Twins Ballpark

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This article or section is about a planned or proposed stadium.
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Twins Ballpark

Location	3rd Ave. N, between 5th St. N and 7th St. N, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Opened	Opening Day 2010
Closed	-
Demolished	-
Owner	Hennepin County
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	$522 million
Architect	HOK Sport
Tenants
Minnesota Twins (2010-)
Capacity
40,000
Dimensions
Left Field - 328 ft Left-Center - 371 ft Center Field - 402 ft Right-Center - 371 ft. Right Field - 331 ft.

Twins Ballpark is the working title of the future stadium for the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It will be the franchise's sixth ballpark and third in Minnesota, replacing their current ballpark, the Metrodome.

The proposed stadium would be a 40,000 seat ballpark on the north edge of downtown Minneapolis between 6th and 7th streets near the Warehouse District and the Target Center; it is planned to have an unobstructed view of the downtown skyline. The field is designed to be broadly similar to that of Seattle's Safeco Field, deemed by the Twins to be a "neutral" park which favors neither hitters nor pitchers (the current Metrodome with its white teflon ceiling is often said to be a "hitter's park"). Fan amenities are anticipated to be designed after those of the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, the last major sports venue built in the area. Although earlier proposals called for the park to be built with a retractable roof, the current version of the park has neither a roof nor provisions to install one.

Current estimates put the stadium cost at $390 million, infrastructure and financing costs would bring the total to $522 million.

1 Legislation and funding
2 Criticism
3 Comparison to Metrodome
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Legislation and funding

A state law passed in 1997 requires anytime a county seeks to raise its sale tax, the question needs to be put before the voters. The law also allows a county to seek permission from the state to enact the tax without a voter’s referendum. The Minnesota Legislature did not act on the bill during the 2005 session.

In 2005, the team and Hennepin County reached an agreement that called for a county wide sales tax of 15 cents on each $100 of sales in Hennepin County along with a $125 million contribution from the Twins owners. Naming rights belong to the Minnesota Twins.

In the 2006 session, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the bill that would allow the team and county to go around the referendum. The Minnesota Senate also passed a version of the bill, but their version would also build a stadium for the Minnesota Vikings and fund transit projects. The two bills spent most of the legislative session in conference committee. The ballpark is scheduled to be open for the 2010 baseball season, the Twins' 50th season in Minnesota. The final bill was approved on May 21 and was signed by governor Tim Pawlenty before the Twins' May 26 home game against the Seattle Mariners. The final version is substantially identical to the House version, with language relating to both the transit tax and the Vikings stadium stripped.

The County Board approved the ballpark plan 5-2 on June 20, 2006 (Commissioner Gail Dorfman, previously an opponent of the park, switched sides, stating that the park was a done deal and the focus now was on implementing it in the most responsible way possible). The area also still faces an environmental impact study, though is expected to pass.

In mid-February of 2007, funding and acquisition ran into a snag due to the fact that the purchase price had not been previously negotiated when the State bill was passed and the current owners of the land were asking for a higher price than was expected.

[edit] Criticism

Controversy over a publicly funded stadium has plagued the Twins for over a decade. Critics argue this is corporate welfare and citizens aren't being allowed to vote even though state law calls for a referendum. The recent (2006) developments were met with much opposition to exempt Hennepin County from a mandatory referendum. Currently both the Senate (71-61) and House (34-32) have passed the exemption by slim margins on the final day of regular session and was signed by Governor Pawlenty. Pawlenty has expressed concern that the Twins were in danger of leaving town if a new stadium was not funded. Backing up the governor's position was the fact that baseball's current collective bargaining agreement allows Major League Baseball to fold up to two clubs following the 2006 season.

A majority in polls have found that the voters want a referendum, but the Twins and some of the commissioners have opposed it saying that it places the plan in jeopardy. The Twins have spent upwards of $750,000 for lobbying over the past decade. Overall opposition was lessened by the fact that only Hennepin County will see an increased sales tax, There also was some speculation that once Carl Pohlad no longer owned the team they might have moved without a new stadium. The new stadium seemingly ensures the team will play in the Twin Cities free of contraction or threats to relocate.

The site has also been criticized due to its small size, about one million square feet. The site is about the same size as that of Fenway Park. Many have shown concern for the logistics of the 5,000 people that will arrive every game via the Hiawatha light rail because rather than unloading on a broad plaza like that at the Metrodome, where the Twins now play, passengers will arrive and leave the ballpark in a space about 23 feet wide, roughly the width of a double garage. Others worry that not enough attention is being paid to make sure that the neighborhoods around the stadium, where related development is expected to occur, are not inadvertently walled off. As things stand, an 8-foot-high wall along the light-rail line will keep pedestrians from crossing N. 5th Street near the ballpark. There are also the Northstar Commuter Rail and Cedar Bike Lines coming into the small space around the stadium which will inevitably create congestion.

[edit] Comparison to Metrodome

	New Ballpark	Metrodome
Seats	40,000	56,000
Lower Deck Seats	23,450	21,621
Private Suites	60	115*
Group Party Suites	12	1
Club Level Seats	4,000	N/A
Upper Deck Seats	12,482†	28,779
Disabled Seating	820	190
Lower/Club Seats Between 1st/3rd	+/- 12,037	6,679
Outfield Seats	+/- 6,748	18,594
Seats w/ Obstructed Views	0	1,392
Main Concourse	44 feet, open to field	20 feet, closed to field
Total Restrooms	34	16