The Journey Of Metrodome Seats In Minnesota Sports Venues

Next year, the Minnesota Baseball Association will be holding part of its state tournament in a stadium that boasts more than 500 pieces of sports memorabilia. More than 500 former Metrodome seats are still in use at the Shakopee stadium, but that made me think, what happened to the rest of the seats? Here are three places in Minnesota that got Metrodome seats, but after nearly 10 years, can you still sit in them?

Shakopee Hoping To Bring Some 'Dome Magic' To State Tourney

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Joe Schleper Baseball Stadium, located in the Tahpah Park Sports Complex in Shakopee, MN, will be one of the host sites for the 2026 Minnesota Baseball Association state tournaments. 'The Joe', as it's known to fans of amateur baseball and locals, is preparing the site ahead of next year's tournament. Part of the work being done has to do with stadium upgrades, like new seating arrangements and added concrete.

On top of the new seating arrangements on the way, The Joe also has 540 Metrodome seats on site, as part of their stadium. How amazing that these seats will be a part of more baseball championships being won, like they saw for high school tournaments, and Major League Baseball.

The other sites that are going to be hosting state tournament games in 2026 are New Prague, Chaska, and Jordan.

Faribault County High School No Longer Uses Its Metrodome Seats

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United South Central High School, located in Wells, Minnesota, not far from the Iowa/Minnesota border, has more than 800 seats for its outdoor athletic complex that are still in use. The Rebels, which during my time in the area in the early-mid 2010s sent several athletes up to the state track and field tournament, always had one of the best complexes in the area.

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In 2024, the former Metrodome seats were removed, as while the seats were nice, they just weren't meant to be out in Minnesota's elements year-round, and had been in tough shape. The seats were replaced with more traditional bleacher seating.

'True Blue' Royals Stadium At Woodbury High School

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Royals Stadium, next to the outdoor athletic complex, which includes the football field, still looks to be using the old Metrodome seats for fans of Woodbury Royals baseball. I couldn't find any news that they had been removed or replaced, like I did for United South Central, and Streetview images of the stadium seem to show the blue seats are still in use as recently as 2024.

Other online records indicate that more Metrodome seats were sent out to other states for use in a variety of settings.

6 Photos You Won't Believe Were Taken In Minnesota

After having spent the greater part of the last three weeks outside Minnesota, it has been great to be back. We live in a very beautiful part of the country. From the North Shore's jagged cliffs to the rolling croplands of southern Minnesota and to the driftless area near Preston, our state is filled with beautiful sights. I managed to find 6 photos that were taken right here in Minnesota, but when you look at them, you'd think they were taken somewhere else completely. Let's enjoy the land of 10,000 photos, shall we?

Gallery Credit: Unsplash