Houston Sports Authority CEO Janis Burke said last week that the Astros "already are interested in talks" to extend their lease at Minute Maid Park beyond '29, according to a front-page piece by David Barron of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. The lease is $4.6M a year, plus $2.5M "going into a capital improvements fund upon which the team can draw." Former Astros Owner Drayton McLane and current Owner Jim Crane have both spent "more than that on improvements." Astros Senior VP/Business Operations Marcel Braithwaite said that the Crane ownership group "has spent" nearly $30M for improvements since '11, including $5M this offseason. Barron notes since the sale to the Crane ownership group in '11, the Astros "have revamped the Home Run Alley area behind left field into a tribute to former Astros stars Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio and Jose Cruz, among others, and revamped the Diamond Club lounge for high-dollar ticket holders." During this offseason, workers "updated the control mechanism for the stadium's retractable roof and replaced the grass field." This year's "most visible upgrades are on the club level, which last year was rebranded as the Mazda Club Level." Improvements include "upgraded concession stations and two new bars on the third-base side." Braithwaite said that concessions and bars "have been added to the upper concourse, matching some on the main concourse." Also, the club-level smoking area "has been moved from an area that overlooked the Squeeze Play children's area to the clock tower area behind home plate." More changes "are in store" for '16 under what Braithwaite described as a "'foul pole to foul pole' review." However, Braithwaite said that the train atop the left-field wall, which "honors Union Station's history as Houston's passenger train station, will remain as 'an iconic piece of the ballpark'" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 4/6).
