Target Field and Justin Morneau
Posted on May 28th, 2009 – 10:20 AMBy Howard
I went on a tour of the Target Field construction site yesterday and I am coming to grips that there will no longer be a baseball stadium across the street from where I work, one of the things that has spoiled me for many, many years — even if it the Metrodome.
Like others, I am struck by how much they have been able to do with what seems like a small “footprint.” The place will have baseball quirks — as opposed to indoor baseball quirks — that are consistent with other ballparks that are part of the sport’s lore. They would have been finishing the “Twins” logo atop the scoreboard yesterday, but the wind kept that from happening. So the “w” was lying on the field and the “ins” was all that was in place.
From a fan’s perspective, you will be closer to the field in comparable seats than you are now. My group’s seats in the fourth row of Section 219 (between home plate and third base) should be a significant upgrade over the front row of the current 220. We saw the lower deck concourse and it is in the contemporary ballpark fashion of being able to see the field from most places while walking around.
If you can find someone who’ll take you into the Champion’s Club dining room before the game (admission comes with the top price $175-$275 tickets, so I won’t be issuing those invites), there will be a window that looks into the batting cages, which are located right behind the Twins dugout. (At the Dome, the cage is behind the right-field seats.) You still have to use some imagination right now, but it should be a good place to watch a ballgame. I’m looking forward to seeing the place when its closer to completion. (The Twins players should be happy with their stuff, based on the way it was roughed out and described.)
The public plaza area is beyond the right-field seats and will serve as the main, downtown-facing entrance to the park. The one thing some people could visualize is what would have happened to Justin Morneau’s line drive home run the other night. The wall in right field will be 23 feet high, just like in the Dome, and that home run would have sailed through the plaza area — with a good chance of ending up at 7th Street Entry after a few hops along the pavement. (Think of the driving contest scene from “Tin Cup”)
It should be a good place to watch and play baseball, especially if you start collecting warm clothes and rain gear now. We’ve had a 28-year break from thinking in those terms, and that part will take some getting used to.
41 Responses to "Target Field and Justin Morneau"
Thanks for the insight, Howard. Hopefully seeing the “W” missing from the scoreboard wasn’t a sign of anything to come.
I look forward to seeing a game at Target Field.
The only thing I’m bummed about is the lack of tailgaiting opportunity. I’m hoping the outdoor restaurant / bar scene makes up for it. Fans, I urge you not to fret about the weather. At golf league last week my foursome all barked about “why didn’t they put a roof on it”. Trust me on this, what we have is better. The occasional rainout or cold weather game will be more than tolerable when you consider what we’re getting in return on the vast majority of dates.
Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium is the best baseball stadium I’ve ever been to…the reasons are simple: open-air and intimate. There’s no “hole in the building” feeling you get in Milwaukee or Phoenix. In K.C., it feels like the ballpark was built specially for you. And the scoreboard rocks. I can only hope we’re getting one like they have.
Granted, I haven’t been to any of the newer outdoor-only parks, but I’ve been to enough dome or quasi-dome to know the difference between a ballpark and a building.
It should be fun.
Howard –
What will we see while watching the games on tv? Right now at the dome you see that blue wall behind the batters box; which I like. Will we have something like that at Target Field or will we have to watch some idiot fans wearing M&M coats and talking/texting on their phones???
The Ins will be the 2010 World Series Champions!
I’ve started storing more fat on my body in preparation for a 2010 playoff run.
This is the best excuse I’ve ever had for eating more and moving less.
I hope the Twins adopt what the O’s did in their “alley” at Camden. There are little plaques (baseball shape if I recall) showing where various home runs landed with the name of who hit it. It’s fun to walk up and down looking at the names and, in some cases, how far the ball went.
In the Morneau case from the other night I’m thinking I’d have to walk to at least Butler Square to find the plaque for that one.
Adam S., nope. The area behind home plate will be down at field level, as it should be.
Howard,
Regarding Morneau’s blast, while the wall in right field is the same height as the Metrodome, Target Field has seats above the wall. I don’t think Morneau’s blast would’ve cleared the seats and reached the plaza.
Jason, last night’s Powerball winning ticket was bought in, of all places, WINNER, SD. 
I’ve been to Milwaukee, Baltimore, and Cincinnati. The feeling of an entirely open-air stadium trumps that of a retractable roof any day of the week. Like Jason, I felt like I was in the middle of a silo in Miller Park. It’s *barely* outdoor baseball, what with the long shadows, high walls, and echoey sounds.
