The Minnesota Twins have called the Hubert H. Humphry Metrodome home since 1982. Following the 2009 season the team will say goodbye to the dome and move into the brand new Target Field, which is currently under construction. A groundbreaking ceremony was held August 30, 2007, and if Target Field is completed according to schedule, it will be ready for baseball on opening day, 2010.
Location
The stadium site is located in the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis a block away from the Target Center. It is about a mile northwest of the Metrodome.
Seating
Target Field's seating capacity will be approximately 40,000, about 1,500 fewer than the Metrodome's. The most significant seating reduction will occur for upper level seating. The Metrodome currently has 32,445 upper level seats, while the new stadium will only have 13,468. However, there will be 840 seats designed for the physically disabled, up from the 190 at the Metrodome. None of the 40,000 seats will have obstructed views.
Amenities
Though the amount of seating will be greatly reduced, the Twins are advertising wider seats and more legroom. Additionally, the concourses will be wider and the stadium will have 219 more restroom fixtures. The scoreboard, originally designed to be standard definition, will be high definition, 101 feet wide by 57 feet high, and will cost approximately $9 million.
Dimensions
Fair territory in Target Field will be slightly smaller than that of the Metrodome. It will be 339 feet to the left field foul pole, 404 feet to center, and 328 feet to the right field foul pole. The park is not expected to significantly favor hitters more than pitchers, and vice versa.
Architects
Target Field was designed by HOK Sport (now called Populous), who also designed several other Major League venues, including Camden Yards in Baltimore, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis, and the new Yankee Stadium in New York.
Costs
The original budget for the project was $478 million, which Included additional construction to the surrounding infrastructure. However, due to rising infrastructure costs the entire project, including purchase of the land itself, is projected to cost $544 million. The stadium itself will cost about $412 million. Voters of Hennepin County approved a .15% sales tax to pay for most of the costs.
Foul Weather
Due to Minneapolis' northern and landlocked location, the climate is colder than that of other United States cities with Major League baseball teams. This was a non-issue inside the climate-controlled Metrodome, but Target Field will be an open-air stadium. Temperatures in Minneapolis frequently dip below freezing in April and October, and snowfall is not unusual in April. The concourses, concessions, and restrooms of Target Field will be heated, and a sunscreen will shield the upper deck seats. It is worth noting that Metropolitan Stadium, an open-air ballpark where the Twins played for twenty seasons prior to moving into the Metrodome, had no such amenities.
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