Archive for the ‘Arenas & Stadiums’ Category
Twins First Rainout, No Roof?
May 7th, 2010 by Cale LokenTonight, May 7th, the Twins will be rained out for the first time in Target Field. Initially, when the ballpark was first talked about, I was in favor of a retractable roof. The cost was speculated to be between $100 to $150 Million. I figured with the rain-outs combined with colder weather in Spring and Fall would be enough reason to have a retractable roof. Since this is the first day the roof would have helped I figured it would be worth looking at.
I have heard that the average amount of rain-outs at the old Metropolitan stadium was 3 to 4 per year. That would mean that with 4 rain-outs per year for 20 years, that would be 80 games that would need to be postponed. Over 30 years that would be 120 games, which would mean that it would cost around $1 million per game that is rained out over the next 30 years. Now this might not include games where the weather is below 30 degrees, but we have an outdoor stadium for a reason. I thought that the rain-outs would happen a lot more often, but I guess I was wrong. Yes it would be nice to have a retractable roof for games like tonight, especially since I have tickets, but at least we have an outdoor stadium to thankful for.
There isn’t a retractable roof on Target Field, but for us Minnesotans it just isn’t worth it.
Opening Week at Target Field
April 16th, 2010 by Cale Loken
The day that finally came for us Twins fans, April 12th. We got there early, around 10:30am, people gathering around in Twins gear excited to see the team play outdoors. When we got in the park, we were very impressed with the detail and comfortable atmosphere the park brought. There are definitely several parks in the Major Leagues that are larger than Target Field, but does larger improve the experience? The stands in the outfield seem to have a vary narrow and steep look to them, which adds to the overall feeling that the fans are that much closer together. The vast open air and view of the field from the concourses was a great site, considering I have never been to a MLB park other than the Metrodome.
Our season tickets are a few rows up on the 3rd baseline, which makes the experience that much better. However, I would be interested to see a game from different seats. So I purchased tickets for several different areas of the ball park after the game. The second picture is from the game on Friday night, which was the first night game at Target Field. The view from our seats was the skyline of downtown Minneapolis and the large Twins sign with Minnie and Paul lit up in the night-time sky. The only complaint I have is that bathrooms and the first level infield concessions are crowded with long lines. Otherwise, I was very impressed with what I saw.
If you are planning on coming to Minneapolis, definitely grab some tickets and visit Target Field. It is a great place to be, especially with all of the bars, restaurants and night life in the area.
Target Field Open House
March 21st, 2010 by Cale LokenSaturday, March 20th was the day season ticket holders got their first glimpse of Target Field. The day has finally come to see what this ballpark had to offer. I was just excited to see what the Twins would be playing in and I was definitely impressed. There were three different bars or restaurants; Metropolitan Club, Hrbek’s Bar and Town Ball Tavern. The Metropolitan Club was large and had to be to invite season ticket holders to enjoy a large buffet. I heard that the full buffet was around $29 per person, so probably something I would never do since there are several places to eat around the stadium. Hrbek’s Bar and the Town Ball Tavern seemed a bit small, but how big can they be? Overall I was pretty impressed with what I saw at the field that day. Here is a view from our seats.
I am definitely excited to see the Twins play at Target Field this season, cant wait until opening day.