Editing Oracle Park (section)

==History==
===Design and construction===
Originally designed to be a 42,000-seat stadium, there were slight modifications before the final design was complete. When the ballpark was brought to the ballot box in the fall of 1996 for voter approval, the stadium was 15° clockwise from its current position. The center-field scoreboard was atop the right-field wall, with the Giants Pavilion Building being in two separate buildings.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Giants' Grand Designs / Statue of Willie Mays to Grace New Ballpark|first=Edward|last=Epstein|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/The-Giants-Grand-Designs-Statue-of-Willie-Mays-2852222.php|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=February 25, 1997|access-date=June 9, 2014}}</ref>
Groundbreaking on the ballpark began on December 11, 1997, in the [[Port of San Francisco|industrial waterfront area]] of San Francisco known as [[China basin|China Basin]] in the up-and-coming neighborhoods of [[South Beach, San Francisco|South Beach]] and [[Mission Bay, San Francisco|Mission Bay]]. The stadium cost $357&nbsp;million to build and supplanted the Giants' former home, [[Candlestick Park]], a multi-use stadium in southeastern San Francisco that was also home to the [[National Football League|NFL]]'s [[San Francisco 49ers]] until 2014, when they relocated to [[Levi's Stadium]] in [[Santa Clara, California|Santa Clara]]. A team of engineers from [[University of California, Davis|UC Davis]] was consulted in the design process of the park, resulting in wind levels that are approximately half those at Candlestick.<ref name=uc_davis>{{cite web|title=Engineering: Taking the Wind Out of Baseball|url=http://ucdavismagazine.ucdavis.edu/issues/win00/News_Baseball.html|work=UC Davis Magazine|access-date=September 18, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611171931/http://ucdavismagazine.ucdavis.edu/issues/win00/News_Baseball.html|archive-date=June 11, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> But due to Oracle Park's location at [[San Francisco Bay]], cold fog and temperatures in summer months are still not unusual at Giants games, despite reduced wind levels.

When it opened on March 31, 2000, the ballpark was the first [[Major League Baseball|MLB]] ballpark built without public funds since the completion of [[Dodger Stadium]] in 1962.<ref name=first_private>{{cite news |title=Privately Built Pacific Bell Park a Curse to Other Teams|agency=Associated Press|url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2002/oct/22/privately_built_pacific/|newspaper=[[Lawrence Journal-World]]|date=October 22, 2002|access-date=September 18, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930035104/http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2002/oct/22/privately_built_pacific/|archive-date=September 30, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the Giants did receive a $10&nbsp;million tax abatement from the city and $80&nbsp;million for upgrades to the local infrastructure (including a connection to the [[Muni Metro]]).<ref name=twins>{{cite web |title=In San Francisco, the Giants Went Private for Their Stadium|first=Jon|last=Gordon|url=http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/05/14_gordonj_sanfranpark/|work=[[Minnesota Public Radio]]|date=May 14, 2004|access-date=September 17, 2007}}</ref> The Giants have a 66-year lease on the {{convert|12.5|acre|m2|adj=on}} ballpark site, paying $1.2&nbsp;million in rent annually to the San Francisco Port Commission.<ref name=first_private/> The park opened with a [[seating capacity]] of 40,800, but this has increased over time as seats have been added. In April 2010, the stadium became the first MLB ballpark to receive [[Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design|LEED]] Silver Certification for Existing Buildings, Operations and Maintenance.<ref>{{cite press release |title=AT&T Park Becomes the First Major League Ballpark to Receive LEED Silver Certification for Existing Buildings, Operations and Maintenance|url=http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20100421&content_id=9471154&vkey=pr_sf&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100426140941/http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20100421&content_id=9471154&vkey=pr_sf&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 26, 2010|publisher=[[Major League Baseball Advanced Media]]|date=April 21, 2010|access-date=August 14, 2013}}</ref>

