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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Houston Astros plan to remove \u201CTal's Hill\u201D in&amp;nbsp;centerfield&amp;nbsp;and move the outfield fences in as part of a $15 million renovation at Minute Maid Park, the team announced Thursday.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThis is one of our big projects we knew we wanted to do,\u201D owner Jim Crane&amp;nbsp;told MLB.com. \u201CWe did a lot of studies on other ballparks on the entertainment areas in center field and ours is very outdated over the life of the stadium, which has been great.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The project is part of a larger renovation of the&amp;nbsp;centerfield&amp;nbsp;seating area that is expected to be completed by the start of the 2016 season. The Astros will add three new bars and four food locations, along with a field-level group seating area.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 &lt;strong&gt;Josh Hamilton out four weeks with hamstring strain\u200B&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Astros also released renderings of what they expect the new area to look like.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The 90-foot-wide hill has a 30-degree slope and has been in place since the stadium opened in 2000. At the top of the hill is a flagpole that is in the field of play, an homage to earlier ballparks such as Yankee Stadium and Tiger Stadium. &amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The centerfield wall is currently 436 feet from home plate, the farthest distance in the major leagues. It will be moved in to 409 feet.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Astros said last fall they were considering removing the hill but had yet to make a final decision. Crane also said in 2012 that the team had thought about razing the hill.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;- Dan Gartland&lt;/em&gt;\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/mlb/2015/06/04/houston-astros-renovation-centerfield-hill-outfield-fences>