Great post rick, I can't wait!!!! Got my deposit in for 3 games this year and the thought of a manny's steak sandwich, cold beer and outdoor Twins baseball all in one is almost too much to comprehend!

Thanks, Rick, (and Twins Territory for that last photo).
Rick, sorry to bug you on the forum, but I haven't been able to contact you on the Trade forum. Anything I have missed on that?

Here's a thought: who's going to take on the responsibility of all the snow removal from seats and aisles? Grounds crew doesn't have time to do it, are they going to hire out for that? There's an interesting job for ya.

Great post Rick

at last you have emerged from your slightly-curmudgeoned recent posts and given us a true day-brightener! thanks for the pix! well done, rick!

Just when I get upset that you haven't put up a new posting, you come up with a gem like this one. You should compile everything from this site into a book. Thanks again Rick for your great work!

P.S.: Where is the Town Ball Tavern located and is there a building layout diagram somewhere that can be viewed?

The Town Ball Tavern, I believe is located on the club level of the Administration Building. That is the same level as the outdoor bar in the photo above.

I try not to get annoyed by people not from the Midwest saying it is too cold here for baseball. But it is hard to stay mad when people from the twin cities also think it will be too cold. There is a generation of fans that will learn the real baseball experience (beautiful days, rain delays, varying playing conditions, etc.) I always thought it was funny how a perfect day for the dome was when it was snowing or raining, but fans did not go to the dome because it was snowing or raining.

Make sure you call in to national broadcasts whenever the is a game postponed in New York, Chicago, Cleveland or Philadelphia and say they were stupid to not build a roof.

Click my name for a repost of the shaky (and sniffily) Flip cam tour I shot of TF plaza yesterday.

Another great post Rick! I don't know if its the anticipation of Target Field opening or what, but this seems to be one long winter. I heard on the news last night we have had at least 10" of snow on the ground ever since the first week of December. Not to mention the 5" of snow we got on October 23 in southern Minnesota. I dont think it has even reached 40 once this winter, and another cold spell is in store for us over the next 10-14 days. All in all, its been a long winter and those 40's and 50's will feel great come March and April regardless of what other people may think. As Rick said, a couple days of temps in the 40's will melt quite a bit of this white stuff.

Winona Mike - to answer your question from the previous thread regarding bus parking....buses will park along 7th street from what I understand. I could be wrong, but I remember hearing last fall those were the plans regarding bus parking at Target Field.

Mike, I assume you are talking about tour buses from out of town. City buses are going to have a great setup for Target Field in that they already park in the garage immediately next door and have virtually direct access to the ballpark. I live a short walk from a Route 3 bus stop in Saint Paul which will take me nearly up to the door of Target Field. Not to mention, it is a covered space unlike the Metrodome waiting area. A simply superior experience.

Rick - When do you expect the TCTraders to be up and running? We are having our ticket draft tonight and will know what games I will have available to sell/trade tonight!

Anyone get an email regarding the opening series ticket opportunity yet?

No e-mail for me yet...although the odds seem to be about 1 in 400 that anyone wins, soooooo

Not quite DVS... Those are the odds for buying OD, many more will win, I'd guess 1 in 25-50. It's just that if you do win and don't get your ass on right at the specified time, you'll be getting game 2 or 3 instead. You've gotta figure 15k tickets for each of those two games will be available

Are they starting to turn the heaters on under the field. I'm not sure but it appears on the webcam closeup that there are new visible lines on the field of snow today?

1 in 400 for Opening Day I mean. There are 3 games in that opening series, so who knows how many there are.

I noticed that too, Strongred. Earlier, there was somebody out there with a snowblower or something making those snaking paths

Yep, he's still out there in the outfield doing a cross pattern now.

Walked around TF for the first time on my lunch today. Being able to see through the gate to the left of the ticket window on the plaza is great. I can see my seats from there...really gets me excited. They had that section of seats in left field raised up with the fence open...presumably for the blowers or whatever. Cool to see that in person.

All of the scoreboards were on. It showed a Bos vs somebody (not Twins) and the score was 9-3 in the 2nd. A lot of work going on in both the Majestic and New Era shops. Slippery out there too.

Where are your seats DVS? Do you have a full-season plan?

Great pics Rick!

I haven't figured out what the best mode of transportation will be for me. I have OD tickets and I know it is going to be a zoo, but I live in Minnetonka and I don't do Metro busses. Good thing I'll be there early and plan on staying late. I wish I could use LRT but we're quite a few years away from the Southwest Line being a reality.

My seats are in section 226 row 3. I have two seats for 20 games. I will easily end up going to over 30 games this year though and have opening day tickets. I live in Uptown and take the bus downtown for work everyday already so will probably use mass transit for most games.

226 somewhere in the HR Porch area? I think I'm in 128. Row 6.

Any thoughts of why they are snow blowing the field in that manor? I was thinking that it could be to create drainage for melting, help the melting by creating more surface area, make it easier to remove the bulk of the snow. Just some brainstorming. Any other thoughts?

Just got my notification from the Twins that I was not selected for the Opening Series lottery. Not sure if any others have gotten word yet, but thought I'd let you know they're starting to notify those who didn't win the lottery.

Darn it.....

Dear Twins Fan,

Even though you weren't selected, it's not too late! There are many season ticket plans available to choose from - including 20-game plans which start at just $10 per ticket, per game. Lock in your preferred seat location for this historic season and enjoy the many benefits available exclusively to Twins season ticket holders including access to the Metropolitan Club, Postseason priority and Pro Shop discounts.

You are right on CSG Mike, it's definitely going to be a zoo for that inaugural game being a 3pm start.

Game 163 was bad enough last year with parking/traffic and that was a 4pm start, not to mention it was also raining to make things worse.

Depending on the weather conditions, I might park down by the Star Tribune lots (only $5) and just hop on the light rail for $ 0.50 or else take the 15 minute walk down to Target Field.

That way I can avoid all downtown traffic following games and get right out on I-94 or Hiawatha Avenue. I am still skeptical of the light rail until I see how smoothly it goes with the addition of a third train car. I just think the light rail platform at Target Field is going to be a lot more crowded than at the Metrodome. On the other hand, all trains will be empty prior to loading at the Target Field station so its very likely they will move fans out much quicker and more efficiently than at the Metrodome.

A co-worker just came into my office saying he received a voicemail telling him congrats you have been selected to purchase opening game tickets.

The pre-sale for the Opening Series lottery winners will be on March 1st.

Section 226 is in the Field Terrace level facing downtown, third section from the end. Wanted the downtown view. Hope the garbage burner doesn't smell.

I won the lottery. Looks like it "is a first-come, first-served opportunity so there is no guarantee tickets will be available to all games by the time [I] log in to place an order"

Here's the full message (without my password, of course):

"CONGRATULATIONS! You will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to one of the Inaugural Opening Series games at Target Field.

Tickets for this exclusive pre-sale will be made available online only at twinsbaseball.com/opportunity on Monday, March 1st from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT.

This is your chance to purchase up to 4 tickets to one of the games played during the Twins series against the Boston Red Sox on April 12, 14 and 15. This is a first-come, first-served opportunity so there is no guarantee tickets will be available to all games by the time you log in to place an order. Due to the expected high demand, you may also experience a virtual waiting room after logging in. Please remember, this pre-sale has a ONE game, 4 ticket limit and as a result, attempted ticket purchases which exceed this limit will be cancelled.

To participate in this special online sale, you may click on the link below and log in with your assigned password beginning at 10 a.m. on March 1st.

[PASSWORD OMITTED]

Important notes: your password will only be valid one time and will expire after you complete your purchase. If you choose not to purchase during this time period, your opportunity will be forfeited. All sales are final.

Congratulations again and thanks for participating.

Win Twins!

P.S. Season ticket plans are still available for the historic 2010 season and single game tickets for regular season games played after the Opening Series will go on sale at phone, web and Target Field ticket office channels on March 13."

I got the same email. Apparently I'd registered with a different email account than I thought I did, though, so we'll see if I get anything at my main hotmail one. I do not remember registering with my email associated with my ST account.

I haven't seen my email yet for OS tickets. I have two friends that are in. Woo hoo! Now they just have to get tickets...

Does anyone know about the ABC ramp rates for games? If they are only $5-10 I might just park there.

I was thinking of parking at the MOA. Is there a train to TF from there?

Jimmer,

yes there is a LRT from MOA to TF. I think it takes about 40 mins.

There's a very simple way to get through those virtual waiting rooms. I use it all the time. Funny after hearing all the people trying to get through the game 163 one when my friends and I just skated through it, bought the tickets we wanted. I haven't gotten an e-mail about Opening Day Opportunity so I'm not sure if that's a good thing. Still seems that a lot of people won't get OD even if they won the lottery.

What's that DVS? 5 Firefox windows with 45 tabs?

I waited all day in one of those blasted rooms with a shitload of tabs open when RedSox tix went on sale in December. Ended up getting in through their automated line and got my tix to Twins @ Sox on May 20th :)

No...it involves manipulating the http address. Change 1 digit and you go from waiting to in.

I got the "sorry, no tickets for you" email for the Opening Series, but one of the people I share season tickets with won a slot in the lottery.

Good luck to all that have a chance - please report back in on what game and general seat location you were able to get.

Wow, it's that easy, huh? Must be a 0 to a 1 or vice versa

If anyone won the lottery, I will pay $125 for your password. I have a verified Paypal account. Email me at 463bluff AT gmail DOT com

It's so easy. My friends and I use it a lot. Not sure if the OD ticket lobby will be the same, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was.

If anyone won the lottery I will pay $125 for your password. I have a verified Paypal account. Please email 463bluff@gmail.com if you are willing.

I won the lottery!!!!

I won too. Does anyone know how many people were issued a winning email??

I'm sure a lot. There are 20,000 FSE in Season Tix, leaving at least 15,000 tickets each for games 2 and 3. Get on there before 10 that day if you want OD.

Has anyone not yet received their email from the Twins? I haven't.

No opening series tickets for me.

I haven't received my e-mail yet either. Not sure if that is good or bad, or if it makes little matter.

Rejection notices for both me and my wife. Still waiting on my son's e-mail address.

My fiance got rejected. Still waiting for mine though. I wonder being that I am a FSTH that I got thrown out.

"Sorry"

Don't see why that would matter trosy.

Yeah I know, but my full season ticket plan is registered through the same email address, but the rep at Twins Fest said I could still register.

Got the email but its bad news of course but then if it was not for bad luck I wouldnt have any luck at all heheheh. It mentions 20 game packages for 10 bucks a seat are those the seats way up at the top near the canopy at the very tip ends of the canopy I cant remember. Sounds like that might be an ok deal any thoughts guys.

Rejection notices at both my address and my wife's at 2:19 this afternoon. Rats. (Although, now that I see the next series of hoops that they're making the "winners" jump through, maybe it's just as well.)

And, the Cubs' ticket pre-sale "offer" to customers with the dough put up an extra 20% per seat? What has this world come to? Notice how few little kids are in attendance at games played at Wrigley? or at Skankee Stadium?

I received excellent news today, I won a chance to buy tickets for the opening series. I was a little disappointed though. I was assuming that I was guaranteed tickets if I wanted to purchase them. If not, then it would have gone to someone next on the lottery list or just made available to the public after the lottery winners had a chance to buy tickets. But thats what I get for assuming things and maybe not reading the terms of the lottery completely.

So the lottery win isn't as great as I thought it would be. Now that I have a chance for tickets, I still have to go through another lottery to actually buy the tickets. Seems fishy to me. Who knows, the Twins might say that even after I buy the tickets I might not get a chance to get into the game!!

No winner here..Glad to see some win though.

I won as well.
QUESTION: The folks that win the lottery, are they guaranteed to at least get tickets to one game? I know it says FC-FS, but is that for each game?

My thinking with the lottery is when you signed up, you were at least guaranteed to get tickets, maybe not 4, and maybe not OD, but you were at least guaranteed to get your mitts on some for one of the three days. A little bit like the lottery they have for the Final Four. If you win, you can purchase tickets. They're waiting for you. Maybe not in the Green Zone , you might have to settle for Distant View, but you'll at least get tickets.

Am I correct on that?

I was just reviewing the pictures on the recent article by Rick and noticed something that I don't think has ever been discussed in detail. Take a look at the picture with the flag poles. What do you notice that hasn't been discussed.

I'll check back in an hour or so to see what you guys come up with.

I agree, the terms of the lottery are a little unclear. I thought that if you won the lottery, then you were guaranteed tickets to at least 1 of the 3 games. However, with the way the e-mail reads, that does not necessarily seem certain. The first-come, first-served reference is what is a little unclear. I assumed it applied to the fact that you may not necessarily get the game you want, but you'll at least get a game. On the other hand, I could also see how you might just get no games. Also, first-come, first served is a little misleading in that the virtual waiting rooms typically work by randomly selecting someone from the waiting room (and not necessarily in order of who was first in the waiting room).

trosy29 - the section numbers on the fence of the upper deck?

Speakers

nope....

DING DING DING!!! Ole wins the prize SPEAKERS!!!

Probably cause we take them for granted, but that is one thing that I am really really looking forward to. I absolutely hated going to the dome and not being able to make out one damn thing that came over the load speakers.

We probably haven't discussed them much cause we see them but that really means nothing. We need to HEAR them to be impressed.

My first MLB game beside the Dome was to Kauffmann a few years ago. I was so impressed with the sound system. I am really looking forward to hearing those babies rock out.

