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Places: 573 Club

September 3, 2010 2:04 PM

From above, Target Field looks something like a spinning baseball. The building projects constant motion, with jets of energy leaping from its corners into the surrounding space.

It might have been enough just to have these jets as superficial elements of the facade, but all have been finished off into dramatic, and highly functional, spaces. The Metropolitan Club and pro shop reach out with the canopy on the plaza side, while the Town Ball Tavern balcony extends the other end of the canopy toward Fifth Street and the trains.

In between, at the home plate corner of the ballpark, an equally dramatic jet honors perhaps the greatest Twin of all, and his Hall-of-Fame, home-run-filled career.

Harmon Killebrew's career home run total is appropriately carved into the signature limestone, to give the 573 Club its name. Carrying the theme throughout the room are large photographs of his classic swing.


This mural is behind the staircase. The window looks onto the promenade, and the door goes to a kitchen.


This looks from the base of the stairs, behind the big pillars, toward the street.



These images are found at the top of the staircase, which leads to the Suite Level.

Killebrew's autograph adorns a bar which evokes the gigantic piece of lumber that home run hitters bring to the plate. (An earlier idea to have the bar made entirely from an uncut piece of ash was scrapped when the cost estimate came in close to a million bucks.)

The purpose of the space during games is really just for lounging. But it is available for rental for special events on non-game days.

Daylight (pre-game)


Night (about the 7th inning)


Compare this picture, from the open house in March, with the one above and you'll see that some furniture reconfiguration has taken place.


Unlike Hrbek's (which is directly below this space), I have never seen the 573 Club teeming with people. It definitely has a "club" feel, but not a "bar" feel at all. And while there are monitors available to keep up on the game, they are sort of downplayed. This is a place to come when you need a little quiet time away from the game, perhaps to take or make a call.

Balconies extend the space over the sidewalks and out into the neighborhood.

Looking from the doorway to the south, across Seventh Street


Looking up Seventh Street to the west


At the end of the balcony you can see down the promenade.


Looking back toward downtown from the end of the balcony


The Hrbek gate is directly below. It's a lively place after a game.


Looking back toward the doorway into the club

And, like the other spaces in the Legends Club, memorabilia is on display.



Two additional spaces are directly adjacent to the 573 Club. This map of the Club Level should help in orienting your view.

As you exit the 573 Club back into the Legends Club hallway, you run right into the famous "quote wall" which is just outside the press box.

To the left of the quote wall, around a corner, is the security desk for the press box, one of the many places in the park where small gatherings of people can be seen preparing for the event just before the gates open.

Directly across from the quote wall, to the right as you exit the 573 Club, is a fairly large retail store.

The Legends Club retail store is just visible at the right of this picture.

Finally, you've probably seen this in plenty of images, but right at the turn in the hallway, where the three Legends Club areas meet at the press box, a gigantic Twins logo is embedded in the floor.

There's no mistaking who this place belongs to, or who among the legions of players which have worn the uniform has made significant impact on the character of the club.

I fully intended to squeeze seat width and sightline talk into this post. I had a rare opportunity to do some actual measuring and was more than a little surprised by what I found. That will have to wait until next time.

When the tour resumes: Metropolitan Club, Town Ball Tavern, Hrbek's, Twins Pubs, and the Suite Level.

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Legends Club Scraps

September 2, 2010 4:08 PM

Here's a quick addendum to the recent look at the Legends Club.

I was a little unclear on what the food at the atrium chef stands really was. But I had a chance to get some detailed info the other night.

The Carew atrium features the one-pass buffet for $19.95. It's not exactly your typical ballpark food, but I bet it's good (if you're into that kind of thing).

Continue reading this article


Places: Legends Club, Part 2 (Puckett Side)

August 26, 2010 12:51 AM

Here's something you may not have noticed about the Legends Club: it's lopsided. OK, maybe "asymmetrical" is a nicer way to put it, but there's no doubt that there are seven full sections of seating on the third base side, and only four on the first base side (there are five and a half partial sections in between).

Continue reading this article


Places: Legends Club, Part 1 (Carew Side)

August 24, 2010 1:27 AM

The wood-backed seats of the Legends Club are one of the first things you notice when visiting Target Field. They jump out against the green of everything else, and you might wonder, "How do I get there?"

