Target Field: A Review

So today I had the honor or roaming around Target Field at an open house that was opened up to season ticket holders. I thank my good friend Joe for taking my son, Sam, and I along. It was tremendous. After an afternoon of walking through the park, here’s just one man’s review of the glory that is Target Field.

Overview: Over all, it’s amazing. It’s intimate, feels like baseball, filled with local charm and lore, and, on a nice day, would be enjoyed by even the mildest of baseball fans. I highly recommend it, and I can’t wait to get in there for a game. It’s comfortable, feels friendly and the Twins finally have a place to call home. With that in mind, here are few things that stood out to me.

Getting There: I would say that getting there could be tricky, however I think the trickiness of it will diminish with time. Everybody has their “spots” at the dome, but this is all new. We don’t have our “spots” yet and may take some time, even a couple years, to figure that out, just as it did at the dome. I encourage frequent game goers to not get frustrated with this even though it might be frustrating for a while. Be patient and experiment and I believe you’ll find your parking groove in time. With that in mind, I highly recommend taking the Light Rail. It drops you off right outside the park and works pretty well. It even worked well for game 163, which was the largest regular season crowd the Dome had seen for baseball. If the LRT can handle game 163 at the dome, it can handle Target Field. You can park in “your spot” from the dome days and take the train for a mere 50 cents. Try it.

Seating: we pretty much hit every area (not every section), and I feel like I can say that just about every seat in this park is better than any seat at the Dome (not saying much, I know). The second tier, which is the seats labeled as letters not numbers, are great. They’re spendy but I was surprised by just how good they are. If I were to splurge on seats for a game, I might go with these. They might be the best bang for your buck and are probably the best foul ball territory.

The lower level seats along the baseline are ridiculously amazing. And quite honestly, once I went down to them I was surprised that they are only in the $80.00 range. That’s still a crazy dollar amount, but these are some great seats. They feel as close to the action as a Siebert Field or Midway Stadium. I don’t know if I’ll ever afford to be there, but they are incredible. The front row seats are so close to the field that my 7-year-old could reach over and pick up sand from the warning track. Close is good, but watch out. This is serious line shot foul ball territory. You’ll want a glove for your own survival. You know that “catcher” that would a guard the pitcher and catcher in the “bullpen” at the Dome? That’s you. Bring a glove.

As far as views go, anywhere on the third base line is the place to be. The Minneapolis skyline is available to you in all its glory. And the higher up you are, the better the view is. And even if you’re in the last row of the upper deck, you still have a great, and not too distant view of the field. In terms of filed view, it seems to me that the last row of the upper deck at Target Field is as good as the front row of the upper deck at the Dome.

I  have one caution which I deem to be Target Field’s biggest flaw. The center filed seats (the ones above the pine trees) are pretty bad. You have a nice centered view of the infield, but you can’t see well over half of the outfield. It’s pretty bad, and bad enough that I’m surprised they designed it that way. I would seriously avoid these. They are, in my opinion, the worst seats in the house, and I might even go so far as to say they are flat out bad.

Outside of the center field seats, there isn’t a bad seat in this place. Seriously. You’ll need to get out of your Dome mindset when looking at seating charts. If you’re in the last row of the upper deck at the Dome, it’s just bad. Here, you’re fine, and you are also afforded some nice urban landscapes behind you.

Food: It’s expensive. I think I saw a burger for $9.50, a steak sandwich for over $10.00, and a lot of other expensive stuff. But there is a lot of variety, including wild rice soup (welcome to Minnesota, ladies and gentlemen). So if you’ve got the cash, you’ll find a much better dining experience here than you ever did at the Dome. For those of you who don’t mind missing out on the game, there are a lot of little taverns and bars where you can sit and have a drink or something to eat as well. It’s not for me, but I imagine these spots will be pretty full. The beer and soda prices seem to be on par with what they were at the dome, and they do have a “kids meal”, which is actually pretty good: A hot-dog, bag of chips and a soda for $5.00. Not too bad. Sam will be partaking for sure.

The open concourses are fantastic. You can roam around, go to the restroom, or grab some food and still see the field pretty well. They also have a lot of little table ledge things along the concourses with a full view of the field where you can eat your hot-dog and down your Coke, if you want.

Weather: With no roof, the big question is, “what about the weather”. It’s true, here in Minnesota we don’t just have rain to worry about. I walked out of opening day two years to sloppy snow and ice. So what do we do? Well, just remember that rain outs are just part of the game. It was the one good thing about the dome: you knew your game was going to be played (aside from one game in the 80’s when the Angels couldn’t get here because of snow). But that security came at a very high price. When you get your first look at the skyline, you won’t be mourning the loss of the dome; a retractable roof would still be nice, but if it is the difference between a new ballpark or not, I’ll risk the rain.

But then there’s the cold. It wasn’t warm out there today. When we were in the sun, we were fine, but many of the seats were shaded and it didn’t take long to get chilly sitting there. I highly recommend bringing a nice fuzzy blanket on the chillier days. But get this, if you get cold, the concourses are lined with heat lamps. It’s nice and toasty up there. Go grab some hot cocoa, watch from the concourse for a few minutes, and head back to your seat. You’ll be fine. Kudos to whoever came up with that idea.

Heat? I’m actually more concerned about that than anything else. I’ve been at some outdoor games in the heat and they can be tough. Luckily, again, the concourses. Lots of shade. Take your break from the heat and watch from the concourses.

Baseball Lore: One of the great things about this park is all of the baseball stuff. The concourses are lined with all kinds of Twins and MLB history. The full scale restaurant (which you’ll never see me at) has a huge picture of “the ol’ Met”, which is nice. One spot has a wall lined with a picture of every MLB park. There are life sized pictures of former Twins from Mudcat Grant to Harmon Killebrew to Frank Viola to Rick Aguilera. One of my favorite spots is a crafty piece of art with famous Twins “calls” written out. Herb Carneal’s call of the last out of the ’87 series gave me chills. Then in one of the bar areas is a huge wood stained rendering of Kirby Puckett. It’s beautiful. All of this adds a certain charm to the park and gives you a good flavor of Twins baseball history. Interestingly enough, however, the mid-late nineties seem to missing. Hm. Probably better forgotten anyway.

In Conclusion: It’s great. You will not be disappointed. This is a well thought out, well planned ballpark. There is a lot of catering to the wealthy elite, to be sure, but there are a lot of ways for those of us on more modest incomes to get there and have a good experience. Your $13.00 seats are light years better than than the cheap seats at the Dome. If you like baseball, you will love this ball park. If you don’t like baseball, congratulations- those few times when family or work subject you to it, you might just not hate it. I, for one, can’t wait to get out there. Thank you, Hennepin County.