Camden and Great American, in contrast, feel exactly like they are: open-air stadiums with a real connection to the city around them. There was never the feeling of walking into a walled-off monstrosity that there is in Milwaukee. The setting was intimate and flat-out incredible.
* * * *
Adam, we’re going to see rich idiots texting and waving to the cameras, but that’s how it should be. Baseball shouldn’t be watched from 10′ up, looking down into a walled-off bowl. Fans should be part of the action — action taking place at eye-level. Baseball doesn’t have out-of-bounds lines like other sports. The ball is in-play until a fielder cannot reach it. The Dome takes some of that away by placing the players on a different level than the fans. As much as I despise Jeter and the Yanks, his iconic dive into the 3rd base stands cannot happen in the Dome. It can at Target Field.
Thanks for the article Howard. After going to spring training this spring, I am so excited for outdoor baseball. You just can’t beat a nice day with a cold beer in hand and a baseball game going on in front of you.
Is it 2010 yet???
Funny how few of the “no-roof” people mention Safeco Field, which offers the best of both worlds.
Though they probably will never admit it, the Twins will regret not pursuing a Safeco-esque retractable roof. Baseball is not meant to be played in the conditions the Twins encountered in Boston earlier this season. Those games were farces and an embarrassment to MLB.
Sweet One,
The drawings on the web site are not entirely accurate. The plaza area extends into fair territory in the area where Morneau’s home run went. (I would be saying the same thing as you if I hadn’t seen it first-hand.)
The link below is to a webcam that gives a better look. You can see the “escape route.”
So the “w” was lying on the field and the “ins” was all that was in place.
“E’re gonna in Tins, e’re gonna score!” 
With 81 home games, I don’t expect anyone to get too worried about weather causing a couple to be duds. 65 outdoor games in reasonable to great weather should trump 16 in unfavorable to unbearable weather.
We supposed to be tough, right?
If we can sit on a bucket on a frozen lake to catch 4 inch sunfish, we can sit in the bleachers in 40 degree weather to watch Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, Span, Revere, Kubel, Valencia, and whichever MI we trade Morales or Ramos for.
I live in NW ND, and when I take my family to Twins games, we commit to a weekend series. That’s 12 tickets, 3 nights in a hotel downtown, and 15 hrs of driving round trip. The cost is about $1000 per trip, and we try to do it twice a year. Initially I was quite upset about no retractable roof due to the extra risk of rain-outs. Then I went to a Diamondbacks game on a business trip. It was early May and the weather was perfect. Sunny, high 80’s, no wind. I was giddy about going to an outdoor game! When we got to the game, they had the roof closed, the A/C on, and it was 65 degrees inside the park. It was like they took away my birthday. From that day on, I vowed to never complain about the lack of a roof, it’s not worth it. I can’t wait to see the new place!
I’m getting excited…
And if you’re looking for lineups…
http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=StarTribune&page=mlb/scores/live/lineup.aspx?gameid=24428
Matt Tolbert should be required to pick a new song when he comes up to bat…the “IN MY HEADDD, IN MY HEADDDD, ZOMBIE, ZOMBIE…” is getting really old and is stuck in my head.
Looks like you’re going to have to change the name of the blog next season.
A few years ago I visited Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Both parks were great. I have no problem watching high school football in October, I will have no problem watching outdoor baseball in April & September.
I grew up about 1 mile from the old Met Stadium and spent MANY, MANY days there in the late 60’s and throughout the 70’s and attended the last game against Kansas City in 1981 on a cold dreary day. The first time I went to a game at the Dome, the first words out of my mouth when I saw the playing field were “god, what a dump”
I am not thrilled with the location of Target field (A nice river site with more exterior room would’ve been nice) I’m thinking a retractable roof would make more sense (there are some very nice ones now) But you know what?? We will FINALLY have outdoor baseball at a beautiful ballpark. I will gladly wear a sweatshirt and a jacket and hop on the lightrail to see our Twins
Did you write the title before the blog? Where’s the Morneau relevance? I’m guessing you were originally going to talk about the right field wall dimensions?
Screw the roof - with indoor baseball the sounds, smells, and sights are all wrong. All the complainers will cry a different tune when they go to an outdoor game and realize how much better the game is when played in a proper outdoor baseball facility, even if the weather isn’t perfect.
I have never been to a MLB outdoor baseball game! I can’t wait. The rain gear isn’t fun to think about but the sunny days are, so I guess thats the trade off.