I believe that if you "won" all you won was a chance to purchase --- that this was just the first "cut" so to speak. If you got a password all you got is a seat in the waiting room. I could be all wet, of course.

When I walked around the site today, the speakers were just spitting out fuzz. Hopefully they get that worked out by opening day.

DVS2008 - I am sure they will. I'm sure they are testing.

Also, what that just on the Plaza or the actual stadium speakers?

All but one of my e-mails got a rejection letter from the Twins. The one that didn't is the one I use for my 80 game STH account. I also think this e-mail address got kicked out because I am a STH.

Regarding why the Twins are making the lottery winners go through another lottery, the answer is simple. They want to make sure that all three games of the opening series are sold out so they are artificially creating demand for games 2 and 3 in a situation where the lottery winners (and losers) primarily and overwhelmingly care only about going to game 1. If anyone disagrees I will gladly sell my game 2 and game 3 tickets to you for a reasonable profit.

Since my last post got bumped to the first page, I want to post again:

I will pay $125 for a Twins opening series password. I have a verified Paypal account. Please email me at 463bluff AT gmail DOT com

If Rick and the others are right, and it's merely just a place in line, and if you're too late-you're out of luck, then it's all the better that I asked for March 1 off so I can be right online at 10AM.

And, if Rick and the others are right, I wonder exactly how many registrations for this opportunity both at TwinsFest and online in general were actually compiled?

Now that I've heard everyone's opinion, it makes me think of the 1996 NCAA Final Four at Meadowlands Arena in NJ. There were 1,000 tickets in a 20,000 seat arena available for the general public via the lottery (it was the last time a Final Four would be played in an arena), and there were like 150,000 applications in the lottery for a chance for 2 of the 1,000 tickets (final fours have a buying limit of 2).

Bob, What do you mean by reasonable profit? I would love to buy 2 for the 2nd and 3rd games against BOS

Rick hit the nail on the head...the terms and conditions on the "entry form" clearly stated you were not guaranteed tickets, but simply you would have a chance at tickets had you won.

I agree in that there are a lot more "winners" today than I clearly expected. I am sure we will hear on March 1 that many of these "winners" will end up empty-handed and they will be mad because they couldn't get tickets even though they "won" the online drawing.

It will be an interesting next few weeks and I hope the Twins are prepared, along with their new ticketing system.

My e-mail address that I registered from is not my STH ticket e-mail, and yet I haven't gotten one yet. Anyone else having that problem still?

The speaker spitting out fuzz by the way was at the gate to the left of the ticket window on the plaza. It was mounted to the gate. They were all doing it though.

"I will pay $125 for a Twins opening series password."

You DO realize, I hope, that a password will not get you anything but an opportunity to twiddle your thumbs in a "waiting room" which, in all likelihood, will result in no more than sore thumbs?

Tom,
What I mean is this;

If game 2 and game 3 tickets are "worth" as much as game 1 tickets are, which is what the Twins are trying to make you believe by including game 2 and game 3 in "the opporunity to go to the opening SERIES" and not the "opening GAME" then the aftermarket price for game 2 and game 3 should be similar to the aftermarket price for game 1, correct? If you don't believe this, then the only conclusion is that the Twins are artifically creating demand for game 2 and game 3 tickets.

I haven't received my lottery email yet either. It is the email addressed linked to my old STH account. I am not a 2010 STH, I went in on a group instead.

Tom

Having said that, I would be willing to work something out. What are game 2 and 3 truly worth? I'm not sure myself. The only thing I do know is they aren't worth the same as game 1 tickets. Send me an e-mail, Tom.

I registered three email addresses for the lottery: My work address and my two personal ones.
My work and one personal address won. I just checked my other personal address and got the "rejection" email.

I got the positive email. I'm not holding my breath though.

I didn't win, however seeing as I seem to be only one that followed the rules and only registered once I can see why. Enjoy the game all of you that registered with multiple e-mail addresses, be proud of your deception.

I registered once and my wife registered once. I don't know if she one. I also believed the rules to be one registration per person.

More winners than I thought. Congrats and good luck.

I wasn't going to register because I had Full Season tickets, but they kept sending me notices to register so I assumed it was alright to do so. I didn't win, but wasn't expecting to.
I'm sure it is a good way to sell out that first series. Even though I would think it would sell out anyway; maybe the noon school day starts and possible bad weather would be a hindrance.

The games in the Opening Series start at 3pm, don't they?

first game 3:10, next two at 12:10

So aside from this opening series talk...

Single game tickets become available on March 13th...what time will the ticket windows/phone lines/online purchases start open?

7am CST? 8am?

Interesting reading your now several year old posts again, Rick! Can't help thinking that if the Twins (who were going to be responsible for any cost overruns) opted to put a retractable roof on, what payroll considerations would look like for them today if they had added that debt. So their 2006 foresight or frugality or downright cheapness probably worked out for the best. LOL

Even though I already have opening day tix, I won to get a chance to buy tix on March 1st. I registered about 5 times or so online, so not sure if that made a difference or not.

Hey Rick. I know you have more important things in life than routinely entertaining us ballpark geeks on this website, but how about a night time post with plaza pictures since they periodically have the plaza all lit up. Just a suggestion.

waaasup

luke...I'll buy your opening day tickets from you since it will be too cold for you.

HA!

laughing at what kev in az said to luke. it is funny because it is true.

Rick,

I know you like to go back in time much like I do. Click on my name. I think you'll like this old video, especially at the 21:00 mark. luke, you should watch it too, you'll see baseball being played in minnesota under a sunny sky with green grass - and thousands of fans (rare for 1979) enjoying the Twins romp the Red Sox (also rare during that time period)...

Wow! Don Shelby looked so young in that replay. Great haircut too.

Hell no Kev. But hey, if I do end up with tickets, you can buy them.
Price? $687,854,478,689,494,694,394.45 That is 687 quintillion dollars my friend (and don't forget the 45 cents). That should be good enough.

As for that video, that was great! I love watching tv broadcasts from "back in the day" thanks for posting it.

Saw an advertisement in the Rochester paper that I found interesting so I checked it out; seetargetfield.com $75 will get you a ticket and a bus trip up to TF from some outstate locations. Not a bad idea. Never saw seemetrodome.com!

It is fun to see all of those old videos on that tcmedia site, especially the ones from Ch. 11 and Ch. 5, including "Bowling for Dollars."

I remember Dennis Feltgen going from Ch. 5 to 11,but didn't remember Cyndy Brucato also making the jump to Ch. 11, so that was interesting to see.

Interesting nugget from Shooter's column today:

Look for the Twins on Opening Day at their new Target Field to carry on a Metrodome tradition by handing out Homer Hankies to all fans attending the April 12 game against the Boston Red Sox.

I did not realize this was a "Metrodome tradition" as I have been to every home opener over the last 10 years. I do not recall ever receiving a homer hanky at the home opener. Usually its just a magnet schedule and something from My29/KSTC.

It will be interesting to see the 2010 promotion schedule as always. The 2010 TV schedule should also be released in the next few days you would think.

Mike, I took that to mean the tradition was the hankies themselves, not giving them out on opening day.

Do people really purchase tickets by what "promotion" is in play? I don't think I have ever had a clue what they were giving away on a given day until they handed it to me as I walked in. Then it usually goes into a pocket (if it fits) or onto the head (cap) or into the trash (if it doesn't fit in the pocket). I can't think of anything more annoying than trying to keep a poster or photo from getting besmirched during a game.

Thanks for the link Ole.

It's amazing that a business would take the risk on such a venture. Purchasing the tickets, leasing the bus and paying for adverstising. There is a very real possibility that the game would be delayed or downright canceled with no roof. Nothing like the old days when the trusty Metrodome could guarantee that the game would go on in spite of the weather.

"sarcasm"

Yea Buffalo, I think I mis-read that as an "opening day" tradition rather than a Metrodome tradition with the hankies themselves.

As for promotions Badjuggler, I may be in the minority, but I select some of my games based on promotions such as bobbleheads, mini Met Stadium giveaway (1965 40th anniversary weekend), mini Metrodome giveaway (1987 20th anniversary reunion weekend). Some of those Star Tribune classic posters are nice too.

I am hoping they give out some good items this this year as well. You would think they will considering its both the 50th season celebration and the Inaugural Season of Target Field.

From that video of WCCO that Kev in az posted, the sportscaster mentioned Dave Goltz. I graduated from HS with his daughter. I was in my home town over the weekend and was at the flower shop to pick up some flowers for g-ma for v-day. Goltz was right by me line.

Anybody else notice in that panoramic picture that TwinsTerritory (I think?) posted the other day the paneling that can be seen in the Met Club? Really cool. Can clearly see the multi-colored Met Stadium-like paneling from all the away across the park. An A-Ha! moment for me.

What exactly will the Met Club be like? Is it only for Full STH or partials as well?

Partials as well.

43 more days...

Ah yes...Dave Goltz...Another player Calvin let get away!

I can only speak for myself, but I have used promotional giveaways as well to decide which game I am going to attend. I just planned a trip to Chicago for instance and I am targeting one Cubs game specifically because of a giveaway I know my daughter will love. So there are people who do consider such things when buying tickets.

I consider the quality of the opposing team before all other aspects

Anyone check out the Marlins construction webcam lately?

Pretty impressive how they build those retractable roof ballparks. Those supports and tracks for the roof are monstrous.

"Those supports and tracks for the roof are monstrous."

Which is why I'm glad they left out the retractable dome for our ballpark.

Rick (or anyone) - where is the post where you analyzed sight lines from various seat locations? I don't remember and can't find it. Thanks.

jfh-it is the article entitled "O say can you see"

Will the regullar season opener be nationally televised (like the Nats-Braves game a couple years ago) on ESPN, or just locally on My29/FSN?

"It will be interesting to see the 2010 promotion schedule as always."

My guess is that it will be a much shorter list than we are accustomed to - the Twins simply will not need promos to entice fans. They started weaning us off the tit last year with only two bobbleheads, saying they were unable to locate a sponsor (for their most popular promo - yeah right!). I always went for the giveaway games. When the kids were little we would go to "tackle box day" and so forth. I especially like the lures, HOF pins, and "bronze" statues. And, my bobblehead collection is second to none.

i loved Dennis Feltgen.

The only promotional item I can really remember fondly was Bat Day at the Met back in the day when they gave away real lifesized bats. It was the rare occasion that they sold out the old place. And 42,000 people holding up bats like so many toothpicks was an awesome sight. I also remember everyone banging them rhythmically on the floor and seriously wondering if the whole of the leftfield bleachers would collapse.

Ben,

"And, my bobblehead collection is second to none." How many do you have? I have about 25-30... feels like a lot but I know that there are about triple that out there.

I agree Fred, it's not a true ballpark with those monstrous roofs and supports. And the closer we get to the opening of Target Field, the more I am convinced the Twins made the right decision to go open-air. I was skeptical at first in 2005-2006 but am now convinced more than ever the Twins made the right decision to go open-air.

General factors that are common in some of the best ballparks in baseball such as PNC Park, Oriole Park, Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, SBC Park and perhaps Target Field?

-open-air
-urban location/balparks built into unique areas
-smaller capacities (37,000 - 42,000 range)

As far as the Twins retractable roof controversy, I don't think a lot of Twins fans are aware of the fact, had the Twins went with a retractable roof, it would NOT have been climate controlled, meaning it would have still been cold in early/late season.

So it was essentially an extra $125 million for an "umbrella" over your head on a few occassions each year. For that purpose the Twins can just have a Old Dutch Umbrella Night or a Best Buy rain poncho night.

Grid plowed into TF was to help the snow melt naturally it sounds.

Cool pic of the snow on the field.

CSG Mike ---

My personal/permanent collection consists of a full set of SGA & ST Twins bobbleheads, which totals 86 (including both versions of the '06 Hunter). I also have the Mauer "Friends & Family" edition, the Killer special edition, Pohlad from his birthday "roast" (only 50 exist), and several misc. retails, minor leagues, etc. Many "extras" as well. If you would like more info on Twins bobbleheads - and pictures of my collection, please visit TwinsBobbleheads(dot)com and spend some time in the "gallery" area. Apologies to those of you who are not interested in the subject.

" --- but am now convinced more than ever the Twins made the right decision to go open-air."

The Twins made that decision for reasons other than it was the "right" one. Had they been able to bilk the tax payers out of enough money a roof would have been included in a heartbeat. You sell (and spin) what you have.

Ben,

Thanks. I've actually seen your site before when I was looking for a list to see how close I was getting to a "full set". Quite impressive.

CSG ---

This time of year (after Xmas through Spring Training) is best for "working" on your collection - use my values as a guide. I am at all times willing to help with questions and info - you can find my contact info at the site.

I never got an e-mail saying whether or not I won the lottery yesterday. I have e-mailed the Twins now and am waiting for a response. If anybody else had the same problem, I will let you know what happens.

I've never been to an Opening Series, so I didn't realize the Homer Hanky thing was a "tradition" either.

I see Kev in AZ didn't quite like my pricing structure for my Opening Series tickets...lol.

Quite honestly, I know I bitch alot about it being open-air, but, even today (sans snow of course) wouldn't be terrible for outdoor baseball. Sunshine, blue sky, hell, I even turned my A/C on in my car for a bit this afternoon.... I'm kinda looking forward to it.

DVS - I have not received an email response regarding opening series tickets on 2 out of the 5 email accounts that I used. Who knows what happened, maybe I just had a typo or something. Let me know the response you get from the Twins

Sorry, one more I forgot. I emailed PJ Williams, one of the ticketing guys with the Twins, in regards to the lottery and whether or not it at least guarantees tickets to one of the games, so we don't walk away empty handed (even though you win the lottery).

