms and concessions areas as I suspect it probably had.

[Blue387]

Young's lead-off home run
4/9/93: The first at-bat in Rockies history in Denver is a memorable one for Eric Young, as he rips a homer

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=22860589

[DiggerODell]

Young's lead-off home run
4/9/93: The first at-bat in Rockies history in Denver is a memorable one for Eric Young, as he rips a homer

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=22860589

Thanks a kabillion Blue387, this brings back alot of memories. My son Walt and I were in the crowd in this video shot, just a few rows up behind where the ball landed. I used to have the entire game on video tape but my wife or my daughter (neither admitted as to whom) recorded over it several years ago to get some night time show recorded . . .not knowing it was an important tape to me (I should have broke the tab off, I know). Thanks again!!!

PS: My son is now 6'4" . . . this is is very amusing to see those old days when he was still a foot shorter than i! ha!

[Chevy114]

What were the pluses and minuses of baseball at mile high?

[PeteU]

What were the pluses and minuses of baseball at mile high?

The pluses was that it was big. And with major league baseball as a novelty in Denver, it allowed the Rockies to draw record crowds.

The minuses was that it was big. It could never be anything except a temporary facility. Had the Rockies continued to play there indefinitely instead of having Coors Field lined up within two years, the novelty would have worn out fast, and you would have been left with an oversized football stadium without proper baseball ameneties that would look empty even on a good day. In other words, Joe Robbie Stadium.

[Chevy114]

56,000 or so people would be fun at first but hard to top. The only thing I can compare it to is Tampa lightening hockey games at the trop, fun at first but would have been too big for the long haul.

It did seem to have a good shape for a multipurpose stadium though.

[Matt The Hammer]

Colorad_Rockies_Baseball_1st_Home_Opener_1993.jpg
mile+high+stadium.jpg

First move of the new east stands:

oldies06.jpg

[Matt The Hammer]

From the Denver Post:

colorado classics
Jim Tolle, Mile High Stadium stands engineer
Reporter Irv Moss writes about stars from the past
Posted: 08/17/2010 01:00:00 AM MDTBy Irv Moss
The Denver Postdenverpost.com

Jim Tolle, at his home in Broomfield, was the designer of the remarkably movable East Stands at Mile High Stadium that enabled football and baseball to be played there. The stands moved 145 feet on a sheet of water about one-third of an inch deep. (Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post )The scene at Mile High Stadium on April 11, 1977, was reminiscent of old photographs showing doubting spectators watching as some pioneer tested a new contraption that would fly through the air or move down a street without horses pulling it.

In this case, Jim Tolle, a project engineer and designer, was the pioneer. The company he worked for, DMJM of Denver, had taken on a project at Mile High Stadium that sounded impossible.

Tolle's contraption was a huge structure that would become known as the East Stands. It was 450 feet long, 200 feet wide, 13 stories high and weighed 9 million pounds. The amazing catch was that it would move 145 feet on a sheet of water about one-third of an inch deep.

"I believe there probably were more naysayers than believers in the crowd," said Tolle, now retired. "I never had any doubts myself. Mayor Bill McNichols asked if we had any doubts and I said I was 100 percent sure it would work."

Members of the media were there, some hoping for a chance to poke fun at a shipwreck. City officials crossed their fingers in hopes that this part of a $25 million project to enlarge the stadium's seating capacity would work.

The departure time was 2:37 p.m. Sure enough, when the controls were switched on, the structure began to move. The initial distance was 6 feet to allow an inspection of the apparatus. Later in the afternoon, it was moved another 72 feet and the next morning engineers completed the full 145-foot distance.

"It was designed to move about 2 feet per minute," Tolle said. "We actually had three positions, one for baseball, another for football and a third for soccer. The soccer position never was used."

When in the baseball configuration — as it was April 9, 1993, when 80,227 fans packed Mile High Stadium for the Rockies' inaugural home opener — the outfield distances were 335 feet down the left-field line, 375 feet to left-center and 423 to center field. When in the football configuration, fans in the East Stands were right behind the visiting team's bench with some of the best seats in the house.

How did it work? Tolle explained that there were 163 water bearings spaced out underneath the stands. He said when not in use the bearings would look as if they were deflated tire inner tubes. When water was pumped into the bearings, they would lift the structure off of its foundation. A thin sheet of water formed under the structure and two well-placed hydraulic jacks connected to the bottom of the structure and pulled it 6 feet per connection. Once operational, the complete move took four to six hours.

"We never had a problem with it," Tolle said. "We had to replace the bearings from time to time. I think one year, they moved it in and out 25 times."

When the Broncos and Denver's minor-league baseball team shared the stadium, it was necessary to move the East Stands just a couple of times a year. But when the Denver Gold played during the spring in the United States Football League, the East Stands were in and out almost weekly.

Tolle decided on the water method to float the structure into place after researching other facilities. A stadium in Honolulu had movable stands, but its use of an air system was not dependable. He visited a ship-building site in Oregon and witnessed new ships being moved from the building site to the water on a system similar to what he designed for Mile High Stadium.

Tolle and DMJM were

Tolle involved in the design of all of the expansion projects that transformed little Bears Stadium to 75,000-seat Mile High Stadium. Tolle believes the East Stands being in baseball configuration was a factor in Denver getting a major-league team.

Now with Mile High Stadium gone, Tolle only has pictures to remind him of what once was looked at as a miracle.

"I was very pleased that first day," Tolle recalled. "I went up to the top of the stands as it was moving. I never had any doubts that it would work. It was an engineering feat that received at least three national awards."


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Read more: Jim Tolle, Mile High Stadium stands engineer - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_...#ixzz20EewKB1D
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[Paul W]

not mentioned who was signing, minor league days...