Meet Minneapolis is the convention and vistors association for Minneapolis. So yeah, it is valuable.

Rick,

Thanks for the pics, especially the last one which provides a view of the pedestrian plaza that is not available from the lone webcam we out of state Twins fans have for watching the progress of the new ballpark. I would caption the pic of Tony Oliva and Mike Opat as -- "Tony Oliva, still looks like he could hit a Santana curve."

Walked by the park this morning and I must say the center field steel work is rising VERY quickly...and it looks great. If only we could see it on the webcam. (sigh)

we've never really discussed this before, but the plaza looks way too small. i still think the plaza should extend to cover the entire freeway. perhaps it's not possible because the plaza is technically a bridge. for those who have toured the site, how does the plaza's size compare to the plaza around the W side of the dome?

I do not mean to go off topic here, but i think that the stadia sections will be installed once all the limestone has been installed on the outside of the ballpark, since the cranes that lift the limestone need to be inside the park to install the limestone. I think that they will start the right field sections first once thae cranes have cleared the right field section.

Living up here in Fargo, N.D., I've been watching the Twin Cities stadium issues from the outside looking in. I must say I'm rather disappointed that the Twins and Hennepin County decided not to put a retractable roof over the new Twins ballpark.

The Twins are a true regional franchise, drawing fans from all over Minnesota, the Dakotas, Iowa and parts of Wisconsin. There will be nothing worse than having driven to Minneapolis from four or five hours away, only to have the game you're planning to attend rained out.

The proposed stadium that's being considered for the Tampa Bay Rays is unique, in that instead of a classic sliding roof; the roof will be made out of a translucent material and will be hoisted up and down as need be, much like the plans for the ill-fated retractable roof on Montreal's Olympic Stadium. With the roof in place, the stadium will look much like a sailboat...fitting for the harbor there in Tampa-St. Pete.

Could something like that be added to the Twins new ballpark, or has the ship sailed on the subject of a retractable roof for the new stadium in Minneapolis?

Rick -- I think it's great that you got invited to the event. Congratulations, and thanks for the writeup! I have to say, it doesn't sound like Mayor Rybak knows what he's got here. It's not just a baseball stadium, it's a transportation hub. Rybak needs to take a long look at how to make this area work for large numbers of non-auto travelers who will be passing through here every day. $3 million is a drop in the bucket.

Rick Olson - That ship has sailed my friend. I think I just heard them sound the horn and people are waving to friends & loved ones back on shore while throwing confetti.

While your statement that the Twins have wide regional appeal is appreciated and correct, there will not be a retractable roof placed on the park in Minneapolis nor do I believe it is designed to support one in the future. We will be joining the rest of the league (who have fans from several hours away that attend games) that deals with rain outs-rain delays all of the time and have survied just fine without a roof.

Rick Olson,

Welcome to the discussion. "Roof debate" has been covered extensively on this site in the past, and many of the hardcore fans following the construction of this park are extremely tired of ignorant news media and uninformed fans who continue to bring this subject up.

Check out some of Rick's awesome in-depth coverage on this topic in the archives below (June 2006 is a great place to start). I'm not trying to be a jerk - and your opinion is valued - hell knows Fargo is a long way to drive to see a game.

NewGuy, I'm pretty sure that the stadia will get installed before all of the limestone is put up. At least that is how other new ballparks have done it recently. New Yankee Stadium and Citi Field began installing their stadia over a year ago. I don't think the Twins can afford to wait until all of the facade is ready before beginning this process since it takes awhile for the pre-cast stadia and seats to get installed.

Either way, it will be very exciting to see the stadia go up. I'm also looking forward to seeing the canopy. I really hope they use a champagne color, rather than grey.

Not only has the ship sailed on the roof issue, but the fat lady sang and has already left to catch the Northstar home.

Rick Olson,

And I bet you expect us to pay for the retractable roof so people from the "region" can see a game? Are you willing help pay?

Rick-O,

Maybe Fargo could have volunteered a couple of years ago to chip in for the roof? Hopefully you will still be able to enjoy my tax dollars when you come down to the city in the summer for a visit and to take in a game.