Continue reading this article


Real Outdoor Baseball

August 22, 2010 1:15 AM

The look at the Legends Club is going to wait a day because, despite today's final score, I got some fun pictures at the ballpark this afternoon.

The sky was high.

Our tickets were out in the Grandstand, or should I say "on the surface of the sun".

Continue reading this article


Earlier Articles




"The only thing the ballpark can give a visitor that he cannot get anywhere else is baseball."

– Shannon/Kalinsky

Explore the Site

Here are 50 images chosen randomly from the 2389 found on this site. Click the image to be taken to the original post. A new list is created every 10 minutes.


T is for Twins



Millers fans leaving Nicollet Park after a game in 1923, where a trolley was waiting. (Click to enlarge.)



The outfield stands as viewed through the unnumbered gate






Here's one big problem with a retractable roof: completely terrible seating in left. These scant few seats would have been tucked under the track. No sunshine, no open concourse, it was a terribly kludgy idea. With some hindsight, it's very clear that adding a retractable roof on this small site would have required compromises which would have just been too extensive to tolerate. Without it, the design was free to grow into something much more memorable.









Photo by Jared Wieseler



Standing, standing, standing.



The Puckett atrium fireplace is just barely visible at the far left.



8:22 PM The sun has caused glare in the webcam, but you can still see the reflection affecting the upper deck behind home plate.



Evidence of a food court behind the seating above the batter's eye



This is the staircase (ramp?) leading up to the trapezoid. Nice flagpole too. You'll be able to find me and Ben McEvers at the base of that flagpole on opening day in 2010!



The green in question (click for very large version)












The view from section 210



Work beneath the scoreboard






The Lincoln Saltdogs (and a promotional Nerd)









Trees also have sprouted near the topiaries



The limestone theme is apparently carried to the area behind home plate. This will look great -- and distinctive -- on TV. But watch out for those foul balls!









Gate 6 Oliva, with the 573 Club looming large over it (I wonder how Tony feels about that)



WCCO-TV building






I think this promenade over the railroad tracks needs a name. How about the Halsey Hall Promenade? (Please do not throw cigar butts onto the tracks!)












Supports viewed from beneath. These seats will be just a few feet from the outside edge of the building!



Intersection overview



The plate marker is just to the left.



The green is a composite of the topmost seating areas in the new ballpark. The gray is a scale diagram of the Metrodome.



The Hrbek gate is directly below. It's a lively place after a game.



Door to the visitor's clubhouse.



Ballpark elevation diagram, viewed from Fifth Street. (Click to enlarge.)



A slightly different angle, and you can see some of the structural elements.






I'm not sure why there's a wreath on Gate 3. (I quickly checked the headlines for any dreaded Killebrew news. Whew.) It looks to be in celebration, maybe of the move.



The art panels on the Fifth Street facade as viewed from the top of the Minnekahda building.



The seating bowl of Citizens Bank Park overlaid on the Target Field site














Glossary

BRT - Bus Rapid Transit

DSP - Dave St. Peter

FSE - Full Season Equivalent

HERC - Hennepin Energy Resource Company (aka the Garbage Burner)

HPB - Home Plate Box

HRP - Home Run Porch

LC - Legends Club

LRT - Light Rail Transit

MBA - Minnesota Ballpark Authority (will own Target Field)

MOA - Mall of America

MSFC - Minnesota Sports Facilities Commission (owns the Metrodome)

NYS - New Yankee Stadium

SRO - Standing Room Only

STH - Season Ticket Holder

TCFBS - TCF Bank Stadium

TF - Target Field

Selected Bibliography - Analysis
 


(1993)
 


First Edition (1992)
 


Second Edition (2006)
 


(2008)
 

Selected Bibliography - Surveys
 


(1975)
 


Second Edition (1987)
 


Not a "Third Edition" exactly,
but it replaced the above title
(2000)
 


(2000, large coffee table)
 


Original edition (2000, round)
 


Revised edition (2006, round)
 


(2001, medium coffee table)
 


(2002, small coffee table)
 


(2003, medium coffee table)
 


(2004, very large coffee table)
 


(2006, very large coffee table)
 


Combines the previous two titles
(2007, medium coffee table)
 

Selected Bibliography - Nostalgia
 


(1992)
 


Book and six ballpark miniatures
(2004)
 

Complete Bibliography

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