View source for Metropolitan Stadium

{{Short description|Baseball stadium in Minnesota, US}}
{{for|the stadium in Alabama|Hoover Metropolitan Stadium}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox venue
| stadium_name = Metropolitan Stadium
| nickname = ''The Met''<br />''"Met Stadium"''<br />''"Old Met"''
| image = Metropolitan Stadium 1962.jpeg
| image_size = 250
| caption = Aerial view from southeast in [[1962 Minnesota Twins season|1962]]
| address = 8000 Cedar Avenue South
| location = [[Bloomington, Minnesota]], U.S.
| coordinates = {{coord|44|51|16|N|93|14|31|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|display=it}}
| image_map = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=250|zoom=10|type=point|marker=stadium}}
| pushpin_map = USA#Minnesota
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in the [[United States]]##Location in [[Minnesota]]
| pushpin_mapsize = 
| pushpin_label = Bloomington
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| pushpin_relief = yes
| broke_ground = June 20, 1955<ref name="BPT">{{cite web|url=http://www.ballparktour.com/Former_Minnesota.html|title=Former Minnesota ballparks|website=ballparktour.com|access-date=2012-05-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515004432/http://www.ballparktour.com/Former_Minnesota.html|archive-date=2012-05-15|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| opened = {{start date and age|1956|4|24}}
| closed = December 20, [[1981 Minnesota Vikings season|1981]]
| demolished = January 28, 1985
| owner = City of [[Minneapolis]] (1956–1977)<br />[[Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission]] (1977–1981)
| surface = Natural grass
| construction_cost = [[United States dollar|$]]8.5 million<ref>{{cite web|title=Metropolitan Stadium|url=http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/history/min_history_metropolitan_stadium.jsp|publisher=[[Major League Baseball Advanced Media]]|access-date=May 9, 2014|archive-date=November 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101041742/http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/history/min_history_metropolitan_stadium.jsp|url-status=dead}}</ref><br />(${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US|8500000|1956}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}})
| architect = [[Osborn Engineering|Osborn Architects & Engineers]]<ref name="BPT"/><br />Thorshov and Cerny<ref>{{cite web |title=Metropolitan Stadium|url=http://www.projectballpark.org/history/al/metrop.html|work=Project Ballpark|access-date=May 9, 2014}}</ref>
| structural engineer = Tepper Engineering
| general_contractor = Johnson, Drake & Piper/Kimmes/Axel Ohman<ref name="BPT"/>
| former_names = 
| tenants = [[Minneapolis Millers]] ([[American Association (20th century)|AA]]) 1956–1960<br />[[Minnesota Twins]] ([[Major League Baseball|MLB]]) 1961–1981<br />[[Minnesota Vikings]] ([[National Football League|NFL]]) 1961–1981<br />[[Minnesota Kicks]] ([[North American Soccer League (1968–84)|NASL]]) 1976–1981<br />[[Arizona Cardinals|Chicago Cardinals]] ([[National Football League|NFL]]) 1959 (2 games)
| seating_capacity = [[Baseball]]: 18,200 (1956)<br />21,000 (1957–1959)<br />30,022 (1960–1961)<br />39,525 (1962)<br />40,073 (1963–1964)<br />45,182 (1965–1969)<br />45,914 (1970–1972)<br />45,921 (1973–1974)<br />45,919 (1975–1981)<br />[[American football|Football]]: 41,200 (1961–1964)<br />47,900 (1965–1970)<br />49,784 (1971–1973)<br />47,900 (1974–1976)<br />48,446 (1977–1981)
| dimensions = '''Left field''': {{convert|343|ft|abbr=on}}<br />'''Left-center''': {{convert|365|ft|abbr=on}}<br />'''Center field''': {{convert|402|ft|abbr=on}}<br />'''Right-center''': {{convert|370|ft|0|abbr=on}}<br />'''Right field''': {{convert|330|ft|0|abbr=on}}<br />'''Backstop''': {{convert|60|ft|0|abbr=on}}<br />'''Wall''': {{convert|8|ft}}
}}
'''Metropolitan Stadium''' (often referred to as "'''the Met'''", "'''Met Stadium'''", or now "'''the Old Met'''" to distinguish from the [[Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome|Metrodome]]) was an outdoor sports stadium<!--that once stood--> in the [[West North Central states|north central]] United States, located in [[Bloomington, Minnesota]], a suburb of [[Minneapolis]]<!-- and [[Saint Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]]-->.