Go Twins!
Can’t wait to have one of those sweaty, hot, humid summer days when a 15 minute rainstorm rolls through and cools everyone off. Just went to this type of game in D.C. Nationals stadium is sweet. Also had a similar experience at Wrigley last year. Good stuff.
I guess roof/no roof is not a factor in Minnesota-Boston games that are a farce and an embarrassment to MLB. Sad.
What’s up with the green seats in the model? Is the home team going to be the Oakland A’s. I hope they go with blue or red seats
They would have been finishing the “Twins” logo atop the scoreboard yesterday, but the wind kept that from happening.
that must have been a fairly serious wind. Howard, did you go close to the playing field and if you did, did you notice how it was blowing in the field? Was is bad enough to carry balls out? With those open plazas at the corners there might be some interesting currents out there…
Good one, T. New team song:
“I’m in with the In’s crowd, I go where the In’s crowd goes
I’m in with the In’s crowd and I know what the In’s crowd knows”
(real song. dobie gray”
“The View From Section 219″? eh.. lacks something.
Thrylos, I think they already showed off the seats somewhere. They are green… some are some kind of wood grain with green trim. I’m ok with that. My favorite ballpark remains Camden Yards and it’s not like they put orange or black seats there. It’s all green.
Howard… they’ve talk about the etched “glass” displays in the plaza that will have names of all the Twins players through history (or something along those lines, I believe). Just wondering how those sorts of things will stand up to the Morneau blasts in to the plaza!
Put me in the “can’t wait” group… it may be a 5 hour drive but I don’t care. I’ll find other things to do if games get rained out but baseball was intended to be played outdoors and I’ll be there more often than I go to the Dome now.
You do not mess with wind when you’re using a crane at a ballpark site. Or probably any big building. This is the lesson Miller Park learned the hard way. The true tragedy is that people died, but the baseball crime was that the whole structure didn’t collapse…
I also can’t wait. I spent many days at the old met (for baseball and football, including getting two seats at the last ever football game, only to have an idiot fraternity brother throw them away a few years later).
Baseball should be played outside, and the stadium sure looks beautiful from the bike path.
So all of you mean to tell me you’ve never ended up “at 7th Street Entry after a few hops along the pavement”
You haven’t lived…….
Yes the new Tin’s stadium will be nice. I am just afraid of having an experience like Big D when we make the annual trip to see the Minnesota Tins. Shelling out about a grand, driving for hours, and get rotten weather when we get there. It has been posted that the old Met had a very low percentage of rainouts, so that is what I’m hoping for. That, and Global Warming.
Go Tins!
This past Tuesday I selected my seats for Target Field and it’s got me even more jacked for next season.
As far as Jason’s comment regarding the lack of a tailgating aspect… I’m fine with it. Even when we had the lots outside the Dome on Washington Ave, it was still pretty sparse, just don’t think baseball relates to tailgating like football does.(can’t speak for old Met).
My guess is you are going to see some serious restaurant/bar development around the park, somewhat expanding the warehouse district.
That whole area is going to be revitalized. Sorry “Huberts”…I will miss your 60 person capacity.
The worst thing about Souhan’s suggestion is that Perkins would still be in the rotation. I could handle cisco in the pen though. Might help him avoid the blow up innings.
Agree, Justy. But don’t try to change the subject. The “W” blew down, for crying out loud! ! !
Minnesota Tins. I like that. “Can of Corn!”. New mascot: Rin Tin Tin.
Sic ‘em!
Fetch!
Don’t Roll Over!
“I have never been to a MLB outdoor baseball game! I can’t wait.”
That is so sad, on so many levels.
Thanks to the Saints I’ve seen many outdoor ballgames.
But I finally saw a true outdoor game at Coors Field. It was a blast. One thing that will be interesting is how the crowd noise “changes” due to not being contained within a roof.
Also, has there been any word on if the Twins will follow the trend of shooting off fireworks for homers/wins/etc?
…how the crowd noise “changes” due to not being contained within a roof.
By crowd noise do you mean ‘87 World Series, 747 taking off decibel levels or weekday, day game vs KC lulling you to sleep static noise?
Obviously it won’t be as loud but hopefully with the small, compact footprint, it will contain a lot of crowd frenzy.
Eddie: Thanks to the dome, it seems like even a lesser crowd can make some decent noise if given good reason.
But yeah, nothing matches the Dome when the seats are packed and everbody’s going nuts.