Quote Williams, "You are correct, you have tickets to at least one of the games. I would get in as early as you can to assure you get the game you are looking for."

So, maybe not 4, and maybe not necessarily OD, but from what he says, lottery winners are guaranteed tickets to at least one of the games, depending of course, on when you get into the waiting room.

Unless you can get lucky and get tickets to the actual Inaugural Game on Monday, April 12...I just don't see what the big deal is about the Wednesday and Thursday games other than its the Red Sox. They are simply noon games in the middle of the week. If I am going to be taking days off of work, I would much rather go to a noon weekday game in June/July/August.

There is only one Inaugural Game/Home Opener, the remaining 80 games are just another day at the ballpark.

There's an aesthetic issue with retractable roofs apart from the cost issues. There isn't one retractable roof ballpark out there that isn't completely dominated by the roof structure. Architecturally, they're hideous. Too much roof that draws attention away from whatever efforts has been taken to make the primary structure visually appealing. Miller park is a prime example. They included a clock tower, which is a nod to all those large, public clocks on the outside of so many Milwaukee buildings. But who the hell notices, with that enormous roof dominating the view?
But since so many new parks are all red brick and green iron (the new cookie cutter parks), the buildings themselves aren't working too hard to draw attention.

Pat Miles. Oh, yes, Pat Miles. I remember that around 1979-1982 (somewhere in there) there was a local band that recorded a song about Pat Miles. Does anybody know what I'm talking about or remember the name of the band?

Re Mike's post.... "Look for the Twins on Opening Day at their new Target Field to carry on a Metrodome tradition by handing out Homer Hankies to all fans attending the April 12 game against the Boston Red Sox."

... I wonder if they'll spring for 2010 ones or keep passing out the old ones they've yet to offload?? lol THAT is what is tradition! Handing out USED HANKIES!

I don't recall ever getting a HH at any OD and I've been to a few. It IS good humor how they produced the latest HH without a date so it could be a "multi-use" item.

I think that what they meant about "Metrodome Tradition" is that the Homer Hanky is a Metrodome Tradition, not giving them out on opening day.

Oh....Bat day at Met stadium. The only thing more fun than being in attendance was listening to Halsey on the radio. The poor guy nearly had anxiety attacks at every bat day. You constantly heard the pause button being pushed when he would curse at those damn kids pounding their bats....oh the racket through the radio speakers. Someone needs to dig that up somewhere. Halsey was a riot!

Nice little photo set courtesy of Josh. Click my name for the slide show.

I'm enjoying the 2004 and 2006 HH's I got at game 163. Maybe I should make a sundress out of them!

Jax,
Make your sun dress and wear it proud. I will make a tube top and Luke should make a thong.

I would pay to see you in a HH tube top. lol

speaking of clothing, I have a question. I own a authentic jersey with a now departed Twins name/number on it and I would like to get it re-numbered/lettered with someone else. Anybody know where I could/should get that done?

If Nick's Sports World was still around, they might have been able to do it. I got my Wild jersey personalized through Nick's (they outsourced it somewhere else, but they had a vendor who did it). But, of course, Nick's is now closed.

I wonder if maybe one of the Pro Shops can send it out to get re-done...

Mr. Brumley sez: Unless you can get lucky and get tickets to the actual Inaugural Game on Monday, April 12...I just don't see what the big deal is about the Wednesday and Thursday games other than its the Red Sox. They are simply noon games in the middle of the week. If I am going to be taking days off of work, I would much rather go to a noon weekday game in June/July/August.
****************

Well, I am taking off April 12-14 expressly to take in opening day, the just in case opening day is delayed game, and my tickets for game 2 from my little 20 game package. I personally think this is a worthwhile use of 3 vacation days. Just me.

I haven't looked that far ahead, but if I have a midweek noon game in the summer, I will do whatever I can to take a half day off as well.

Pro Image at your nearest mall might still have a source to do that. They offered to put a number on a jersey I bought there several years ago. Can they still get it done for you? It's worth asking.

In years past, Domeplus was able to customize jerseys.

The Twins TV schedule is out. It came out last week. I also heard all the twins games are going to be in HD on FSN and that the OTA/my29 games are up in the air for HD. All but 3 games are on tv this year. As for the Opening Day game on ESPN who knows and remember opening day for the twins is not on MY29 becasue they have already started the season on the road and not at home like we are used to. So for those of us not able to get into the game we can atlest see it in HD!!!

Lets hope its a nice day at least - it IS national television after all.

Kevin in AZ, are you still thinking about taking up my OS tickets...lol?

Jax,

I've used Letterman Sport up in Blaine (just off hwy 610) to do names and numbers on jersey's before. I would guess that there are other places around town that do it too. Just search for sport shops that high school teams would get their jersey's from.

Does anyone have Dish Network? I have a couple questions.

yes, I have dish network.

Bears and Baseball are meant for outdoors...click link

luke,

in all honesty, i wouldn't take your tickets if you gave them to me. i've been to so many openers at the met that i really want the place to be filled with young people who have never experienced it outdoors before. i was the fan who actually preferred to go to the 2nd or 3rd game when 9,000 people were in attendance.

j2eepgmr,

What dish package do you have. I have only the HD package and currently do not get FSN.

I am going to have extra exb. tix vs. the cards avalible..let me know if anyone wants to buy them

I would take them Maza. Email me at daniel.v.smith1@gmail.com

Directv is awesome if you like sports. I can't compare it to Dish, but I did when I went to Dish and there is no comparison.

Not sure exactly what they're doing on offering local markets to watch football games, but that may have some appeal. They do lots of special sports coverage that is free. Nascar, Tennis, Golf, plus the MLB network.

Josh,
I have Silver HD and America's top 200. FSN is an add on though. So it doesn't matter what package it is unless you just get everything.

I counted 6 games that arent televised locally or nationally.

I'm posting this again, in hopes someone may know the answer...

What time on the 13th will the ticket windows/phone lines/online rooms open up for the single game tickets?

7 Am? 8 AM?

DreDogg,

According to the Twins it is 9am CT on March 13.

http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/ticketing/index.jsp?c_id=min

Construction update up at ballparkauthority.com. Here are some interesing tidbits.

- Wind veil is complete - Artist to visit the last week in February for final inspection and approval.

- Sign installation at Team Store - Reinforcement was needed for the Team Store Sign, Twins hope to have store open by March 3rd.

- Ad Panels - Ad panels are close to approval, should start installation soon.

- A-ramp skywalk - Now open to the public, additional wayfinding signs and sidewalk enhancements to be done on A-ramp.

- Exiting messages - Twins adding exiting messages at gates, North Access Road, and 1st/6th Street Plaza Extension.

Some nice new touches in my opinion.

Thanks Mike!

My Vikings season ticket group is getting ready to submit our payment for the 2010 season and we got into a discussion about Target Field/Metrodome conflicts with Twins/Vikings.

Anyone think there will be conflicts when both the Twins and Vikings are at home this year? The only dates (excluding NFL preseason and MLB postseason) that may conflict are Sunday, Sept 19 and Monday, Sept 20 along with Sunday, October 3.

Unless the Vikings are on the road those weekends or play a Sunday Night game (Sept 19), it could be interesting if there is a conflict. However, I doubt there will be conflicts. It's not like the venues are next door to each other, but they are still both downtown and use the same streets/transit systems/some parking areas.

It would not surprise me however if the NFL does go ahead and schedule the Vikings at home when the Twins are also at home. The NFL is the King of Sports and does not seem to care about MLB other than one Sunday night game during the World Series.

I don't think it'll be too big of a problem. Other than traffic being shitty downtown, I can't see a major problem occuring. Like the Twins website says, plan your routes accordingly prior to coming to Target Field, you'll be glad you did.

"The special Partial Plan season ticket holder pre-sale for Opening Day tickets has been scheduled for February 25 and 26 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. This online password-protected pre-sale will allow you to purchase Opening Day tickets up to the same number of renewed seats that are on your account."

Oh good --- another lottery. Presumably the Twins have set aside enough OD tickets to cover everyone who got this message. I thought they were just going to inform you what seats you could buy based on priority, etc. --- a "here they are, take or leave" sort of deal. Silly me!

see my link for an awesome new summer reality show. lol

I am all for anything that could be distracting down the stretch.

p.s. thanks for the jersey leads - I'll check em out. I wanna make sure I have Twins lettering.

Change in dates for the STH OD ticket sale. I spoke to someone in the STH department today - all 2009 and prior partial plan holders will be GUARANTEED OD seats. When I asked if it would be like relocation ticket where everyone had a unique window, the answer was yes (though the note received tonight doesn't seem to indicate that).

Dear Season Ticket Holder,

The special Partial Plan season ticket holder pre-sale for Opening Day tickets has been scheduled for February 25 and 26 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. This online password-protected pre-sale will allow you to purchase Opening Day tickets up to the same number of renewed seats that are on your account. (Please note, these dates have changed from what was communicated in an earlier correspondence.)

Based on your plan type and the timing of your initial payment on your season ticket renewal account:
Your Dedicated Pre-Sale Window Begins on
Friday, February 26 at 10:00 AM

Next week in advance of your purchase date, you will receive an email containing your special one-time-use password and dedicated link for this pre-sale. This password and link will allow you to gain access to purchase online during your dedicated pre-sale date and time listed above.

Forgot to mention that 40 game plans are Thursday and 20 game plans are Friday.

I would worry more about an event at the target center happening at the same time as A twins event is going on more than anything else. I dont think that will happen to offen but if it does it could make things a little more interetsing.

Ben - my information says that you will be presented specific seating locations based on the seating level in your plan (presumably your plan level and below, though I didn't ask)

like a Miley Cyrus concert...egad - thousands of screaming tweens cluttering the skyways and streets...

A Day late but not a Dollar short,

Speaking of the Met Stadium Bat Day's, the Cool thing was the deck's were made of steel and very loud with all of the regulation sized Bat's being pounded on them.

Also, the Retractable Dome plan that was proposed in 1997 (where the Guthrey is) would have been climate controled and the roof would have retracted completely off the stadium, unlike the other MLB R.dome's.

Anyway... Looking forward to outdoor Baseball, (20 game s.t. plan) it's goi ng to be Awesome!! WIN TWINS!!!!!!!!!

You got me curious enough to go compare Target Center events against the Twins schedule.

So far the only clash I see is with the Harlem Globetrotters on April 3rd right at 1 pm and a game time of 1:10... should be fun!

We have a near miss with Nickelback and Cirque Du Soleil later but the Twins are off/on the road. Thank god. I'd rather not get anywhere near Nickelback.

Does anyone have the "We're Gonna Win Twins" song. I would like the classic version, not the 90's hip hop version.

I bet the Twins were nervous for that Nickleback concert. The extra ten people downtown would have made maneuvering damn near impossible!

Nevermind, I found it. I had been looking forever and finally found it. If anyone wants it let me know and I will post the link.

Not sure who the person is, but stumbled across it about 30 seconds after asking for it. I have been looking for this for close to a year or so.

Enjoy!

Oh an by the way, it also includes the 90's funky version :)

lmao - my thoughts exactly Dredogg...

I got the same email with the smae verbage for the OD pre sale 10am looks like i will be on the computer all day for that one

When there are conflicting dates at Target Center and Target Field, who has priority on 7th street? Equipment trucks for concerts and circuses and the like used to park along 7th. But according to information I got here, that's also where fan buses for the Twins are supposedly going to be parked. Where will equipment trucks be parked if they're moved out by fan buses?

On another, far more petty issue, I cannot resist mantioning a real bugaboo of mine. Apostrophes are to be used only for possessives and contractions. Plurals never need an apostrophe. Sorry to bring this up, but it's a real peeve of mine.

There. I feel better now.

Hah! Thanks Winona Mike. I'm a teacher and improper grammar gets me too. I just try to ignore it as much as possible!

Thanks for the "We're Gonna Win Twins" song. Now I know all the verses to sing to my 6 month old daughter. I had to hum portions of the second verse! Poor girl, all I sing are college fight songs, Skol Vikings, stadium anthem songs, and We're Gonna Win Twins!

I can't believe we're only a month and weeks away from outdoor baseball. I think the winter seemed even longer this year. That might be because of the 8 foot piles of snow by my driveway too.

Damnit - there was no second verse! Anyone know it?!?!

Here.

Any more news on the open houses?

"I cannot resist mantioning ---"

Learn how to spell --- then come back and talk to us about punctuation.

When I was a kid...I had an old 45 record that had Win Twins on it (I always knew it as "knock out a home run" BTW). And on the flip-side, there was a song called "Talkin' Baseball" by Terry Cashman. Anybody remember that one? Brush up on it by clicking my name (which includes lyrics).

hans, I don't think you're right on the old retractable roof stadium plans on the river. Take a look at the story I linked. That was the one proposed and if you look it was much like Safeco in Seattle. The roof did indeed slide off onto an area next to the stadium, but when closed it would have served as an umbrella, leaving some sides of the stadium open to the air. Not climate controlled.

Here is an interview I did with the newest Twin, Orlando Hudson.

Regarding the "We're Gonna Win Twins!" songs, I believe I have both official tunes. I've put together a page with 15 audio files (songs, famous calls, etc.) that I plan on posting sometime next week. I'll be sure to post the link.