The [[Minneapolis Millers]] of [[Minor League Baseball]] were 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 (1968–84)|North American Soccer League]] (NASL) also played there from 1976 to 1981.

Southwest of the [[Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport|airport]], the stadium site is now the [[Mall of America]], which opened in&nbsp;1992.

==History==
===Origins and construction===
Beginning in 1953, inspired by the [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]]' move to [[Milwaukee]], Gerald Moore, the president of the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, led the drive to lure a [[Major League Baseball|major league]] team to Minnesota by constructing a modern stadium built to major league specifications. After the rejection of numerous sites, a stadium committee appointed by Moore approved a {{convert|160|acre|km2|adj=on}} plot of farmland in Bloomington.<ref name=Lost>{{cite book|last=El-Hai|first=Jack|title=Lost Minnesota: stories of vanished places|year=2000|publisher=U of Minnesota Press|location=Minneapolis|isbn=0-8166-3515-3}}</ref> The stadium would replace [[Nicollet Park]] as the home of the [[American Association (20th century)|American Association]]'s [[Minneapolis Millers]]. The site was approximately equidistant from the downtowns of [[Minneapolis]] and [[Saint Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]], and it was believed this would be the best location for a prospective major league team.<ref name=Storied/> Earlier, the 1950 Census indicated that the Twin Cities and their suburbs had over a million people between them, the unofficial threshold for a major metropolitan area.<ref name=SABRTwins/>

After a plan by architects Thorshov & Cerny won approval, groundbreaking was scheduled to begin on June 20, 1955.<ref name="Lost"/> The construction was almost delayed, however, when the owners of the property<!-- on which the stadium would be built on --> began a protest, claiming they had not yet been paid. One of these owners created a barricade of farm equipment along his property line that ran directly through the future infield. The dispute was settled in time for the groundbreaking to move forward as planned.<ref name=Minnesota>{{cite book|last=Thornley|first=Stew|title=Baseball in Minnesota: the definitive history|year=2006|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society|location=Minneapolis|isbn=0-87351-551-X}}</ref> Many spectators and dignitaries attended the groundbreaking, including Minneapolis mayor [[Eric G. Hoyer]] and several members of the Minneapolis Millers.<ref name="Minnesota"/>

On February 7, 1956, an accident occurred on the construction site when a portable heater used to cure concrete exploded in the stadium's basement. After $50,000 of repairs and a three-week delay in construction, Metropolitan Stadium opened in time to hold its first game, a minor league contest between the Millers and the [[Wichita Braves]] on April 24 of that year.<ref name="Lost"/> (At the time of its opening, the stadium still lacked an official name; the park was not named until a July announcement declaring it "Metropolitan Stadium".)<ref name=SABR>{{cite web |title=Metropolitan Stadium (Bloomington, MN)|url=http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&pid=19617&bid=2576|publisher=[[Society for American Baseball Research]]|access-date=October 2, 2011}}</ref>

In the 1950s, major league owners [[Calvin Griffith]] and [[Horace Stoneham]] called the stadium the finest facility in the minors; Stoneham added that "there were not two better" major league stadiums of the time (although not specifying which specific two he thought were the Met's equal)<ref name=Storied>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Curt|author-link=Curt Smith (author)|title=Storied Stadiums|url=https://archive.org/details/storiedstadiumsb00curt|url-access=registration|year=2001|publisher=Carroll & Graf|location=New York City|isbn=0-7867-1187-6}}</ref> The Millers were then the top farm team of Stoneham's [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]], and there was some hope or expectation that the Giants might relocate there.<ref name="Minnesota"/> Under major league rules of the time, by virtue of owning the Millers, the Giants owned the major league rights to Minneapolis. Negotiations were also held with Griffith's Washington Senators, as well as the [[Cincinnati Reds]], [[Cleveland Indians]], and [[Philadelphia Athletics]].<ref name=Sports>{{cite book|last1=Noll|first1=Roger G.|last2=Zimbalist|first2=Andrew S.|title=Sports, jobs, and taxes: the economic impact of sports teams and stadiums|year=1997|publisher=Brookings Institution Press|isbn=0-8157-6111-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/sportsjobstaxese0000unse}}</ref> However, the Giants chose to follow the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] to the west coast at the urging of Dodgers owner [[Walter O'Malley]], who owned the Millers' crosstown rivals, the [[St. Paul Saints (1901–60)|St. Paul Saints]]. San Francisco had long been home to the [[Pacific Coast League]]'s [[San Francisco Seals (baseball)|San Francisco Seals]], the top farm team of the [[Boston Red Sox]]. As part of the deal, the Millers' parent team then became the Red Sox, who had no plans to move anywhere in the foreseeable future.