Following the 2019 season, the organization began the process of relocating the [[bullpen]]s from the first and third base foul lines to behind the outfield walls in center and right-centerfield. The motivation was two-fold: to address player safety issues that had arisen over the years by having the bullpen mounds in the field of play, and to slightly alter the dimensions of the park to perhaps increase, if ever-so-slightly, the potential for home runs in certain areas of the outfield,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/giants/giants-announce-changes-oracle-park-move-bullpens-outfield|title=Giants announce Oracle Park changes with new dimensions|date=December 12, 2019|website=NBCS Bay Area|access-date=February 11, 2020}}</ref> most notably in right-center field, affectionately known as Triples Alley (a design feature meant as an homage to the centerfield depth of the Giants former home in New York, [[Polo Grounds|The Polo Grounds]]). Prior to these modifications, multiple players both home and away had experienced various levels of injury sustained by tripping over the bullpen mounds while chasing foul balls. Most notably, former Giants outfield prospect [[Mac Williamson]] sustained a concussion during such a play that significantly altered his season.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.knbr.com/2019/02/26/mac-williamson-on-concussion-last-season-i-had-never-endured-some-of-the-things-i-endured-last-year-in-my-life/|title=Mac Williamson on concussion last season: 'I had never endured some of the things I endured last year in my life'|last=Cavalieri|first=Dom|date=February 26, 2019|website=KNBR-AF|language=en-US|access-date=February 11, 2020}}</ref>

===Naming rights===
[[File:Pbp574.jpg|right|thumb|[[Barry Bonds]] passes [[Harmon Killebrew]] for seventh on the all-time [[home run]] list on May 13, 2002.]]
On April 3, 1996, [[Pacific Bell]], a telephone company serving California based in San Francisco, purchased the [[naming rights]] for the planned ballpark for $50&nbsp;million for 24&nbsp;years. The stadium was named Pacific Bell Park, or Pac Bell Park for short.<ref name="SFGate AT&T Park rename">{{cite news |title=It's Official: SBC Park Becomes AT&T March 1 / S.F. Giants Will Be Playing Ball on Field's Second Name Change Since Opening in 2000|first=George|last=Raine|url=http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/It-s-official-SBC-Park-becomes-AT-T-March-1-2542007.php|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=February 4, 2006|access-date=August 13, 2012}}</ref>

Just days before the sponsorship was announced, [[SBC Communications]] had announced their intention to acquire Pacific Bell's parent company, [[Pacific Telesis]], a deal which closed in April 1997. SBC eventually stopped using the Pacific Bell name for marketing, and reached an agreement with the Giants to change the stadium's name to SBC Park on January 1, 2004.<ref name="SFGate AT&T Park rename"/>

After SBC bought [[AT&T Corporation]] on November 18, 2005, the name of the merged company became [[AT&T Inc.]] As a result, in 2006 the stadium was given its third name in six years: AT&T Park.<ref name="SFGate AT&T Park rename"/>
[[File:SF Giants Night Game.jpg|thumb|right|A Giants' night game on September 25, 2018, vs. the [[San Diego Padres]] from a lower-level view at Oracle Park]]
On January 9, 2019, it was reported that AT&T had given the Giants the option of ending the naming deal a year early, if the team could quickly find a new partner.<ref>{{cite news|last=Haft|first=Chris|title=Giants, Oracle agree to naming rights deal|url=https://www.mlb.com/giants/news/giants-oracle-agree-to-naming-rights-deal/c-302553388|publisher=[[MLB Advanced Media]]|website=SFGiants.com|date=January 9, 2019|access-date=January 17, 2019}}</ref> The Giants and [[Redwood Shores, California|Redwood Shores]] based [[Oracle Corporation]] came to a rapid agreement, with the old AT&T Park signs being replaced with temporary Oracle Park banners on January 10.<ref>{{cite news|last=Schulman|first=Henry|title=SF Giants' home now called Oracle Park after AT&T split|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/giants/article/San-Francisco-Giants-home-now-called-Oracle-13522180.php|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=January 9, 2019|access-date=January 15, 2019}}</ref>