I've decided not to make you guys wait! Here is the link to the longer version I have (the one with the verse Rick mentioned was missing). The next comment has my other file.

Here is the other one I have (it's actually the longer one).

Article in the Strib

Key points

Total cost of the project was about $545 million -- $425 million for the ballpark and $120 million in infrastructure costs. Kenney said that the board is trying to decide how to use $1.5 million to $2 million still left in the infrastructure budget.

One possibility, he said, would be another plaza across the street from the left-field side that would offer a platform for future Central Corridor light-rail passengers.

On March 3, the Twins hope to open their team store at the ballpark. And a big public event is planned for March 13, when Target Plaza will be dedicated. That's the same day that single-game tickets will go on sale.

That extra second plaza would be a great idea! I still think they should have gotten rid of 5th St, between 3rd ave and 6th Ave.

Rerouting traffic to 7th or Washington wouldn't be that bad.

Ultimately, the county would like to put a transit center on the north side of 5th street, at bridge level, with train tracks beneath.

Current planning has Southwest Corridor Light Rail pulling into Target Field station 1 year after Central Corridor.

Hudson: "Minnesota is a great city."

Guess we'll let him slide on that one at least until he gets up here for a geography lesson...

I guess a misspelling does kind of take some of the punch out of my comment about punctuation. Oops.

Miller Park and Minute Maid Park have sliding glass walls beyond the outfield bleachers, don't they? If those are closed, are they at least suitable for climate control technology? After all, wasn't the heat and humidity in Houston one of the prime reasons for both the Astrodome and Minute Maid Park?

In my opinion, best photo update yet by the Ballpark Authority. Click my name!

Don't remember anyone mentioning it here, but the third (and final) mural panel on 5th Street is finished and on display.

...a trough-free zone. Best subtitle ever.

So much for being a ninja and getting the specs on the urinals! I have failed you all. I am sorry. ;)

the newer versions of "we're gonna win twins!" don't hold a candle to the original. some things in baseball really shouldn't be updated...

oh and by the way, lay off the correction of spelling & grammar on this blog. blogs are written in the conversational dialect of today & ought not be subject to old-school english rules. this ain't no college entrance exam...

Buffalo & Rick

Sorry to say, but your both wrong. Buffalo's link provided show's this same Stadium that's being built, with the retractable(not climate controled)Dome. The one I was referencing was proposed in 1997 and shown in the Star Trib on Feb 1st 1997, ( I saw the model @ Twins Fest that year). A different design Completely that was climate controled. It had glass panels on the side's and a glass covering that sealed against the area beyond right field when closed, (I still have the article/pic's but are not computer savy enough to post them ARRGH, LOL!!) It would have had a pretty picturesque view of the Stone Arch Bridge and the river, beyond left field.

Very Picturesque

Kevin in AZ, I'm sorry if this has been mentioned before...I just didnt want to peruse 600 million posts around here to find it.

Click my name for the cover of the 2010 media guide.

Oh, (please bear with me) Jerry Bell had said, Construction of the 42,000 seat stadium would cost between $310 - $350 million. Other cost's for such things as infrastructure and relocation could add another $35-$54 million.
The Mpls.Architectural firm of Ellerbe Beckett was the designer. They said, The roof and a part of the wall along the riverfront would retract in about 15 minutes to offer fans sunshine and fresh air.

All at a time when the state had a $2 billion surplus.

But anyway... Really looking forward to Target Field (20 game plan). And as my (now deceased) Cousin (& former High School asst. Baseball coach) said upon hearing there would be no roof-- "GOOD!! That's the way it was meant to be played"

Thank you to whoever you are from the Ballpark Authority for listening to my plea! It was great to at least see the pissers..NO MORE ROTTEN TROUGHS! I can finally wear sandals to a Twins game again!

Rick, Your the best!!! Sorry,I was still clumsily plunking along on the key board while you already had the article pics up.

Rick,

I stand corrected.
I was kind of a Metrodome Ninja when that was being built. Even was able to sneak slightly inside with a super 8 cam as security wasn't what it is today.

Thanks for this AWESOME site, We didn't have anything like this back then.
And keeping all us Ballpark Geek's informed.

so glad it turned out how it did the last rendering looks so cliche. Besides if they put the stadium them, skyway access would be harder, as well as public transit and it's not close enough to as many bars! yay for final result!

Rick,

I'll have to do some digging. It still is on super 8 film,(and at my sisters). That would be great to have it converted to DVD and posted on your site.

I agree with the comments that the 1997 design looks very cliche right now. The squared off exterior, the huge steel roof structure, and the views over...well, I don't think you would have much of a view other than from the very upper decks.

At first I didn't know what to think of the TF modern touches, but ultimately I think it makes it unique and extends its life.

It is interesting how many of the 2004 design elements remained in the finished TF. The left field plaza, the deck splits, and the placement of the bullpens are all in that picture.

Kevin, I'm happy for you and your mandals not getting peed on this year. Urinals FTW!

about "Crack out" a homerun - maybe by the 90's, TPTB didn't think that this verbiage conveyed the same message it did in '61.

FWIW- In retrospect, I detest all of those renderings compared to what we're about to get. Plus, this west metro girl loves the location too.

p.s. I used a bunch of interweb acronyms simply to irritate the grammar perfectionists on the site. Your welcome. (that was intentional too.) ha! :)

the 1996 model was OK...but if we had built that 2010 would have been its 9th season already.

I sort of liked that obscure, Fenway-esque seating thing on the mezzanine level. And if I remember right, there was supposed to be a five-foot gap between the sections in the left field overhang (you'd have missed some really good catches in those seats). If you hit it just right, the ball still would have been in play. That would have been a neat quirk about that ballpark.

I reckon though, it would have ended up like the Baltimores, Texas' and Colorado's of the world (who all built stadiums that size and shape) and be about 70% empty.

I remember back in 1997 when the Twins were trying to get that ballpark built that they were showing off the model at the mall of America and I ran over one day to see it. I also remember watching a on tv the final bill that was authored by Anne Rest as the legislature voted it down because they thought the funding mechanism of capturing taxes around the ballpark site just would not have produced enough revenue. I remember how very exited I was to see the 11 paneled roof open and close and think maybe we would get a new stadium to replace the dump of our dome. I grew up with the Old Met and I hate the dome but even that ballpark back then would have been better than the dome but I'm really glad we are getting this new outdoor park built- its going to be awesome.

I would like to expand on the link David posted about the additional platform.

There are some great conceptual drawings starting on pg 49 of the inter-modal platform moving across 5th st(pdf link). What interests me the most is the additional parking structure built adjacent to the HERC (where the Environmental Services building currently stands). Pages 54 and 56 show that structure.

I think it looks pretty cool. Especially the view down 5th st done at street level. It does a good job of adding symmetry to the height of the Ford Centre and other buildings.

Question for all the Ninjas that have been close to the park recently. Is the wind veil noisy? I was talking to a friend and he said "I don't know why they did that it will be so distracting" I tried to tell him that there will be a bit of a city buzz and hopefully crowd going on anyway, and that it cannot be loud enough to distract you at a game.

Josh-
I have been around the park on breezy days. From my experience, there has been a nice hum from the veil. It audibly is very low and is not as noticeable as normal downtown noises like traffic from 394 and surrounding roads. That is from a position on the plaza. I cannot imagine during a game that it is noticeable at all from the majority of the park. Normal game noise, speaker noise and the general buzz from people talking will drown it out. Depending on how loud the speakers on the plaza are broadcasting the game cast, they too could drown out any veil noise. This has not been on a really windy day but for the most part I don't foresee any noise distraction issues from the veil.

And, don't forget the train whistles. Those will add a nice ambience to TF as well.

Jared,

Thanks! I felt the same way, however I have not been down there yet to check it out. I hope to get down there before the exhibition games and home opener, just to check out the place before it opens.

My friend pointed me to a link on youtube with a wind veil and said, listen how loud it is. I again tried to explain the difference, but much like conversations I have had with people about a roof and the HERC, it is like talking to a wall.

Actually, talking to a wall is more enjoyable :)

now THAT would be a fun job...oiling thousands of little panels

Thank you Mr. Kenney...When I'm up there in July, I owe you a beer!

Looking for some help from all you Twins Fans. I am looking to find out what songs are played for the following players:
Jose' Mirales
Anthony Swarzek
Jeff Manship
Matt Guerrier
Brian Duensing
Rob Delaney

Also does anyone know what they play when they win?

Thanks!

They used to play 'Beautiful Day' by U2 following a win, but don't know if that is still the case.

I went to Target Field today and here is what I saw:
Construction workers have installed all of the seats. The wind veil, on parking ramp C, was almost completed. The promenade and part of Target Plaza was open. Construction workers have taken down some of the construction barriers around Target Field. Construction workers were rebuilding the escalators in parking ramp C. Snow removal crews were removing the snow off of Target Plaza. The city of Minneapolis has installed the street signs for Twins Way.

I think Josh is joking, or i hope so

i took my 10yr old twins to tf today...

ME: "girls, you know what that limestone is for?"
THEM: "what?"
ME: "it's filled with TWINS MAGIC!"
THEM: "you mean the kind that made kirby puckett win game 6 of the world series? and the kind that made the tigers lose to the royals a so the twins won the division? and the kind that makes the twins win game 163 last year?"
ME: "no...an even BETTER kind of magic...just wait...you can feel it if you touch the limestone...come on, touch it..."
THEM (hands on the exterior after a pause...): "dad! i can feel it! i think i felt joe mauer belting a grand slam off minnie & paul!"

(i smiled...)

with eyes wide, they dreamt of sunday train rides, walking the promenade and smelling the franks, popcorn, cotton candy, and the freshly cut grass, and then sitting under the hot august sun as twins magic comes alive again...

can't. freaking. wait.

"can't. freaking. wait."

Agreed!!!

Maz,

I was not joking, is there something wrong with asking that?

The same magic that gets swept by the Yankees year after year?

sorry....couldn't resist.

TwinsTerritory - anywhere on the blog where we can download the full version of the "1990" Twins song?

I know this is an old conversation, but here's a youtube video of "talkin softball." one of my all time favorite Simpsons episodes.

This feels like a rebirth of the franchise. Almost like we weren't a real MLB team playing in that shit-hole for 30 years.

"can't. freaking. wait."

"Agreed!!!"

Nothing beats outdoor baseball!!!

Twins territory,
thanks for the tunes. any chance you have a copy of that long version which includes the little jingle before the song starts?

I believe if you right-click either of the two song links above, you should have the choice to "Save Target" or "Download File". I'm using a MacBook, and my option is to "Download file as..." If this doesn't work, I'll try to find a download link.

I plan on posting 15 total audio clips next week, and the other songs include the Homer Hanky song, the 1991 team song, Joe Mauer's batting song, the Minnesota personalized 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame', and the 'Ode to Joy' song by the pitching staff from a recent commercial. There will also be historic calls and a few other clips.

I could not name a single song played when a Twin comes up to bat. My dream would be that no pre-recorded music was ever played at Target Field. Just live organ music and a PA that I can actually understand for a change.

Agreed. Going to Wrigley is great on so many levels. One of the best is no commercials blaring,no pre-recorded music (exceptr for when they take the field and "Go Cubs Go" if they win), and in a way, no replays. My buddy and I have partial season tix in the bleachers in left, and we both agreed we don't HAVE to see the scoreboard, as long as the baselines have the essential info (batting avg, balls, strikes, outs) and we could see the out of town scoreboard in right, which we should be able to. I noticed on the Ballpark Comission Feb slide show, the strikes/balls/total pitches will be on a scoreboard behind the 'pen, which we may be able to see since our seats are right down the LF line in the first row!

TwinsTerritory,

I cannot wait for the clips. Do you plan on getting MLB 10: The Show?

badjuggler - i also noticed that the murals were finished on the 5th street side. look pretty good.

however, i also noticed that the lighting fixture above one of them (the one on your left if you are facing them head-on) is completely jacked up and bent ten different ways to sunday. almost like someone was clueless while installing it and/or someone backed a jig-lift into it pretty hard.

anyways, just thought i would mentioned that i noticed that as well. :-)

hope someone from the twins or mortenson plans on fixing it and not just leaving it that way as it looks pretty bush league right now and kind of takes away from the nice look of the mural(s) on the brick facade.

"oh and by the way, lay off the correction of spelling & grammar on this blog. blogs are written in the conversational dialect of today & ought not be subject to old-school english rules. this ain't no college entrance exam..."

Good point. From now on, let's merely content ourselves with mediocrity.

I hope to post the clips early in the week, and I may shoot for tomorrow rather than wait as I was going to do. As for MLB '10: The Show, I do plan on getting it, and I'd like to post pictures of Target Field using their photo feature.

One song I don't have but would like to add is the Hormel Row of Fame song. It doesn't seem easy to come by.

TwinsTerritory - i always randomly hum the Hormel Row of Fame song! Check the link, it not a mp3 but here's a video of a dude singing it at a game

Mazaratirick, are you still looking to unload those Exhibition game tickets? Send me an email at daniel.v.smith1@gmail.com if you are.

Rick,

Looking at those renderings of the proposed riverfront ballpark, one also would have to keep in mind that, because of zoning/heritage district requirements, the park would have to have some retro design aspects (required for any development on that side of Washington Ave.). Obviously it never got to that point, but it would have been interesting from an urban design perspective what the final product would have looked like.

well on that note, English Professors, I probably should excuse myself from enjoying/posting on this blog in the future. My edumakation ain't such that my grammar and spelling will always be perfect. I was just trying to talk baseball with fellow fans - didn't know I was being graded.