Multiple exhibition games featuring Major League teams were held at the Met at this time; a game between the [[Detroit Tigers]] and Cincinnati Reds was held at the Met in 1957, another between the San Francisco Giants and Chicago White Sox in May, 1958, and a matchup between the Senators and the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] was held shortly after the 1958 All-Star break. The latter game brought 15,990 fans to the stadium, including Calvin Griffith, who described the stadium as "terrific."<ref name="MLB"/><ref name="Twins"/>

===Baseball and American football===
[[File:Metropolitan Stadium 1963.jpg|thumb|right|Batting practice in [[1963 Minnesota Twins season|1963]]<!-- game at Metropolitan Stadium.-->]]
In October 1960, Calvin Griffith announced that his Washington Senators would move to Metropolitan Stadium as the [[Minnesota Twins]]. The Twins played their first home game on April 21, [[1961 Minnesota Twins season|1961]], with a loss to the new [[1961 Washington Senators season|Washington Senators]] (now the [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]]).[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1961/B04210MIN1961.htm] The Millers and Saints were then promptly folded by Major League Baseball. To ready the stadium for the Twins, a $9&nbsp;million renovation increased the seating capacity from about 22,000 to over 30,000 by the completion of the Twins' [[1961 Minnesota Twins season|inaugural season]].<ref name=Twins>{{cite book|last1=Brackin|first1=Dennis|last2=Reusse|first2=Patrick |last3=Killebrew|first3=Harmon |title=Minnesota Twins: The Complete Illustrated History|year=2010|publisher=MVP Books|isbn=978-0-7603-3684-7}}</ref> During the Twins' first ten seasons at the Met, they outdrew the average [[American League]] team each year.<ref name="Sports"/>

The [[National Football League]] (NFL) was also interested in placing a team at the Met. Conversations were had with [[Violet Bidwill Wolfner]], owner of the [[History of the Chicago Cardinals|Chicago Cardinals]], about moving her team to the stadium.<ref name="Sports"/> The Cardinals moved two of their [[1959 Chicago Cardinals season|1959]] regular season home games against the [[1959 Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia Eagles]] (October 25) (att: 20,112)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1959/10/26/page/75/article/chicago-chicago-that-good-ol-cellar-town|title=Chicago Tribune - Historical Newspapers|website=chicagotribune.com}}</ref> and [[1959 New York Giants season|New York Giants]] (November 22) (att: 26,625)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1959/11/23/page/65/article/giants-beat-cards-30-20|title=Chicago Tribune - Historical Newspapers|website=chicagotribune.com}}</ref> to Bloomington.<ref name=Journal>{{cite book|last=Snyder|first=John|title=Twins Journal: Year by Year and Day by Day with the Minnesota Twins Since 1961|year=2010|publisher=Clerisy Press|isbn=978-1-57860-380-0}}</ref> A preseason football game was held each September at the Met for its first five years, 1956 through 1960:

*September 15, {{nfly|1956}} – [[1956 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh Steelers]] 14 [[1956 Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia Eagles]] 12 (att: 14,742)
*September 21, {{nfly|1957}} – [[1957 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay]] 10 [[1957 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh]] 10 (att: 17,226)
*September 21, {{nfly|1958}} – [[1958 Chicago Cardinals season|Chicago Cardinals]] 31 [[1958 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay]] 24 (att: 18,520)
*September 20, {{nfly|1959}} – [[1959 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay]] 13 [[1959 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh]] 10 (att: 18,018)
*September 11, {{nfly|1960}} – [[1960 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay]] 28 [[1960 Dallas Cowboys season|Dallas Cowboys]] 23 (att: 20,151)