But in all seriousness, trust me as someone who grew up going to a dozen games a year in the old Tiger Stadium, you don't want a roof no matter how badly you think you do. I've been to the dome 3 times and hated every minute of it.

Lafferty, interesting point on the color of the canopy. It would be nice if didn't look dirty after the first month it's installed. I saw something on the news last night about coatings on parts of the new 35W bridge that are "self-cleaning"? Would champagne colored canopies blend in too much with the rest of the limestone?

Good ol Guerrier.....Canopies, Limestone, it's all good, just so long as nobody from this bullpen except for Nathan are in this new stadium. NOBODY!

I think Dennys Reyes needs to hitch a one-way ride on the Northstar as well and get out of town

Does anyone know how many fans outside the metro area actually attend Twins games every year? I'd be surprised if it's over 20%.

How many more game is Gardy going to let Guerrer and Reyes lose for us????????????

I'm so tired of those two I can't even put it into words!

If they are to tired, from there one batter per game, then put in Humber or some of the young guys!!!! They can't possibly be any worse.

If you can stomach the first 1/4 of the movie, which is mostly Yankee propoganda, you'll get to see a 1st rate virtual tour of new Yankee Stadium. I think the Twins would greatly benefit in the sales department by putting together something like this in the coming months. Heck, throw something like this on FSN once a week for a couple months...That's what the Yanks are doing on the YES network.

P.S. I hate the Yankees. But I admire the fact that they go all out.

Wow. Lay off Rick O. It was an honest question. I'm grateful for the regional appeal of the team.

The thing that really bothers me about a retractable roof aside from the airplane hangar effect is (and I know we've beat this to death) unless the weather is good to perfect, they'll close the roof. I was checking out the box scores the other day on MLB.com and they mentioned that the roof was closed in both Houston and Milwaukee. Game time temperatures for the cities were 86 and 61 respectively with no precipitation mentioned in the weather reports...I just think that's disgraceful. Bead of sweat: CLOSE THE ROOF! Chilly breeze: CLOSE THE ROOF!

I'm sorry Rick, its just not worth it for the occasional rain out. (If it helps, we've been in a drought cycle for the last three summers.)

I'm going to keep a record of the weather for every home game next year. Each day will include the Temperature,Precipitation(if any)and sky (Sunny,partly or cloudy)`during the game. I for one, am thrilled they didn't put a roof on it. 28 years under a roof is 28 years too many. What a shame that a whole generation of Twins fans called that place home. I've seen games in Milwaukee and Seattle. Hated them both.

Let's just forget the roof and move on. Construction is well underway and there will be NO roof. It just amazes me how so many people continue to think there will somehow be a roof that magically appears come opening day 2010.

With a roof you would lose many of the "cheap seats" in the OF sections and you woul lose the appeal of an "open-air" stadium. You look at all of the retractable roof stadiums and they all either feel "enclosed" or lack outfield seating or both.

If you are traveling from out of state to a Twins game, make some plans to stay a night or two for a weekend series. That way you should at least get to see one game.

Yes there will be occassional rain delays and postponements, but that is just the reality of outdoor baseball and any other event held outdoors. If it starts to rain just head to the open concourse or open your umbrella. If its too cold, bring a jacket or sweatshirt or head to the concourse where its heated. MLB does a very good job at trying to get games in. With the heated field and draining system technologies, hopefully we won't be worrying about many postponements, rather just a few rain delays.

I really, really, really hope that the Twins don't plaster a corporate logo on the canopy. See link...

Our pal Lafferty estimates that perhaps only as much as 20% of Twins fans are from outstate. 20% could mean the difference between breaking even and profitability. Consider: Most businesses operate with an optimum profit margin of 6-10% of revenues. So, it's quite possible that the outstate fans are keeping the Twins in a profitable state right now. While those living in hennepin County might resent the concerns of outstate fans that a roof isn't included in the new park, perhaps it's worth remembering that those are the folks who are allowing the Twins to maintain a fairly competative player salary budget right now.
That's not to say that I'm in favor of a roof, be it fixed or retractable. I haven't been to a Twins game at the Dome in years. I prefer the smell of fresh air and the sight of shadows moving across the field. I see the Twins or other clubs play in Kansas City on nearly a yearly basis, but cannot bring myself to watch baseball in the Dome. But the roof isn't the main reason I avoid game there. It's every other drawback that keeps me away. Poor sightlines. Narrow concourses. Inadequate restrooms. 35 seats between aisles. The list goes on ad nauseum.
I've been to Miller Park on a rainy summer evening, and they kept the wall beyond the outfield wall open. The smell of fresh air (and that rain smell we all love)was everywhere. From our seats, we could see downtown Milwaukee. The sightlines were wonderful. So, even with a roof, it wasn't so bad.
The problem with fixed or retractable roofs is that they overpower the scale of the building. They're an eyesore. That's by biggest complaint.