I better un-invite my Panamanian friend from joining us here since his English is broken when he speaks and types - I'm assuming his posts wouldn't be appreciated either. Even though he's an ex-major leaguer.

I'd rather be on this blog with mediocre grammar instead of mediocre character.

Someone just called into WCCO and said it was a "slap in the face" to rural Twins fans and fans from SD, ND and Canada for not putting a retractable roof on that ballpark.

Excuse me, but if you are driving from outstate Minnesota or SD, ND or Canada, than plan on catching a weekend series or plan for a couple of games.

This is just a big pet peeve of mine and its only going to get worse as soon as Target Field opens and we run into our first weather-related issues.

People need to get over it and face the fact there is no more Dome. You actually may need to plan accordingly now just like fans of many other teams must do. What about the many Detroit Tigers fans from northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula?

As Bob Casey once exclaimed, "Nooooo smoking in the Metrodome, if you must smoke, than drive to Milwaukee...." Well, to echo Bob's statement, if you are afraid of outdoor baseball and the potential for a rainout than drive to Milwaukee.

Aah, the Hormel Row of Fame. I wonder if that will continue at TF? Of course, I don't know who SportService's hot dog vendor is. Might be Nathan's...who knows. I hope Hormel stays the hot dog supplier at TF, I'd prefer a local company.

Speaking of long-standing promotions, does anyone know if the Snapper Mow Em Down inning radio promotion is still around? I'm not even sure if Snapper as a company is still around...

Josh,

they are not batters... thats all

It's time to stop acknowleging the small percentage of fans that will miss the dome and that bitch about not having a roof. They are a very small percentage and really aren't worth the frustration they cause many of us.

Luke, the Twins use snapper equipment on the field.

Beta, I loved your description of that light fixture. Made me laugh. It does look jacked up.

Winona Mike, as for grammar on this site,you need to relax. This forum is here for those of us that want to exchange ideas about the Twins and their new stadium. If you want to be part of the grammar gestapo go find some apa handbook forum and f yourself. Some would say that you settled for mediocrity by living in Winona. Let's not be so critical.

Ha Jim i love that one! Winona is pretty lame...im probably the biggest offender on this site for years that has used bad grammer and spelling.. i dont really give a flying fack! if you get the just of it its fine by me...

some please just come these comments looking for something or someone to "put in their place" freaking comment nazis!

"wait mazaratirick if you are going to compare grammer police to nazi Germany then you need to be removed from this blog and never be able to post again! and tailgating is a form of holocaust, it is all linked together... if you drink miller lite not schells then you are not a purest"

hmm - i suppose people will be smoking around me eh? not something I had thought of. What are the rules going to be, if there are any?

I quit 2 1/2 years ago (after a stroke at 41 years old!) and haven't been around it since. I have become what I have always detested - an ex-smoking snob. lol

Jax,

I dont think you will have a problem.. i think its a smoke free joint... even theplaza.. but im sure some people will still smoke out there.. there is only so much you can do i guess...but there will be none in the ballpark or the bars/resturants

I just love it when outstaters cry their "Penny Steele" tears about no roof. Wah wah wah. They should be happy they have a team to go visit. If it hadn't been for TF, there would probably be no Twins team for outstaters to follow. Quit yer bitchin and stay home if you're so SLAPPED IN THE FACE! There are plenty of fans - metro and outstate - who are supporters of REAL baseball played on REAL grass, under a blue or gray sky, sun rays or light showers, gentle breezes and occasional severe thunderstorm warnings. My god, do these people build roofs over themselves when they go for a walk on sunny days? Do these people own umbrellas? You know, that same shitty umbrella you use to walk from your car to the grocery store front door will suit you just as well at the ballpark. GET OVER IT!

Promo idea for 2010 -

Show an an out of state drivers license and get a free Twins logoed rain poncho with a $20 purchase at the club store ...

Click my name for interesting roof talk.

please don't chant that hormel song, they produce some of the nastiest food that has ever been made. They may be stationed locally but they are not local at all, if you want local, and you should, go find a family farmer just outside the metro area, hormel is just part of the problem, stationed locally or not, their food is seriously toxic.

We are a blog that cares about MN, or wherever we are from ND, WI, IOWA, we are a local blog with a conglomeration of "members" who care about supporting the people around us. Since I believe that is the case, find a local farm to get your food from, organically and locally, but a company like hormel is only part of our problem

Kevin, remind me again how many retractable roof stadiums there are in your lovely state of Arizona? You're not lobbying to have each respestive team subsequently take them off, are ya?

I suppose if the lever were reversed, if each respective team DIDN'T have said retractable roof, you'd be wondering why they didn't have a roof in a climate such as that of Arizona?

"Kevin, remind me again how many retractable roof stadiums there are in your lovely state of Arizona? You're not lobbying to have each respestive team subsequently take them off, are ya?"

I'm guessing Kevin could care less about the DBacks...considering he's a Twins fan.

What is it about the MN climate that you are afraid of?

If anyone has $219....they can "buy" a password for an opportunity to purchase opening series tickets. Simply click the link to see the listing.

What a joke if you ask me. This is just one of several listings that are selling "passwords" for the opportunity to purchase opening series tickets.

It's also a very misleading headline, "2010 Minnesota Twins Opening Day"...as most of us know, its not opening day, but rather an opportunity to purchase opening series tickets to one of those three games.

Luke,

AZ needs a roof since it would be 120 degrees during the summer during games.. i toured the bob or chase or whatever last week its a nice place but not great but it is all they can do... have you ever sat at sun devil stadium during a cards game in the summer? aluminum blechers? some teams have roofs for a reason boss

And it seemed to me that he insisted that you'd get a crack at 4 tickets, which may or may not be the case, depending on where you purchase your seats, and what time during the pre-sale.

What really bothered me about that listing is the location of the game. In big, bold, Arial 72 point font, he said the game is at TARGET CENTER ??!!??!!?? Um...right sponsor, wrong building fella.

'tis true Maz. But, if you'll indulge me for a bit.
Remember a couple weeks ago, that weather system that just kept dumping snow for like three days running? OK - take the same weather system, move about six months ahead, and how do you think people would feel if we had three rainouts, in a row like that? I'm just speculating.
Yes, I know that we averaged like four rainouts a year during the Met years, blah blah...but with Al Gore, and his global warming, and the fact that "global warming' means more extreme weather in all seasons, what are the Twins going to do if they get stocked up with a weather system that rains them out for an entire week?

I'll take what you said and twist it a little "some teams might NEED a roof for a reason boss"

So what happened to this site being about all of our love for baseball,stadiums, and outdoor baseball. Far too many times people are criticizing each other for crap like grammar and punctuation and anything else someone does wrong.

I used to love coming to this site to chat stadiums, Twins, baseball, and any other civilized conversations. Now I am skeptical to post due to the backlash one gets for hitting the wrong key when typing or using the wrong term on accident when talking.

None of us would rip each other to shreds if this was all conversation in person, but a majority of people love to hide behind the curtain and be like Oz when they are on the computer.

luke,

remind me again how old you are? i can count on one hand the number of times i've been to chase field. if you're capable of retaining anything you've read in the past 2 years, you would know that i'm no fan of chase field. in the past i've compared baseball at chase field to playing ball in a giant shoe box.

the only baseball i watch in person in AZ is spring training...you're close to the game and OUTDOORS!

i personally wouldn't mind watching the d-backs outdoors in july and august. i LOVE the heat and can't get enough of it, which is why i chose to relocate to AZ full-time instead of just being a snowbird.

I'm from outstate Minnesota and do not have red cheeks from being slapped across the face! I'm sure people that live outside the Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Boston, New York etc. areas go to games. If you're worried about "rolling the dice" and attending a game at Target Field, then don't buy tickets and watch on TV!

Then again, the person was on WCCO bitching, so take that into account! Probably a big Sid fan. Maybe even a close personal friend.

well said ole....but i have a feeling that luke was the caller.

The same caller would bitch when the chance of rain had the roof activated and they drove all the way and couldn't see the sky...NO roof is a GOOD roof...Period.

I don't know what my age would have to do with how many times you've visited the crappy, corporate high school gymnasium that is Chase Field kevin...lol.

I didnt call WCCO...:).

Dre, check my comment (#290) that will tell you what bothers the shit out of me regarding the MN climate. I'm hoping whatever the hell controls our weather around here shapes up in a month and a half and gives us some decent outdoor playing weather. Otherwise, I won't be the only one complaining.

Contrary to my comments about roof-adorned baseball, I think outdoor baseball will be fun. But I'm tellin' ya, once the number of rainouts starts taking more than one hand to count - people are gonna start to complain.

luke,

did you take your paxil today? i promise you that the weather at TF won't kill you. How long have you lived in MN? You obviously haven't died yet. Don't worry your little head luke, you might get your red argyle sweater smelly from sweat and tan trousers wet from rain but i promise you that you won't get hurt. if you're so concerned, just stay home and let maz bring another drinking buddy of his to the game instead.

I'm from outstate, and I am glad there's no roof. I've been to 7 other outdoor MLB stadiums, and have never experienced a rain delay. I figure there's less than a 5 percent chance of a game being cancelled outright, and I don't mind waiting out a rainstorm for a few hours... Part of the reason I'm in the LF bleachers, my seats are sheltered by the Home Run porch.

Rain delays and other weather-related issues are going to be a new experience for Twins fans.

When I went to Wrigley a few years ago during August, it was one of those cool and wet days in the 50's with light rain all game. The rain picked up in the 5th inning and there was a 1-hour rain delay.

My brother and I simply followed the many other fans into the crowded concourses of Wrigley and mingled and chilled while waiting out the rain delay. It's only a big deal if you make it into a big deal otherwise its just part of the outdoor baseball experience.

The highlight of the rain delay was watching a stupid (and most likely intoxicated) Cubs fan run out onto the field and do a belly slide on the tarp to than be carried off the field by several security personnel.

Fact is there will be no roof at Target Field so lets accept that and make the most of our new experiences of outdoor baseball. This means sitting through occasional rain delays and other not-so-great weather conditions. This also means sitting outside on a 70 degree sunny day. You gotta take the good with the bad and make the most of it.

A lot of new memories will be created solely based on various weather conditions whether its the game in early April when it's snowing and in the upper 30's or that scorching day in August when temps exceeded 100.

Remember that game when there was a 2-hour rain delay when play resumed and Justin Morneau came up and hit the game winning home run out onto Target Plaza as the clock struck midnight?

Luke,

In regards to your post #290:

A weather pattern like that can happen anywhere. New York, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh etc. etc. Now there are stadiums out there that need a roof. Phoenix-HEAT, Seattle-RAIN, New Marlins- RAIN. You get my drift. But what you are saying with your post is that EVERY stadium needs a roof. That is exactly what you are saying. Yes, Minnesota is slightly colder than the other cities mentioned earlier in this post, but they are realitivly in the same climate. A weather pattern that you speak of is possible in any city.

God forbid that day that every baseball stadium has a roof.

trosy and Kev...I hope you're right.

Incidentally Kevin, I've lived in this state toooooooooo long.

then move...

"some please just come these comments looking for something or someone to "put in their place" freaking comment nazis!"

Read that sentence once again and ask yourselves if my concerns were unwarrented. I wasn't trying to "put anyone in their place," I was simply hoping that we might be able to use the educations we have so everyone can understand the valid points offered here. Is that really so unreasonable?

"If you want to be part of the grammar gestapo go find some apa handbook forum and f yourself. Some would say that you settled for mediocrity by living in Winona. Let's not be so critical."

This clown even bashes the place where I live, for crying out loud. I didn't use personal attacks when I made my post. I tried to be nice about it, and I've seen nothing more than vitriol in response. Go f myself?
I used no names and I singled out no one, yet I'm told to go f myself.

And I need to chill out? Ha!

I realize I am now guilty as well! BUT PLEASE FELLAS, STOP responding or commenting on anything Master Luke writes or links to this blog. Rise above it kev, maz & trosy!! Back to TF and 6 more weeks til outdoor baseball in MN!!

Here is your mainstream media article on obstructed views at Target Field. There are quotes directly from the organization, and I think they are pretty straight forward.

As Mike Tice would say, "settle down." Can't we all just get along?

Let's focus on the fact that in 7 weeks, come whatever weather, all of us will look out our windows and know that the Twins will be scheduled to play outside. All of us worrying, bitching, complaining, wondering, hoping, and praying will find out what happens. I'm betting on 52 degrees and sunny. Great opening day baseball weather. I can't wait!!

article on obstructed view seats

Go Winhawks! ;) Settle Winona Mike. Settle.

Got my first chance to get up close and personal with Target Field tonight. Took a few minutes to go take a look when we went down to the Timberwolves game tonight. Was much more excited about that opportunity than I was to see the basketball game.

Even after looking at all the pictures and following everything I can find about the stadium, it was still an amazing experience to be right there for the first time. Just can't wait for games to actually start there. :)

Locker - do kindly keep in mind we do have ladies (at least one) that view this blog as well. lol.

Thanks for the article firedog. I loved the comment by Kevin Smith "show me a ballpark without some obstructed views, and I'll show you a football stadium." that was a great quote.

I'm sure the weather will be fine. A bit cool, maybe, but fine. In all the years i've been traveling for ball games here and there, I've only experienced two rainouts. That's a lot of games that went off without a hitch.
Luke, I feel your pain, man, but as far as the weather is concerned, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Just think of all the sunny Sundays and beautiful summer evenings at TF to come.