The Met finally got a football team when the new [[American Football League]] (AFL) announced Minneapolis–St. Paul as one of its charter cities for the inaugural [[1960 American Football League season|1960]] season. However, the NFL persuaded the team's owners to pull out of the AFL in January 1960 and join the NFL as an [[1961 NFL expansion draft|expansion]] team in {{nfly|1961}}, and was later named the [[Minnesota Vikings]]. As it turned out, the year's delay worked to the Vikings' benefit. By the time the Vikings played their [[1961 Minnesota Vikings season|first game]], the Twins had moved in and the Met had been expanded to befit its new status as a big-league stadium. (The [[1959 Chicago Cardinals season|Chicago Cardinals]], after playing two games in Bloomington in [[1959 Chicago Cardinals season|1959]], announced in March [[1960 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|1960]] that they were moving to [[1960 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|St. Louis]].)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1960/03/14/page/61/article/n-f-l-oks-cards-move-to-st-louis|title=Chicago Tribune - Historical Newspapers|website=chicagotribune.com}}</ref>

[[File:Metropolitan Stadium 1965.jpg|thumb|Hosting the [[1964 Baltimore Orioles season|Baltimore Orioles]] on Thursday, July&nbsp;30, [[1964 Minnesota Twins season|1964]].<ref name=bxsc64>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AzhWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2egDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6613%2C5603140 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington |agency=(box score) |title=Orioles7, Twins 4 |date=July 31, 1964 |page=12}}</ref>]]
The park had a disjointed, skeletal feel; it was obvious that it had once been a minor league baseball stadium. For instance, when bleachers were erected to expand the stadium for the Twins, no concourse was built to connect them to the rest of the stadium. Due to this design flaw, fans in the bleachers literally had to leave the stadium to get to the grandstand.<ref name=BallparkDigest>[http://www.ballparkdigest.com/201001202444/major-league-baseball/visits/metropolitan-stadium-minnesota-twins-1961-1981-1 Metropolitan Stadium] at Ballpark Digest</ref> Unlike most multipurpose stadiums built during this time, there were very few bad seats for baseball. The stadium was built using [[cantilever]] construction for the overhanging decks, eliminating posts that blocked the fans' view.<ref name="Minnesota"/> It was well known as a hitter's park; its short foul lines—{{convert|343|ft}} to left (east), {{convert|330|ft|0}} to right (south)—were particularly friendly to pull hitters such as [[Harmon Killebrew]]. The 330 marker in right was actually closer to right-center, leading to speculation that right field was even closer.<ref name=Storied/><ref name="Cathedrals"/> Since the Met was built in 1956, however, this would not have been a problem for the Twins; baseball required all parks built after 1958 to have foul lines of at least {{convert|325|ft}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/official_info/official_rules/foreword.jsp|title=Official Rules|publisher=[[Major League Baseball Advanced Media]]|access-date=June 5, 2014}}</ref> Met Stadium distance signs included meters 1974–77. The diamond was aligned southeast (home plate to center field); recommended alignment is east-northeast.<ref name=mlbobj>{{cite web |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf |publisher=Major League Baseball |title=Objectives of the Game - rule 1.04|access-date=March 31, 2021}}</ref>

The Met was often considered less than ideal for football. The gridiron ran from around third base to right field (north-south), with barely enough room to fit the playing field and [[end zone]]s. Wooden bleachers were brought onto the field during football season to bring fans closer to the game.<ref name="Minnesota"/> For [[1965 Minnesota Vikings season|1965]], a large double-decked grandstand was installed in left field to replace the temporary wooden bleachers. The Vikings actually paid for this new grandstand in return for reduced rent;<ref name=MLB>{{cite web |title=Metropolitan Stadium|url=http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/ballpark/min_ballpark_metropolitan_stadium.jsp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070212073242/http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/ballpark/min_ballpark_metropolitan_stadium.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 12, 2007|publisher=[[Major League Baseball Advanced Media]]|access-date=October 1, 2011}}</ref> this location was prime sideline seating in the football configuration. This left the Met with the unique configuration of a double deck in left field, and bleachers behind third base. The left-field grandstand was originally planned to be capable of sliding toward or away from the gridiron (as Denver's [[Mile High Stadium]] later would be), but that part of the project was never realized.

The Met provided an overwhelming home-field advantage for the Vikings late in the season and in the playoffs due to Minnesota's famously cold temperatures.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Long, Cold and Sordid History of the Minnesota Vikings|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/steve_rushin/12/01/vikings/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204070952/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/steve_rushin/12/01/vikings/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 4, 2010|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|date=December 1, 2010|access-date=October 1, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Notebook: Home-field advantage? Cold hasn't helped Vikings recently|url=http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Notebook_Homefield_advantage_Not_in_cold_weather_for_recent_Vikings121710|work=[[KSTP (AM)|KSTP]]|location=St. Paul|date=December 17, 2010|access-date=October 1, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119132814/http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Notebook_Homefield_advantage_Not_in_cold_weather_for_recent_Vikings121710|archive-date=November 19, 2011}}</ref> The Vikings hosted ten playoff games at the Met and won seven of them.