good thing the white sox lost

Concerning the stadia, I was looking at the construction timeline the Twins have posted and from what I can tell it looks like the plan is to methodically move from right field around to left field. Meaning both facade and stadia going up at the same time. In fact, this winter the right field structure and the first base line structure are to be completed. Though I'm not sure what that means. From what I can tell it seems like EVERYTHING is done for that portion aside from aesthetics and the sunshade. One thing I noticed about that timeline is that it says nothing about center/right-center field. Gee, a second webcam would be great to see that steel installation going up in center.

Lafferty, I wasn't really sure what "champagne" color is so I had to Google it. I don't know, I saw everything from a beige to what looked like Padres "gold", like their away uniforms. The latter, not cool. But one example of champagne gave me the idea that if they could fabricate the siding of the canopy to appear like the limestone that might look pretty nice. Though I wonder if that would be too much then.

Laff,
Great pic of Citi Field. I actually hope the canopy has a giant "TURN ON THE FUN - BEST BUY" logo that stretches across the whole thing in bright yellow. That would be great.
Two runs against a guy named Duckworth...are you kidding me? What is a duck worth anyway? Peace.

Does anyone else think Citi has an identity complex after looking at that aerial shot??? A couple things came mind when I saw that: over done, gaudy, eye sore and....oh yeah, stupid.

Rick O,

its all good you will enjoy it better without the roof!!! and like someone said b4.. miller park will keep the roof closed on a day when its 71 degrees and sunny.. it just sucks almost as much as a rain out... i go to KC every year and if it rains it rains... i will check out some local fun for that day.. this year i went to the 1st weekend the twins were in KC and it was 34 degrees @ gametime... still AWSOME!!!!!

Laff,

Nice pic of citi field, and the one of Erin Andrews under it is better than the park.. yea i agree they are trying real real hard there...

Rick (Da man)

Looking 2 your pic's from the top of target center I think it would be a great place for a sports bar if possable.. imagine overlooking the ped bridge filled with fans and the plaza during a game .. I think they would make a killing...

Laff...Im guessing they did that because Citi field is 2 blocks from Laguardia Airport and they want passengers to see the field as they fly in.

A sports bar on top of Target Center?? I love it!

I live 8 hours away near Minot ND and I am glad there won't be a roof. I have sat in Turner Field in oppressive heat and U.S. Cellular when it was 31 degrees and my first game at Wrigley was rained out. Each one of those games was more enjoyable, from a Ball Park experience point of view, than any game I have been to at the Dome.

My wife and I drive in to the Cities once or twice a summer and we always have plans besides the game; such as theater, a new restaurant, and shopping, so it wouldn’t be a total loss if the game were rained out.

There are quite a few folks in NW North Dakota that travel to games and there are mixed opinions on a roof here too but I am decidedly anti-roof and my advice to Rick O., and everyone else in Twins Territory, is to buy a rain poncho and a winter coat, each with a Twins logo, make contingency plans and above all, plan to enjoy outdoor baseball starting in 2010.

Go Twins!

For those that want to relive tragedy and what life was like when the Vikings played under chilly gray skies, tune into NFL Network tonight. They are re-airing the 1975 divisional playoff game where Drew Pearson pushed off.

And on the roof issue with out of towners. For all the years I had tickets at the Met for the Vikings, my seat neighbors were from North Dakota, they had no problem sitting in cold weather for Vikings games so why would a little rain hurt them?? You guys live in the arctic north for god's sake, act like men!!! If you want to bitch and moan about cold weather and rain, move to AZ like I did.