Luke, are you a full season ticket holder - 81 games?

I guess I understand why people who don't live here would think it's going to be SO much colder all season than the other Northern cities - we have a reputation of being a bunch hearty souls living in the icebox (that we love to perpetuate).

But if you live here (ahem), you know that we have 4 awesome seasons - the most anticipated of which are usually April/May and Sept/October.

By the way, was anyone cold today? I was running errands in a sweatshirt on a day that was sunny and 25. I think we'll be fine.

39,504 it is -- not a bad capacity. Obviously demand will be high for the first few years, but in the long run, this is a good-sized ballpark for the Twins.

I wonder how many home games in 2009 that the Twins attendance was over 39,504?

"The most popular upper-deck outfield seats at the Metrodome were in right field, in front of the curtain. Those people couldn't see plays on the wall, but they were closer to the action."

I liked this part, as it spoke on a spot I started to really enjoy in the last few years of the Metrodome. This was a very affordable option and provided a great up close view of the action. From what the article says and what Rick put together in a previous post rating seats, I do not think I will be disappointed, I mean come on, we'll be outside!

yeah ive been wearing just my hoodie, it's been really nice! The weather would will be fine, maybe just a little cold, but we're Minnesotans, we can take it!

I'm actually hoping the first series is 40 degrees and rainy (but still playable). I can't wait for the token group of guys with their shirts off, giving the finger to everyone who bitches about the weather.

Those people who complain need to grow a pair. Every kid that has played little league and highschool/legion ball in this state, has played MANY a game in 40 degree rainy weather.

I'll be traveling 1000 miles (from Denver) for a weekend series this year. If one of those games is rained out, I would LOVE the chance at a doubleheader the next day!

"Rain delays and other weather-related issues are going to be a new experience for Twins fans."

Not true! Many Twins fans are from the "Met" era - perhaps a great deal more than a lot of folks realize. I do believe (predict actually) however that there will be significantly more grousing once people actually start going to games, due to the simple fact that there are zillions of "fans" planning to attend games at the new park who have no idea what it is to experience outdoor baseball and some of them - maybe even many of them - are going to find out the "hard way", so to speak. The only thing they know about conditions up to this point has been shaped by inside/controlled environment. And no, I am not necessarily talking about anyone who hangs around here. BUT, there IS weather here. It DOES storm, snow, rain, blow, freeze, bake, etc. And, there ARE bugs here. And, there IS a garbage burner next door - not to mention exhaust from (how many?) vehicles constantly in the immediate area. Some people are going to say "Gee, I didn't think of all the potential and actual downside issues when I bought my tickets" - it's inevitable, it's called "life". Try to remember that the Twins are very good at spinning things their way and whoever makes Kool-Aid is still in business. Had the team been able to get a roof we would be hearing a completely different spiel. All I am suggesting is that there are lots of people who do not realize that reality speaks for itself and among that universe of people there are Twins "fans".

Jax - I wish. If only I had that kind of money.

I was thinking about a 20-game plan, and was pretty set on it, but the paycheck got cut a little, and I had to put it on my wish list. Maybe next season.

DreDog- me too i want it to be a little chilly so i can try on all my 2 new twins hoodies!

I had a horrible nightmare last night where I got to TF for the home opener and some idiot had put a roof over the top of it. It was absolutely HORRIBLE!!!

I had a horrible nightmare last night that every Twins fan was just like Luke.

I had a horrible nightmare last night Margaret - you were still running England.

On the topic of retractable roofs, for a Vikings stadium, Apparently they're putting a clear, teflon like retractable roof on the BC Place stadium in Vancouver after the olympics. Would a roof like that save money, instead of a steel roof i.e. Chase Field?

Re: rain at TF. One of the best experiences I had watching baseball was a Saints game one summer probably 15 years ago or so, when a storm came through the Midway Stadium area. There was a lengthy rain delay, but we waited it out and the game resumed and the Saints came from behind to win. There was enough fans who stayed through the rain that I think the Saints said, "Why not give the fans what they have been waiting for?" I remember watching Bill Murray run the bases with the tarp out and sliding into home, as well as enjoying the company I was with, as we talked and sang to the songs they were playing over the PA. There are worse things than some rain, or a little downpour.

BTW, I think it's time to lay off the Luke bashing. Most of us may disagree with his level of concern about rain and cold, but I don't think he should be plastered with a scarlet letter here. He has a perspective that is shared by a fair number of Twins fans. Berating him won't help to change his opinion if that is what you are looking to do.

Mike in refrence to your question how many games was the attendance over 39.504, the answer is 11.

Bugs, outside in the summer? Oh no! Sheesh.

The thing that *worries me about the opening of TF is how it will influence traffic in the area. Personally, I think it's going to be a clusterfuck, but I'm no traffical engineer.

*"Worry" may not be the right word, but I realize I'm going to have to find new and inventive ways home in the NL when there are night games. I don't think 394 straight to Washington is going to work very well.

Winona,

I was not naming you, there have been many in the last few years that have corrected me on grammer...it just came up per you brought it up last

Luke,

miller park does not need a foof, i have never been to houston so i dont know but i hear its hot and humid... so is az hot! this is moastly for the players im sure.. i will take rain, snaow, sleet.. me and ,my Twins snuggie are ready for the games on 4/2, 4/3, 4/12 and 4/14.. if one or 2 is rained or snowed out then so be it i will get a rain check and deal with it...i went to the K a few years ago for a twins game in april and it was 34 degrees, it was a blast.. i think it makes you get closer to the fans around you and helps break the ice.. either way like Kevin said.. in a few years there will be like 20k a night at TF and that is prime drinkin and seat stealing time!

if fans dont show it just helps the die hards get better seats and spread out, rick went all the way to NY for a mets game that was rained out i never heard him complain... i would assume going from the twin cities is probably the same as coming from hibbing or fargo to the twin cities.. there will be somthing else to do ...

luke bashing has become a fun but respectful event here... luke is good about it and knows it is all in good fun, it rolls off of him...its like the drunks in the bleechers at wrigley, just accept it and deal with it.. Luke does

I just came back from a trip to PHX, Vegas & LA and it was anywhere from 70 to 85 degrees, came back here it was 27 and it still felt warm and i kept my shorts on... you are only cold if you want to be cold we all know that 45 degrees at a baseball game is not cold!!!!!

take that spelling/grammer gods! ha

thanks firedog - does that number include game 163? Just curious

Either way, its about the number of games I would expect. Obviously the Home Opener, Final Series in the Dome and the Brewers series were all big draws.

It will be quite different from now on having a capacity crowd at 39,504 rather than 48k (or whatever the Metrodome was w/curtain lowered).

Can't get tickets to the 4/2 game on the presale now... All I was able to find was single seats... WTF

Jimmer - I could not get anything either, not even single seats for 4/2.

I had 4 for purchase in section 302 and foolishly went back to the landing screen to try and get them on the Skyline view side...ended up only being able to get 3 together then for the first Ex game...section 102 row 8.

I made it through the virtual waiting room about 2 minutes after 10 and only single game tickets were available. That's ridiculous.

Similar to Jimmer -- single tix only for 4/2. I didn't try 4/3 since I can't attend that game. Anyone else able to get 2-4 tix for 4/2? I assume there won't be much left for the public tomorrow if this is the demand they are getting.

no dice, anyone know when they go on sale to the public? is it the 3rd? and does the plaza open the 13th?

I got 4 in the family section cause that's all I could get to work... I hope they'll let us buy more when the general onsale hits because I don't really want to sit there, especially if you can't drink...

public onsale is tomorrow

4/2 is Completely sold out as of 10:22, can't get singles, have tried to click thru over 30 times in the last 5 minutes.

What's the point of a public sale tomorrow if there are no tickets?

Sounds like I was pretty lucky to even get 3 after I backed out of the 4 in section 302. I did best available and this was all before the 10 AM start time. The lobby started at 9:55 and I was in at 9:56.

They released a "limited number" for todays sale.. not all that were left. I was really hoping to get Overlook, Family Section won't be a bad view, its in the infield, but I think its a "no beer" area :(

As always, I am sure the Twins only released a certain number of tickets today for the presale and held some for the public sale tomorrow.

You have to think though that they won't have as many for sale tomorrow as they did today, and there will be an infinitely higher amount of people trying to get through that waiting room with all of the scalpers and what not.

true... With 20000 FSE's, I'd bet 30000 tix were already accounted for. Every 20GM plan had one of the games

So if there are 9,000 tickets available for each game, I bet there are probably only about 1,000-2,000 available going into tomorrow. Obviously the Twins want to sell out both of these games, so they are going to put up a larger amount to a group they know will bite (STH) compared to leaving those to the public. People get screwed but when demand gets to be so high and supply so low and price is fixed already, it gets crazy.

So I get through the waiting rooms before it is even 10:00, and tried first to get 4 seats for April 2nd. No luck. Try to get 3 seats. No luck. Try to get 2 seats, No luck. I do have one seat in the middle of the overlook though.

Can't believe I couldn't get any seats next to one another!

The Twins are holding back so many tickets it's not even funny to try and inflate demand for single game tickets. They are still trying to sell entire rows of prime Diamond Box season tickets.

Just heard back from my rep... No beer in the Family Section :( Guess I'll be hitting up the Block E Hooters beforehand.

Something was wrong with the presale this morning - I couldn't get 4 together for either game using best available or any of the top 3 listed sections. Finally got 4 in the family section for 4/2 after suffering through multiple failures due to "high transaction volume" and once having tickets that I got be taken away after I completed the verification. Took about 15 tries to actually purchase seats, but at least one of my season ticket partners will be happy.

The Opening Series lottery is going to be a dismal failure if they have these kind of problems then (and you know the number of people pounding on the system then will be far worse than it was this morning.

(In case any one is interested, 4 $15 family tickets cost $76.50 with fees)

Tom - how does holding back tickets inflate single game demand?

What do you consider prime Diamond Box tickets?

Sorry it doesn't directly inflate demand, it artificially lowers the supply, which makes people think there are fewer tickets that are going to be available, so ACT NOW! ACT NOW BEFORE WE SELL OUT!!!...

While they have piles of full seasons in every section, entire rows of Diamond Boxes, plenty of 4-packs of Home Plate Boxes, entire rows of Field Boxes that will have to be released when they give up on selling them as season tickets.

To be honest I don't think demand could be inflated any higher than it already is. And it is really a moot point if price and supply are already fixed.

"The Opening Series lottery is going to be a dismal failure if they have these kind of problems then (and you know the number of people pounding on the system then will be far worse than it was this morning. "

I agree JFH.

I got out ot the waiting room pior to 10a and tried for 4 tickets. I was shut out. I have the full season package, so I already have tickets to both games, however after I got the e-mail, I offered to purchase them for a couple of people that work for me.

I just sent an e-mail off to my rep explaining my frustration. Why even make the offer it you don't have any tickets available? I started hitting "best available" with 4 seats, then 2 then 1. Big PR problems if they don't fix this prior to sales to the general public. It's not like they haven't known this day was coming for the last two years. I can't imagine that the volumne was any greater than other big events.

Good luck to those of you trying to get tickets for opening day, when that opens up. If this morning was any indication, your password is worthless.

Yeah if I had a lotto password I wouldn't even try for OD. I would just pick one of the other games and try to get 4. What's the point of having a winning lotto to blow it on 1 OD ticket, unless you just want to go and sit alone.

Remember a couple weeks ago, that weather system that just kept dumping snow for like three days running? OK - take the same weather system, move about six months ahead, and how do you think people would feel if we had three rainouts, in a row like that?

Move that six months ahead and that would have been about a 1/2-inch of rain.

The hopeful outlook on OD is that they are staggering the STH ticket buying over 2 days, and you get an assigned time to buy. 40 game holders get to buy on 2/25, 20 game holders get to buy on 2/26. I'm scheduled for 2:00 on 2/26, so my guess is I'll get lousy seats, and maybe even 2 singles rather than together, but my guess is that they will be available.

Tom - I must be missing your original point then.

EVERY club holds back seat locations for full season ticket locations (and some for partial plans). For the locations that don't sell as full season plans, the seats are typically released as single game tickets prior to each homestand.

Do you have information that leads you to believe the Twins are holding back more than they believe they can sell as full season plans?

I can't see why they would - it makes no sense to do so. The incremental revenue they get for individual sales for a given seat doesn't usually make up for the lose of an FSE.

that should be "loss of an FSE"

On rainouts -- I don't think people understand how hard MLB now tries to avoid a postponement. Between modern drainage and the willingness of MLB to make the public sit through long delays, there will be games played in less than ideal weather and games waiting over 2 hours to get started/resume. If is is raining cats and dogs at 6:30, but they think the storm cell is going to be out of here by 8:00, they won't have any problem waiting until 8:30 to start the game.

Also, the best way for the casual fan to secure low price, good seats at TF will be when they reschedule a rained out Tuesday night game into a Wednesday day-night doubleheader. Just go down to the plaza at noon and I predict many people will be trying to dump their tickets and get back to work.

Anyone else have 20 game plan OD presale windows?

Mine is at 10am, Linc at 2pm, just wondering what the intervals are. Are they dedicated 3 minute windows like the seat selection process? Or fewer slots with more people allowed in per slot?

I agree jfh - that Opening Series lottery redemption is going to be miserable.

A lot of those "winners" think they will be "guaranteed" tickets, however, the terms and conditions agreed to prior to entering the drawing clearly state you are not guaranteed tickets to any of those three games.