In the [[1965 Minnesota Twins season|1965]] baseball season, both the [[1965 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]] and the [[1965 World Series|World Series]] were played at Metropolitan Stadium, one of the few times that coincidence has happened since the former event was inaugurated in 1933. (Game 7 of [[1965 World Series|that year's World Series]] drew 50,596 fans to the Met, the only time a baseball crowd exceeded 50,000 and remained its attendance record for baseball.)<ref name="SABR"/> The Vikings hosted and won the [[1969 NFL Championship Game]] at the stadium,<ref>{{cite web |title=Cleveland Browns at Minnesota Vikings – January 4th, 1970|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197001040min.htm|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|access-date=October 1, 2011}}</ref> the last NFL game prior to the {{nfly|1970}} [[AFL–NFL merger|merger]].

===Soccer and other events===
{{Multiple image|direction=vertical|align=right|image1=The Beatles at Metropolitan Stadium.jpg|image2=Beatles Metropolitan Stadium ticket 1965.jpg|width=220|caption2=[[The Beatles]] at Metropolitan Stadium, August 1965; the ticket was $4.16 plus tax.}}
Metropolitan Stadium was the home of the [[Minnesota Kicks]] soccer team from 1976 until the team folded in November 1981. The Kicks, members of the [[North American Soccer League (1968–84)|North American Soccer League]] (NASL), were highly anticipated in Minnesota and had to delay their first game at the Met by fifteen minutes to accommodate the large crowd waiting to buy tickets.<ref name=Seventy-five>{{cite book|last=Rippel|first=Joel A.|title=Seventy-Five Memorable Moments in Minnesota Sports|year=2003|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society Press|location=Minneapolis|isbn=0-87351-475-0}}</ref> To help speed things along, the Kicks' owners let two thousand fans enter the stadium for free.<ref name="Seventy-five"/> An NASL attendance record was set one month later, when [[Pelé]] and the [[New York Cosmos (1971–85)|New York Cosmos]] drew 46,164 fans to Metropolitan Stadium.<ref name="Minnesota"/><ref name="Seventy-five"/> Large crowds continued for the Kicks, who drew 41,505 for that year's opening playoff game. Four days later, another record was set when 49,571 fans came to see the Kicks defeat San Jose, 3–1.<ref name="Minnesota"/> The team enjoyed great success in their first four seasons in Minnesota, winning a division title each year.<ref name="Minnesota"/> Attendance dipped toward the end of the franchise's history, however, with an average of 16,605 per game in 1981, their final season.<ref>{{cite web |title=Minnesota Kicks – The story of Professional Soccer in Minnesota|url=http://www.mnthunder.com/minnesota-kicks/|publisher=Minnesota Thunder|access-date=October 1, 2011}}</ref> The size of the field for soccer games was 100 by 72 yards 1976–78 and 104 by 72 yards 1979–81.

====Concerts====
The Met also hosted multiple concerts.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! width=12% | Date
! width=10% | Artist
! width=10% | Opening act(s)
! width=16% | Tour / Concert name
! width=10% | Attendance
! width=10% | Revenue
! width=20% | Notes
|-
| August 21, 1965 || [[The Beatles]] || [[King Curtis]]<br />[[Cannibal and the Headhunters]]<br />[[Brenda Holloway]]<br />[[Sounds Incorporated]] || [[The Beatles' 1965 US tour|1965 North American Tour]] || 25,000 || $104,000 || "[[Twist and Shout]]" was not played due to problems with [[John Lennon]]'s voice<ref>{{cite web |title=August 21, 1965: Live: Metropolitan Stadium, Minneapolis|url=http://www.beatlesbible.com/1965/08/21/live-metropolitan-stadium-minneapolis/|work=Beatles Bible|date=21 August 1965|access-date=October 1, 2011}}</ref>
|-
| August 1, 1978 || [[Eagles (band)|Eagles]] || [[Steve Miller Band]]<br />[[Pablo Cruise]] || 1978 Tour || 65,000 || — || <ref name="Minnesota"/><ref name="flagpole">{{cite news |title=That New Twins Ballpark Flagpole Will Look Familiar|url=http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/125604293.html|newspaper=[[Star Tribune]]|location=Minneapolis|date=October 3, 2009|access-date=October 1, 2011}}</ref> 
|-
| June 24, 1979 || [[The Allman Brothers Band]] || — || Enlightened Rogues Tour || — || — || <ref>{{cite web |title=Allman Brothers Band: Bloomington, Minnesota|url=http://www.allmanbrothersband.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Calendar&file=showCalendarMonth&type=viewevent&tapers=2&eid=404&day=24&month=06&year=1979|work=Allman Brothers Band|access-date=October 1, 2011}}</ref>
|}