Yea!!!!! and thats the land of the retractable field and the BOB or whatever they call it now days that i have seen about 20 games on tv played there and never the roof open...but then again 120 degrees i think i might like a roof too... but why even put a retractable roof on that sucker? should just have built a Ford Field style park.

I read somewhere (I think a DSP blog post)about a year ago that the canopy would be champaigne, but then the rendering came out with the gray canopy. I hope it is champaigne and the top of the right field restaurant and the pro shop are white like the first renderings, cuz the gray looks bad. Also the LED lights in the canopy I heard would make the canopy any color they want to light it up...

Hey OG Uncle Tom.. yea about that name.. just a lil offended here...

Lone Black Guy... Did you read the post where he got his name? I don't think Tom meant anything by it.

Don't get me started Mazarati. Chase Field is a joke with the roof. I hate the fact that MLB allows the home starting pitcher dictate whether or not the roof is open or shut. I avoid attending any Randy Johnson games because he has the roof closed, regardless if it's a beautiful 80 degree night or not. The roof is NEVER open when it should be. MN did the right thing. No roof, no more. Good decision by the Twins and Gophers, now hopefully the MSFC will listen to Zygi and put no roof on the new Vikings stadium. It sure would be nice to have Vikings football back again. Not this pansy domeball crap.

There, the grumpy old man has spoken.

Hope in one hand, Kevin in AZ and crap in the other. See whigh hand fills up first. I'm going back to my position that the state or Metro Area will never approve an outdoor Vikings stadium because they'd want to see revenue coming in in a structure of that magnitude all year long. An empty stadium in February aiis a darned poor draw to a neighborhood that develops around it. If the state or other public entity gets involved, they'll want to see it active all year long.
I know the argument about the old Vikings teams and the intimidation factor with the arctic weather. But to argue, as you have before that they should keep the Metrodome around for the tractor pulls, monster truck rallies, card shows, and concerts and build a separate, open-air stadium for the Vikings is an argument built upon foolishness and fiscal irresponsibility. Only in some Utopian, Never Never Land would you see the public shell out for and maintain two massive stadiums simply in an attempt to allow a franchize to regain an intimidation factor that may well not exist today.
I'm not saying you're wrong for wanting outdoor football back,; I'm saying it will never happen. Don't hold your breath.

Tractor pulls can be held in the summer months in an outdoor football stadium. Who needs NCAA Final 4's and Super Bowls? If they get a new enclosed place they'll be lucky to get only one super bowl and because the home team will be playing INSIDE, they'll have no shot to be the participant in that super bowl or any other super bowl.

I'm not one to care about fiscal responsibility. I don't care about civic pride about having my city in the national spotlight as it hosts other teams from other cities. I want to see MY team in the superbowl because they have an huge homefield advantage.

Yes my reasons are purely selfish and I do not apologize. Besides, the roof will cost an extra $100 million, shall we start the sales tax in Winona??

Like a child who wants his toy, damn the cost! Give me what I want! Sure, tractor pulls can be held in the summer. But what's going to go on in the building in January, February, and March? Would you like to own a bar or restaurant next door to a civic draw that's locked up for 25% of the year? When the NHL went on strike for a whole season a couple years back, there were establishments near the Xcel Center that were really hurting without the revenue from the missed events there.
Allow me to quote myself if your memory is short: "I'm not saying you're wrong for wanting outdoor football back; I'm saying it will never happen." I'm not saying the Vikings shouldn't be playing outside. I'm simply saying that it won't happen. I've never said I'm demanding the Vikings put a roof on any new stadium they choose to build. I have, however, said that if they build an outdoor stadium, I probably won't go to any more games. It's too damn cold to sit in one spot for 3+ hours.
Besides, playing outdoors doesn't guarantee that the Vikings will become a powerhouse again. The first step isn't stepping outside. The first step is putting together an first-rate organization, a top-flight coaching staff, and a team of players who can play solid, fundamental football. Then, and only then, if they reach the playoffs, would a bone-chilling cold home game be beneficial to them. That is, if they're playing a warm-weather team.

Sorry Winona, you and I will never agree on this issue so lets just agree to disagree and end it at that.

Agreed. We've got better things to do with our time, I'm sure, than to bicker pointlessly. Have a good one!