I just hope everyone who "won" the drawing read the terms and conditions and realizes they are not guaranteed tickets.

That will not be a fun day to be a ticket rep. Those guys are just going to get angry phone calls all day from people who didn't realize that they weren't guaranteed 4 tickets to OD. Not anything the reps can do about it either.

The Twins only averaged about 3.5 rainouts a season while they played at the Met...That means there was a 95.6% chance that any given scheduled game would be played on that same day. Those are pretty good odds for those outstate Twins fans who are complaining about the lack of a roof. With the modern drainage system, my bet is that percentage will increase to around 97-98%.

Quit yer gripin!!!

"Anyone else have 20 game plan OD presale windows?"

Should I have? All I've gotten from the Twins so far is that I will have a shot at OD on 2/26. I am a 20 gamer, not a new ST customer, and thus supposedly "guaranteed" to be able to get OD tix.

Here is a new interactive of Target Field from the St. Paul Pioneer Press...

Good stuff...love that ST is here!!

Thank's Mike-

Check out the historical weather data from the last 10 seasons. '04-'06 all had 70+ degree high temps....'03 may have been a tad uncomfortable, but the other nine seemed manageable at worst, pleasant at best.

Ben - if you were a 20 or 40 game plan holder for 2009 or earlier and checked the box on your invoice saying you wanted a chance to buy opening day tickets, you should have received an email on Friday with your purchase window. If you didn't, contact your rep.

For 20 and 40 game plans...are you limited to specific seating areas for the home opener or are you limited to the same seating area as your ticket plan or is it best available at the time of your selection? Anyone know?

I'm guessing Tom is saying they are holding back possible future season ticket sale locations from sales like this one. They will continue to try to sell season tickets until sometime later when they decide to sell them as individual games. Then start the process over for new 2011 accounts.
Maybe some people will get to buy season tickets at some point in March and not have to buy the exhibition games because they were finally sold individually.

Mike - don't know for sure. When I asked my rep about it on Friday, he said "best available, but no better than your plan location".

Robin - I agree. Take away the exhibition games and the Twins aren't doing anything that all the other clubs don't do. I just don't understand Tom's original point.

I wish the Twins hadn't forced full plan holders to take the exhibition games - that certainly would have helped gotten tickets in to the hands of fans that would use them. I suspect that both exhibition games will be "sold out", but have a lot of empty seats.

I'm glad I was "forced" to buy an exhibition game ticket. Now I don't have to deal with all the stuff people are whining about today in order to get an early peek at a game in the new joint.

Not sure why people are complaining about being forced into buying exhibition tickets. They were discounted as well, so what's the fuss? Especially when you have people complaining today about not being able to buy other tickets.

I am actually happy I was required to purchase exhibition game tickets as part of my season ticket plan. Baseball exhibition games are actually worthy of going to unlike NFL "preseason" games. It's also a great opportunity to check out the ballpark for the first time and find parking spots, etc.

Also, NL MVP Pujols against AL MVP Mauer...not very often you get to see both league MVP's on the same field.

The prices were discounted as well, so its not like the Twins are charging regular price, again, unlike the NFL.

As badjuggler mentioned, by being required to purchase tickets as part of your season ticket plan, you avoid all of the hassles that were experienced today and will be experienced tomorrow. I was hoping to get tickets for the Friday game and sell my Saturday tickets, but now it looks like I will need to be content with my Saturday tickets.

I'm glad I was able to get through today for Friday tickets. Now I don't care about being at Opening Day as much with the 15x face for cheap tickets on stubhub... Realistically, the Friday exhibition game is the first Minnesota Twins game at TF.

JFH,
Mines is also friday @ 10 am... so there will be a crowd in each slot im sure, i would be happy wherever I get a pair at

"Not sure why people are complaining about being forced into buying exhibition tickets."

The salient phrase is "forced into buying", or maybe just the word "forced" - maybe it was mentioned as part of the deal right from the get-go and lots of people missed it. In the bad old days of doing business at car dealerships (and there were "bad old days") you would arrive at a price agreeable to both parties and shake hands. Then, when you went to sign the paperwork the price on the bottom line would be $350 more than agreed upon. When you asked about the discrepancy the dealer would (with a broad smile) respond "Well, we are just assuming you would like a steering wheel on the car so we added it in" --- people didn't like that either.

jfh ---

Mine says my "dedicated" time will begin at 10 AM. I guess I just thought that was the same message everybody got. Thanks!

If anyone wants to know the trick on how to get out of the waiting room, here it is. Below is the URL to the waiting room from today...

http://frontline.purchasenow4.tickets.com/buy/MLBOnsale?agency=MLB&orgid=34567&poid=20929&roomid=5

The 5 at the end is the Room ID for waiting. Change that to a 2, and you are in. Sometime the Room ID for the waiting room changes, but the ID to get in is always a 2. Maybe that will help some people tomorrow or going forward.

Anyone who is complaining about being "forced" to buy Exhibition tickets, just list them on Stubhub! I listed mine on Stubhub at a significant profit and they sold in a few hours.

Thanks Ben - looks like someone got my point on not being asked whether I wanted both exhibition games as part of my full season package.

If the Twins had told me up front, I wouldn't have had a problem with it. But season ticket holders didn't find out until they got their invoices.

No big deal for me - I have tickets to the game I want and a ticket partner has the others without having to deal with an online sale - but the car dealership analogy is a good one.

I think some people are missing my larger point - I'll bet there are a LOT of season ticket holders that won't use/don't want their exhibition game tickets, which means there will be plenty of empty seats while fans that really want to go are stuck with the secondary market. Heck, I'll be some season ticket holders don't even realized they PAID for the exhibition games.

JFH,

I believe with the ease of listing tickets on Stubhub that anyone who doesn't want/doesn't plan to use their EXH tickets will list them on Stubhub, and non-season ticket holders who don't have EXH tickets but want to go will purchase them. I don't expect to see many empty seats.

Tom - perhaps so. But you are still missing the point - fans shouldn't be forced in that position.

If SH didn't charge the seller 15% and the buyer 10%, maybe that would be a viable option for many. But I guarantee you all those STH that didn't like the online seat selection process aren't going to be listing their seats on SH.

I don't SH because I have to mark up the tickets just to break even.

Thanks DVS2008!

Reading everyone's situations is making me worried about trying to pick up a pair of tix tomorrow...

Here's hoping!

No problem Mike. I would open up a couple of the windows for the waiting room when you do it though, so that you have one cycling anyway. I've never had it mess up, but you would think sooner or later they will fix it.

Hey DVS (or anyone else that has purchased single game tickets online before)...

Will there be those same waiting rooms for the single game tickets? Or will it be opened up at 9am, and the first people in will get their choice at dates/sections?

Mike - I'm glad I saw your post. I just saw that interactive thing this afternoon, and I was gonna post it.

It was actually a very well-done interactive.

The waiting rooms only come when there are high volumes of people trying to log on, and they typically after you choose which game you want. I think the only way you would get the waiting room for individual game tickets (non-opening series of course) would be for maybe the Yankees or the KC series on the 16th. Other than that I don't think you would get thrown into a waiting room. Tickets still might be taken from under you (meaning you lose them during the verification process), but you should be able to get in just fine.

jfh ---

I can't say for certain without looking for the original announcements, etc., but I think there may well have been something in there (in the proverbial small print) about being obliged to deal with an exhibition as well - people like me either didn't get that far, don't see that well, or whatever. The deal is that you were led to believe your tickets were going to cost you "X" and when the invoice came the total was "Y". As a matter of fact, the last time I looked the Twins were advertising 20 game packages "starting at $200 (20 x $10)" --- what do you bet that the invoice for the takers they get is for more than $200? That's my only grouse.

Thanks DVS, I remember you saying something about that earlier, I had actually figured it out myself this morning...

With how fast the tickets have been going I'm not sure it really matters, but atleast you could try. Definitely worth a shot for OD tickets though I guess.

I'm hoping to be in the "waiting room" at 10AM.

Do any of you have any "good spots" I should be looking for??

Just not next to me Luke. I can't take the 100 questions a minute while watching the ballgame...

for you Luke? A 'good spot' would be Tropicana Field.

Heh...Max - I'd be watching the game buddy.

Jax - Tropicana Field? The dump where baseball goes to die...lol. That's funny you mention the White Hockey Puck, I was just doing some research on the place and found this picture of the Puck before they renovated it for the Rays.

Sweet Jesus, to think the Twins almost ended up in Tampa Bay in 1984.

Wanna have a chuckle?

Click my name to go to the Street View of Target field, then click either left or right down 7th St. to get the next image.

That is...strange. I wonder why it's like that. I won't ruin it for everybody else.

I just mean that it has a roof, Luke...you'll be safe there...lol

Natron is not me - no matter how much he wishes he was. :D I dunno why that happens, he's not using my pw - just the same laptop at times....

man, sure am bummed that i missed the last two days of this crap? ha! just kidding.

damn luke! looks like you have been taking some upper-cuts the last couple days. somewhat deserved i would have to say. anyways, remember to keep those gloves up and keep moving around the ring. you will make it! ;-)

That street view thing is weird?! why is it like that?

Google can't possibly keep totally current with street view photos. They are often taken at very different times.

I'll agree that Google can't possibly keep up with all the street views, but you'd think that the most recent ones would all match up to a recent drive down the road. . .

Sounds like several of you have drafted, or are planning to, for ticket splitting. I haven't, and have never done Fantasy Football, so I would be interested in the methods used, say for 2 or 4 people, 20 or 40 games. I'm guessing there is divergence from simply taking turns, as the earlier pickers would accumulate an advantage. (Which might be fine as a privilege for the owner, but I wouldn't want it to get too lopsided, if in fact it is an advantage) Thanks in advance. Never had to do that before, but it's getting complicated to try to make everyone's preferences work out now with the extra interest. I'll check back later today, I hope.

I got those gloves on Beta!

Come April 2, I'll either be gloating, or apologizing profusely. Time will only tell...lol.

Nonetheless, it'll be fun either way.

Robin -- there are several ways to draft, and the most important thing is everyone in your group believes its fair. A common way is to reverse the drafting order every round. So if the first round goes Robin, John, Joe, Mary, then the second round would go Mary, Joe, John, Robin. The first person gets their pick of any game, but doesn't get to pick again until the 8th pick.

You can draw cards every round and or other methods as well, but most groups I've seen feel the version above is "fair".

check out google street view along university by the 35w bridge. that's some weird stuff...

but yesterday i received my address confirmation from the twins. hopefully that means i will be receiving my tickets soon!

I got the address verification too. Is it just me or do the Twins always mail things out late, and expect you to turn it around in a couple days? I remember getting an invoice saying I had to have my ST paid for by a certain date...thing was that the date I HAD to pay by was the same day it came in the mail. Anybody else notice that you can buy up to 20 tickets for these exhibtion games, that you're not limited to 4? Yikes.

Robin,

see the movie fever pitch, one of the only good jimmy fallon movies... i dont want to give it away but this dude has a good system to disperse his ST... and sometimes I feel like him! grown ass man acting like a kid when spring training comes! or just getting geeked when my season tickets come in the mail! last few years my GF took pictures of me from the mailbox, to the house, to the packaging, to the box ect... i think some of you understand my pain...

this is a time to look forward, it is te best time of year. we have the wole summer ahead of us, fat majarijas is a no show and beta seems to be in a happier mood of late, Ben seems less crusty, badjuggler is not hating kids with baseball cards, Kevin is getting ready for another layier of leather skin in the AZ sun, I for one will be slightly less drunk as this normal season due to I want to enjoy our new ballpark( I said slghtly)Jeff will become a super O.G. and asked to toss out the first pitch (of the gopher game)Moose will come out of hibernation, Winona will hug everyone, max,jax & yeahklye oh my!

and of course my fav, Luke (not to be confused with "Luke is my father" I shall now say that 2/26/10 will be LUKEDAY! ask as many questions as you like Luke.. link as many stats about weather,roofs,carbs in a can of pop or whatever you like, its your day buddy and we will let you shine!

now with that said, its time for sring training!!!

Anyone play the new mlb 2k10 demo that came out this morning? If you have, what's your opinion. IMHO the controls are already vastly improved over last year, especially the pitching controls, but the graphics are total garbage. Even the star player's faces have seemingly no definition to them at all. The graphics in mlb 2k10 do not even appear to touch that of mlb10 which when I showed my wife some clips of the game she thought it was the real thing. No one would ever mistake mlb2k10 for the real thing. I have actually looked at buying a PS3 just to get MLB 10 which is an absurd amount of money to put out to play one game, but is indicative of how excited I am for baseball.

Mijares can't get through airport security...literally, he can't make it through the metal detectors.

Epic post, maz. Now get off of my lawn!

I have taken a break this morning from Joe Mauer Contract-watch 2K10 to focus on Jose Mijares Fatty-watch 2K10. Initial reports are that he is no fatter than the end of last year, which was still pretty fat. Waiting for photographic evidence.

HebrewHammer16,

A couple years ago I bought a PS3 for the sole purpose of getting MLB The Show. I have not regretted it once. My wife laughed at me for getting it for that one game, but since then we have enjoyed watching blu rays and we have bought many other games to play. Do yourself a favor and buy it, you will not regret it.

I already have a Blu Ray player otherwise I would have bought a PS3 already. I have a Wii that I never play as well. Too scared to buy a 360 after having watched a roommates red ring of death about 4 times.