====Wrestling====
Numerous [[wrestling]] matches were held at Metropolitan Stadium, including contests featuring [[Hard Boiled Haggerty]], [[Bob Geigel]], [[Wilbur Snyder]], [[Kay Noble]], [[Lord Littlebrook]], [[Verne Gagne]], [[Gene Kiniski]], [[Robert Bédard (wrestler)|Rene Goulet]], [[Larry Hennig]], [[Hans Schmidt (wrestler)|Hans Schmidt]], [[Maurice Vachon|Mad Dog Vachon]] and [[Dick the Bruiser]].<ref>{{cite web |title=AWA Stadium Shows|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/misc/awa/stadium.html|work=Pro Wrestling History|access-date=October 1, 2011}}</ref>

===Final years and demise===
Although the Met was responsible for bringing MLB and the NFL to the Twin Cities, it had not aged well. By the early 1970s, the Vikings were making noises about moving out. For instance, there was no prospect of building permanent seats along third base. The Vikings weren't willing to pay to build seats in an area that would have been in the end zone in the football configuration, and the Twins couldn't afford it.<ref name=SABRTwins>{{cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/minnesota-twins-team-ownership-history/|title=Minnesota Twins team ownership history|author1=Gary Olson|publisher=[[Society for American Baseball Research]]|date=2017}}</ref> At one point, there were plans to place a dome over Metropolitan Stadium, or build a new football stadium located between the Met and the [[Metropolitan Sports Center|Met Center]], which had opened in 1967 just north of the Met.<ref name=Stadium>{{cite book|last=Weiner|first=Jay|title=Stadium Games: Fifty Years of Big League Greed and Bush League Boondoggles|year=2000|publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]]|location=Minneapolis|isbn=0-8166-3435-1}}</ref> It soon became apparent that, at the very least, the Vikings would need a new stadium. As part of the [[AFL–NFL merger]], the NFL declared that stadiums with less than 50,000 seats were inadequate for its needs; at its height the Met only seated 49,700 people for football (48,400 at the time of closure) and any expansion would have resulted in seats that would have been of no use for the Twins during baseball's regular season. However, the Vikings would not even consider playing at the [[University of Minnesota]]'s [[Memorial Stadium (University of Minnesota)|Memorial Stadium]] even on a temporary basis.

'''"Runaway Balloon" Incident:'''
At halftime during a Vikings game on December 14, 1969, a hot-air-balloon was being used as a stunt to entertain the crowd but it was improperly tethered and a miscue happened with an 11-year-old boy inside, carrying him about 1,000 feet into the air and then into the frozen [[Mississippi River]]. The boy was unharmed, rescued, and was returned to the stadium. Due to the incident, NFL stadiums stopped using hot-air-balloons during breaks from the game. The incident was later dubbed as the "Runaway Balloon".<ref>{{Cite web | title=Joe Soucheray: Soar back to the past with tale of Minnesota's own balloon boy – Twin Cities | url=https://www.twincities.com/2009/10/20/joe-soucheray-soar-back-to-the-past-with-tale-of-minnesotas-own-balloon-boy/ | access-date=2025-07-31 | website=www.twincities.com}}</ref>

Discussions for a new stadium actually began in 1970, with six years remaining in both the Twins' and Vikings' leases. While the initial talks focused on a stadium for the Vikings, the Twins quickly joined the discussions. The idea of a dome was particularly appealing to Griffith given the bitterly cold weather that is common in the Twin Cities early and late in baseball season.<ref name=SABRTwins/> This accelerated the push for construction of a new stadium, the [[Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome]], which was completed in [[1982 Minnesota Twins season|1982]].

