The Physics
Factbook
An encyclopedia of scientific essays

Height of a Domed Stadium

An educational, fair use website

search icon
Bibliographic Entry Result
(w/surrounding text)
Standardized
Result
Claude, Charlier. The Smithsonian. January 1988. "Gauges monitor wind speed on two sides, roof height (which varies from 188 feet to 193 feet at the center)." 62.3 m
Dome News. June 2006. "Capacity: 71,149
Construction: took 859 days to build, covers 8.6 acres, 275 feet tall (27 stories)
Club Seats: 4,604"
83.8 m
Astrodome. Baseball Almanac, 1965. "The Astrodome was nicknamed the "Eighth Wonder of the World" when it first opened its doors on April 12, 1965… Architectural wonders of the Astrodome: The apex of the Houston Astrodome roof was two-hundred eight feet above the playing field." 63.4 m
Larayne Decoeur, Noah Morowitz. Modern Marvels: Domed Stadiums. The History Channel, 1996. "Georgia Dome - 83.8 m (275 feet)
Skydome - 43.3 m (142 feet)
Astrodome - 63.4 m (208 feet)
Kingdome - 76.2 m (250 feet)
Superdome - 77.1 m (253 feet)"
43.3–83.8 m

Sports fields in the United States are made to withstand many types of weather, but sometimes the weather won't allow some teams to play at all. But with domed stadiums weathered out games are a thing of the past. Domed stadiums always provide the perfect conditions for teams to play in and provide fans cover from even the most terrible weather conditions.

Covering large playing fields, these domes always offered ideal playing conditions and comfortable seating for the fans. The first domed stadium, the Astrodome, was even named the eighth wonder of the world with its extraordinary design. It reached a peak height of 63.4 m (208 feet) above its second base! Many other domes have been made after it, including the New Orleans Superdome, and Seattle's Kingdome. In Toronto the Skydome gets its name from its retractable roof that would open on nice sunny days.

Name Location Height (m) Height (ft)
Skydome Toronto, ON 43.3 142
Astrodome Houston, TX 63.4 208
Kingdome Seattle, WA 76.2 250
Superdome New Orleans, LA 77.1 253
Georgiadome Atlanta, GA 83.8 275

However some say that the stadiums are not tall enough. Mike Schmidt hit a ball off the speaker over the Astrodome field, which is 117-feet up and 300-feet out. He was given a single, because the ball was ruled in play and returned sharply to second. In cases like these where a baseball hits an object while in flight, the balls are ruled as automatic ground balls and give batters either fouls or earned bases. But in the event that a ball is caught after hitting an object it is ruled as an out.

James Kim -- 2006