===2020 renovations===
The Giants renovated the center field section of Oracle Park between October 2019 and June 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/giants/fans/construction/bullpens|title=Construction Updates|website=mlb.com|publisher=San Francisco Giants|date=December 12, 2019|access-date=August 2, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/giants/check-out-first-look-giants-new-completed-bullpens-oracle-park|title=Check out first look at Giants' new completed bullpens at Oracle Park|website=nbcsports.com|publisher=NBC Sports Bay Area|date=June 30, 2020|access-date=August 2, 2021}}</ref> The bullpens were moved from foul territory into center field, so the Giants decided to make their garden smaller to fit the bullpens behind the center-field wall. With this renovation, the dimensions of the park have slightly shrunk. Left-center was trimmed down from 404 feet to 399 feet, right-center (known as Triples Alley) was trimmed down from 421 feet to 415 feet (to represent the San Francisco area code), and dead-center was trimmed down from 399 feet to 391 feet, making it the second shortest dead-center field distance in MLB, behind only [[Fenway Park]] in [[Boston]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2019/12/11/21012225/sf-giants-oracle-parks-new-dimensions-move-bullpen-mounds|title=Oracle Park's new dimensions|website=mccoveychronicles.com|publisher=SB Nation|date=December 11, 2019|access-date=May 7, 2021}}</ref> With this renovation, approximately 650 bleacher seats had to be removed, so the two terraces could be built for fans to watch the relief pitchers warm-up from up close.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/giants/giants-announce-changes-oracle-park-move-bullpens-outfield|title=Giants announce changes to Oracle Park, move bullpens to outfield|website=nbcsports.com|publisher=NBC Sports Bay Area|date=December 12, 2019|access-date=August 2, 2021}}</ref> The center field wall shortened from eight feet to seven feet, but after the Giants first exhibition of the [[2020 San Francisco Giants season|2020 season]], the dead-center field part of the wall (covering the garden) was raised from seven feet to ten feet to improve visibility to the hitter.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/giants/why-giants-raised-oracle-park-center-field-wall-10-feet-last-week|title=Why Giants raised Oracle Park center field wall to 10 feet last week|website=nbcsports.com|publisher=NBC Sports Bay Area|date=July 28, 2020|access-date=August 2, 2021}}</ref>

Despite having the unique moniker of the least home-run friendly field over several seasons prior to the renovations, it is believed that these renovations were made to increase home run output from the Giants. The MLB has seen a surge in home run production in recent years, and the Giants consistently ranked well towards the bottom in this category in large part because of Oracle Park's extreme advantage to pitchers. This hurt the run production of Giants players and also discouraged power hitters from wanting to play for the Giants. From 2017 to 2019, one of the common criticisms of the Giants was their lack of offensive output and unwillingness to adjust to a home run-heavy offense. However, the Giants significantly improved in 2020, the first year the dimensions were moved in. Things would trend upward with a massive bounce-back season in 2021; several Giants such as [[Brandon Belt]] and [[Mike Yastrzemski]] fueled the offense with more home runs, especially to a shortened triple's alley (which was infamous for turning what would be a long HR in several ballparks into deep 420-foot+ flyouts, killing several promising San Francisco scoring opportunities in the past). Oracle Park still ranks towards the bottom of the home run category, but this designation is not as consistent anymore.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-02 |title=What is the hardest MLB ballpark to hit a home run in? |url=https://www.nbcsportschicago.com/mlb/chicago-white-sox/what-is-the-hardest-mlb-ballpark-to-hit-a-home-run-in/329713/ |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=NBC Sports Chicago |language=en-US}}</ref>

During the 2023–24 offseason, the Giants installed new programmable [[Light-emitting diode|LED]] lighting technology providing full color spectrum capabilities and motion lighting effects for Giants home runs, wins and other special occasions. Oracle Park became the first MLB ballpark to have spotlights, in the form of 12 advanced moving light features. [[Loudspeaker|Speaker]] upgrades were also done with the addition of subwoofers, allowing a more immersive audio experience.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.mlb.com/news/giants-announce-improvements-2024-special-events-at-oracle-park | title=Giants to light up the night at Oracle Park | website=[[MLB.com]] }}</ref>