[[File:Metropolitan Stadium 1981.jpg|thumb|left|Twins game in July [[1981 Minnesota Twins season|1981]]]]
However, it is very likely that a new stadium would have been needed in any event, as the Met was not well maintained. By the park's final season, broken railings in the grandstand's third deck had become a major safety hazard.<ref name="Cathedrals">{{cite book|last=Lowry|first=Phillip|title=Green Cathedrals|url=https://archive.org/details/greencathedralsu0000lowr_u1c9|url-access=registration|year=2005|publisher=Walker & Company|location=New York City|isbn=0-8027-1562-1}}</ref> Additionally, players had begun to complain about the Met's playing conditions; the infield in particular was considered the worst in the majors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cooloftheevening.com/metrodome.htm|title=HISTORY OF THE METRODOME ON COOL OF THE EVENING: THE 1965 MINNESOTA TWINS|website=www.cooloftheevening.com|access-date=2011-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724093617/http://www.cooloftheevening.com/metrodome.htm|archive-date=2011-07-24|url-status=dead}}</ref> Rumors abounded that the [[Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission]], which by then had taken over the stadium from the city of Minneapolis, had deliberately let the Met go to seed in order to aid the push for the Metrodome.<ref name=BallparkDigest/>

The Minnesota Kicks' last regular season game at Met Stadium was a 2–1 victory over the [[Dallas Tornado]] on August 19, 1981. A week later, the team's last game at the Met was a 1-0 shoot-out playoff victory over the [[Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–84)|Tulsa Roughnecks]]<!-- on August 26, 1981-->. The team's last game played was a home playoff loss, 3–0 to the [[Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–83)|Fort Lauderdale Strikers]], on September 6, 1981. The game was moved to Memorial Stadium due to a scheduling conflict with the Twins.

[[File:Metropolitan Stadium Abandoned.jpg|thumb|An abandoned Metropolitan Stadium, circa 1984.]]
The Twins played their last game at the Met on September 30, 1981, losing to the [[1981 Kansas City Royals season|Kansas City Royals]] 5–2 on a rainy afternoon.<ref name="MLB"/> The night before the final game, home plate was stolen, and after the final game ended, hundreds of fans gathered on the field, searching (mostly unsuccessfully) for mementos.<ref name="Seventy-five"/>

The Vikings played their last game on December 20, 1981, dropping a 10–6 decision to the [[1981 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City Chiefs]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Kansas City Chiefs at Minnesota Vikings – December 20th, 1981|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198112200min.htm|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|access-date=October 1, 2011}}</ref> By this time, the Vikings had been eliminated from playoff contention. Knowing that fans would be more determined to claim souvenirs at what would almost certainly be the Met’s last major event, the Vikings tripled their security force for the contest.<ref name="Seventy-five"/> In the game's final minutes, many of the 41,110 fans in attendance began dismantling seats and bleachers, and thousands stormed the field once the game ended.<ref name="Seventy-five"/> The goal posts were torn down, pieces of the field were dug up, and speakers and lightbulbs on the scoreboard were removed.<ref name="Seventy-five"/> Hundreds of injuries were reported, mostly minor scrapes and bruises but also multiple head injuries sustained during the melee.<ref>{{cite news |title=Viking Fans Tear Apart Metropolitan Stadium|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=t4RKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3iINAAAAIBAJ&pg=2487%2C6639803|newspaper=[[Oxnard Press-Courier]]|date=December 21, 1981|access-date=October 2, 2011}}</ref>

Met Stadium was officially abandoned when the Vikings and the Twins moved to the Metrodome in January 1982, and the Kicks folded after the 1981 soccer season. For the next three years, Met Stadium sat unused, decaying, and highly vandalized. Demolition for Metropolitan Stadium kicked off in 1985 on January 28, and continued for the next four months. After the rubble was cleared, the lot sat vacant for several years, although the nearby [[Met Center]] continued to provide entertainment for NHL hockey fans for another decade.

==After the Met==
[[Image:MOA Killebrew chair1.JPG|thumb|The red seat overlooking the flume ride at Nickelodeon Universe]]
[[File:HomePlate.jpg|thumb|Home plate at Nickelodeon Universe]]
The [[Mall of America]], which opened in 1992, stands on the site of what is now nostalgically called "the Old Met." A brass plaque in the shape of home plate, embedded in the floor in the northwest corner of [[Nickelodeon Universe]], commemorates the site's days as a sports venue by marking where home plate once sat. Near the opposite corner, mounted high on the wall, is a red stadium seat denoting the precise landing spot (including elevation) of [[Harmon Killebrew]]'s {{convert|520|ft|0|adj=on}} home run, a blast to the upper deck in deep left-center field on June 3, [[1967 Minnesota Twins season|1967]]. This was the longest homer of Killebrew's career, and the longest ever hit in Metropolitan Stadium.<ref name="Minnesota"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Harmon Killebrew Was a Treasure|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=caple_jim&id=6549955|publisher=[[ESPN]]|date=May 17, 2011|access-date=October 2, 2011}}</ref> The Met's outfield seating featured green bleacher-style benches and seats, yet the seat the ball hit was painted red and could be seen from all other seats in the stadium.

For a time, there was talk of building a new park for the Twins on the old Met site that would be connected to the Mall of America. However, the terms of the agreement in which the land was sold to [[Triple Five Group]], owners of the Mall of America, do not allow another stadium to be built on the site. Even without this to consider, the site is now directly in a flight path for [[Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport]].<ref name=BallparkDigest/>

The old flagpole at the stadium was purchased by the Minneapolis/Richfield American Legion Post when the stadium was razed. The pole was sold back to the Twins and restored in {{mlby|2010}}; it was then placed in the plaza at [[Target Field]].<ref name="flagpole"/>

==Photo gallery: abandonment==
A series of photographs taken in the mid-1980s during Metropolitan Stadium's abandonment.
<gallery>
Image:Metropolitan Stadium abandoned-2.jpg
Image:Metropolitan Stadium abandoned-3.jpg
Image:Metropolitan Stadium abandoned-4.jpg
Image:Metropolitan Stadium abandoned-5.jpg
Image:Metropolitan Stadium abandoned-6.jpg
</gallery>

==References==

{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{Portal|United States|Baseball|American football|Architecture|Minnesota}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070216071547/http://vikings.scout.com/2/11650.html Hail Mary pass]
*[http://baseballhall.org/hof/killebrew-harmon Reference to longest home run]
*[http://discussions.mnhs.org/collections/2009/10/base-from-metropolitan-stadium/ Base from Metropolitan Stadium, Minnesota Historical Society]
*[http://www.oldmetstadium.com Tribute page (BallparkMagic)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az27Kzxn-qs News coverage of the Vikings' last game at the Met (YouTube)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7PfWlYYuQ4 1978 Minnesota Kicks game]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IHsLKqupIE 1972 softball practice at the Met]
*[https://www.startribune.com/dec-21-1981-met-stadium-s-violent-goodbye/237253121/ December 1981: Last Vikings game at Met Stadium ends in melee]

{{s-start-collapsible|header={{s-sta|et}}}}
{{succession box
 | title = Home of the<br />[[Minneapolis Millers]]
 | years = 1956–1960
 | before = [[Nicollet Park]]
 | after = none
}}
{{succession box
 | title = Home of the<br />[[Minnesota Twins]]
 | years = 1961–1981
 | before = [[Griffith Stadium]]
 | after = [[Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome]]
}}
{{succession box
 | title = Home of the<br />[[Minnesota Vikings]]
 | years = 1961–1981
 | before = First stadium
 | after = [[Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome]]
}}
{{succession box
 | title = Host of the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|MLB All-Star Game]]
 | years = 1965
 | before = [[Shea Stadium]]
 | after = [[Busch Memorial Stadium]]
}}
{{succession box
 | title = Host of [[NFC Championship Game]]
 | years = 1975<br />1977
 | before = [[Texas Stadium]]<br />[[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]]
 | after = [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]]<br />[[Texas Stadium]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Minnesota Vikings}}
{{Minnesota Twins}}
{{Minnesota Kicks}}
{{Defunct NFL stadiums}}
{{Defunct MLB Ballparks}}
{{Temporary and converted baseball parks}}

[[Category:American football venues in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Baseball venues in Minnesota]]
[[Category:1956 establishments in Minnesota]]
[[Category:1985 disestablishments in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Minneapolis–Saint Paul]]
[[Category:Sports venues completed in 1956]]
[[Category:Demolished sports venues in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Defunct American football venues in the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct baseball venues in the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct Major League Baseball venues]]
[[Category:Defunct NFL venues]]
[[Category:Minnesota Kicks sports facilities|m]]
[[Category:Defunct soccer venues in the United States]]
[[Category:Minnesota Twins stadiums]]
[[Category:Minnesota Vikings stadiums]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Bloomington, Minnesota]]
[[Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) stadiums]]
[[Category:Sports venues demolished in 1985]]
[[Category:American Association (1902–1997) ballparks]]