If Mijares showed up today fat and out of shape, Gardy and Andy are gonna be pissed...

i have loved my 360 over my ps3 and have never bought any games for the ps3 unil last week , now i am getting the show for ps3 its a beeter game than what 2k puts out and i will get it next week

Waiting rooms have begun, an no browser bar on this one to manipulate the IP. Sorry folks.

you can copy and paste the thing into another browser using ctrl+c and ctrl+v though

HebrewHammer16:

I bought a PS3 for MLB the Show only! It was a great choice! MLB the Show blows 2K right out of the water!

Waiting rooms = gay

I've got a browser bar, but when I try to change the room id it says something like "Wait for us to refresh your browser. Thanks"

Lame.

Trick worked and I got 4 for Sat.

I got through the waiting room for Friday pretty fast, and they already did not have more than single tickets. I'm waiting for Saturday now. This sucks.

Got in... and there was basically nothing available for the Saturday game. I was looking for 4 tickets anywhere and it gave me nothing.

If its this bad for the first two exhibition games on Easter weekend, I can't even imagine what this will be like for those winners of the opening series lottery, not to mention, when single game tickets go on sale on March 13.

The Twins are just licking their chops knowing the demand is at an all-time high for tickets.

I got me 8 tickets for Friday's game. Waiting on Saturday . . .

I got 4 more in the family section for friday... Me and 7 of my buddies will be there, excellent. These were in the other section (310) yesterday was 311... Got row 9 and 12 i think.

i got fri 4 seats home plate terr. now i think they are sold out now both games

You guys need to try family section. I got those both yesterday and today.

I am so pissed, I was in and had 2 tickets ready to go for Fridays game, and I went to look through the seating viewer quick and then my tickets were gone.

Anyone willing to sell 2 tickets? I would love to buy them just don't want to pay an arm and a leg.

well that was a huge waste of time

I was in the waiting room early and the closest I came was a single ticket in a wheelchair seat. Didn't want to do that so I got nothing. Too bad.

sorry josh,

its gonna be a arm, leg and eye, its on and its gonna be like this the whole year, get used to it the scalpers have taken over and have drove up the price

Yeah, waste of time for me. Was ready to go with 4 computers at 5min to 10am and it let me into the waiting rooms. Nothing available for two seats at either exhibition game. Friday's game had only the family section and Saturday's had only Family section and Skyline View, but when I put in two tickets it said none available together.

I think the Twins are going to get a black eye for not having basically any tickets available for the public. What a load of BS; don't understand why they didn't just say all tickets for the Exhibition Games and the opening series are for Season Ticket Holders and special guests only because that's how it really is.

Maz - best post that I've seen in long time!!

Jeepboy, I don't see how we can really complain about this. The ballpark sits all of 39,000+ and we've all had our chance to secure tickets by buying some sort of season ticket package. I made the decision that I couldn't afford that commitment, even a 20-game pack, and have to live with the consequences. As much as it pains me to admit, this is a business and it's about who has the most money. Those who can afford season ticket packages get the benefits.

Ah to hell with it. We've waited almost 30 years. what's another couple of weeks?

Ok, so if I do want to pay an arm and a leg, does anyone have any for sale? If so send me an email.

Here's the current virtual waiting room message: "Thank you for your interest. Inventory set aside for this onsale is now sold-out."

Buffalo - I can't argue with anything you've said at all. I'm in the same boat about season tickets; would love to buy them but it's just not affordable (time & money) for me at this time. My issue is the Twins are falsely giving the public the impression that they actually have a chance to buy tickets for games such as these. I think that is not right since it sure seems to me that anybody who is not a STH ever had a reasonable chance at buying tickets. I think they need to manage expectations better to avoid irritating their non-STH fan base.

I got 8 tickets for Friday, including 4 in section 302, row 1! I didn't have any trouble, got through the Waiting room right at 10:00:05, then opened it up again and got through to buy 4 more! I guess I just got lucky.

Jeepboy,

Today was for the general public.. they held them back from yesterday.. but there is perks for being a season tix holder, if i just wanted the same seat for 20 games without perks i would never buy a pack.. but things like this, playoffs, discounts, and yes my new drinking establishment the METROPOLITAN CLUB! it tunr i gave the twins 800 bucks of my money, they know they sold 40 seats this year wether i show up or not... and i always show up...it makes sense to me.. you cant get a good seat for the vikes for years when we had moos and last year when farve came.. i never heard anyone botch about that, supply and demand baby.. the twins warned us for 4 years this was coming and prepared us, we seen gogles of parks open the same way the hottest ticket in the twin cities in probably ever will be @ TF this year so get ready on the 13th next month to stand in line at the ticket office over night cuz thats what you will need to do or back to this waiting room bs...

The funny thing about that google map street view is that when you turn to the right, there is a car coming right at you

You guys think this was bad, those of you with passwords for the Opening Series thing are in for it... There will be very few tickets for OD and a lot of ppl online

well said Maz - the Twins have been clearly stating that demand is going to be very high and your only way of being guaranteed tickets was to purchase a season ticket plan (starting at $200).

You can get two seats for 20 games for $400 and get the benefits of being a STH. Considering you will end up paying at least $25/ticket this year from scalpers, this is a good way to get tickets.

The days of walking up to the Metrodome and buying tickets day of game are gone. I think its safe to say we are now in the same boat as Red Sox, Cubs and Cardinals fans, at least for this season. It's definitely going to be a shock for some people, but its nothing that should come as a surprise.

Oh well... I have tickets to 22 Twins games... 23 counting the one at Fenway

Mazaratirick, I should be good on tickets. If you want to sell them to somebody else on here that's fine. I have friends looking for Friday but if you want to unload those extras to someone else it's no problem.

Mike-

I disagree. After a month or two, my bet is that "cheap seat" tickets will be available at the window. Remember, there are only 20,000 season tickets sold..that means for every game, 19,000+ seats will be available to purchase...I highly doubt that all 81 games will be completely sold out in advance.

Well, the online ordering system does not work very well at all...

I'm looking for tickets in any quantity for either exhibition game. I'd prefer Friday over Saturday and ideally I want to buy two tickets, but I won't be picky and I'll take a single ticket or three tickets or four or whatever. I'll consider any offer; obviously now that I can't buy at face value, some mark-up is expected. Click my name for my e-mail.

Mike,
Check Stubhub, People are selling their Field View seats for $7 or $8 for a lot of games. That's BEFORE a 15% commission as well.

Anyone here been to Fenway? How is public transportation in Boston?

MIke & Tom,

I would really consider jumping on those tix ASAP I dont see that price lasting long when this weeks feeding frenzy gets out to the "casual fans" when they start showing joe mauers sideburns in florida then its over! god forbid if they resign him in spring training, that will drive the price up too.. remmeber when Farve came that day the vikes sold 6k season tix

"I think they need to manage expectations better to avoid irritating their non-STH fan base."

I think their ultimate goal is to not have a "non - STH fan base" - don't you?

FPM2K what is your e-mail address, I have 2 exhibition tickets to sell in section 111 if you are interested in buying them. When I click on your name it doesn't work for me.

hebrewhammer, ani rotzeh bavakasha

email me HH

Jimmer: Take the Subway to the Kenmore stop. Or walk to the park via Newbury Street. I usually buy tickets when I exit the subway station from a scalper. They have the best seats and at Fenway it is worth it to sit in great seats. Otherwise you have a neck ache for 6 weeks or are looking at a green metal pole the entire game. Eat the Fenway Franks. Have a sausage with peppers/onions. Enjoy a cold beverage.

I bought them in December when they went on sale, Row 10 of the Right Center Bleachers... Figured there would be no poles in my way out there.

Once again when I click on other people's links the e-mail address doesn't come up, I'll post mine and hopefully you can contact me that way.

Speaking of those Google street view pics, has anyone ever seen the actual car that carries the camera they use? I've seen it once on a beat-up Honda Civic. I just imagine two stoned, colleg-age scruffy looking guys in their crappy car, full of empty Frito bags and Mountain Dew bottles drving up and down every frigging street in a particular city. Their biggest concern is what happy hour bar to hit that day and where they're going to get their next dime bag. What a job!

Jimmer -

Public transportation in Boston is pretty easy. The "T" is their subway system and there's one stop right by Fenway. The BoSox game I went to I sat through a 2 hour rain delay (it was actually fun, they played about 10 songs with "rain" in the lyrics, we were trying to come up with the next song. Then they played "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone" when the tarp was coming off. See fellow Twins fans, rain delays are alright, even fun. I've also sat through a game at Wrigley that had 3 rain delays)and had to run to the T because the last train left at midnight. Boston is a great city too, especially if you are into history, particularily the American Revolution.

Hebrew Hammer, I got a delivery failure when I tried to email you, please contact me at noahwein@umich.edu

Having to wait till 12:30 like today and yesterday makes it impossible on these sales. No matter. I have some forced-purchase tix anyway. Linc: thanks for the advice. That does seem fair.
Maz, thanks for the movie advice. (I thought you were going to tell Luke that his day would be Feb 29)

"Boston is a great city too, especially if you are into history, particularily the American Revolution."

Or food, particularly seafood or any place in the "Little Italy" section.

Gophers game in TF set for March 27th at 1 PM. Tickets are $2 and are capped at 25,000. Includes open house of TF, per Pioneer Press.

I talked to my rep this morning and he said there will be tickets for the public open house on March 21 on sale for $10 - which will include a ticket to the Gopher game on March 27.

As expected, the Twins received ALOT of calls from unhappy fans, both season ticket holders and non-season ticket holders regarding exhibition game sale. Can you imagine what it will be like on Monday when the "lottery winners" are trying to get tickets to Opening Series?

Well if Jimmer is asking about Boston, I'll ask about San Fran. I'll be out there April 9-11 and I've never been to AT&T Park. It's the Giants' home opener so the tickets are about double the face value. Where should I sit? I want to get the best experience possible while enjoying the game. I'm debating between the bleachers out by teh Coke and Glove for about $50 or in the lower box (foul territory midway out from bases to wall) for about $100.

Plans for the reset of the weekend include Alcatraz, Wine country, Fisherman's wharf and Chinatown.

Rick-
Not sure if this is what DVS was talking about...click my name for link.

DVS and Rick,

I spoke with the Gophers ticket office a month back and they mentioned that Target Field is in charge of handling tickets for the March 27 Gophers game against Louisiana Tech. The Gophers ticket office did not know when Target Field would announce ticket sales. I've been looking, but haven't seen anything. The Pioneer Press article (link in my name) is the first new news on it that I've seen, but they don't actually say how to get tickets.

luke - how about neither gloating or apologizing profusely and just going with the flow no matter the weather on OD? i think that is what some are looking for from you and perhaps why you get the level of "crap" that you do (i.e. you get a little too worked up about something (the weather) that you have no control over).

just a suggestion. :-)

so, i just received a call from the twins asking if i wanted to purchase opening day tickets as a target employee who purchased a season ticket plan in 2009. my answer was obviously yes!

fyi - they were home plate view upper level seats. i don't know exactly which ones yet but at least i'm going.

yea i was gonna toss on a leap year ref. but decided not to!

so sth openhouse is on the 20th right?

My friends and I have been planning on going to the Gopher game, but if it's handled the same way as OD and the exhibition games with "waiting rooms", I might need help from some of you! How much demand do you think will there be for this game? And why cap ticket sales at 25,000?

"Plans for the reset of the weekend include Alcatraz, Wine country, Fisherman's wharf and Chinatown."

Alcatraz is worthwhile. Wine country is about a three week deal done properly (go to Del Dotto). The RR museum in Sacramento is excellent! One place that should not be missed if at all possible is the Muir Woods - I absolutely despise the way the word "awesome" has come to be used about 99.8% of the time (when the car dealers and soap commercials start using it is time for a new word folks) - but it easily applies here.

"And why cap ticket sales at 25,000?"

Maybe because if they tried to fill TF with 49k, everybody would just be walking around the whole game, rather than watching it. Everybody on the concourse, nobody in the seats.

You have to think that those Twins reps have made a pretty decent living in the last couple of years, assuming the Twins kept them on the same compensation plan for selling a ST plan as they had in the past. I am guessing they are currently earning the easy pay they've had for the last 18-24 months or so.

Does anyone know the financials on that job? I wonder if it's one of those "dream jobs" that quickly turns into a sales job.

Season ticket sales is not a dream job. Maybe it's different with the Twins, but you don't make much money and it is highly based on commission.

There have been several posts on here about how disappointed everyone is with the lack of ticket availability for the exhibition games. Many have also speculated that the lottery for the Opener will be much worse. As someone stated - get use to it. Following the thought process of many - there will be a lot of disappointed people when it comes to buying tickets for ANY regular season game. Just as Luke is predicting two feet of snow for April 12, I am predicting that EVERY Twins home game will sell out within hours of the public sale. With STH sales above 20,000 and groups sales going well - there won't be that many tickets available for public sale. My guess is that at an average sale of 3 tickets per order - only 213,000 people in our five state area will be able to buy tickets for ANY game. I am also guessing that hundreds of thousands will make the attempt. As Maz stated "I would really consider jumping on those tix ASAP I dont see that price lasting long "

One of the reasons they are capping the Gophers game at 25,000 tickets is to have a chance at a "soft opening" for the stadium. This way they can work out the kinks with a smaller than usual crowd. You don't want 40,000+ people in there the first time you fire up all the grills, flush all the toilets, start up the escalators, etc.

clublevelfan, very true. People need to think back to what it was like with the Wild in the beginning. It was hard as hell to get tickets in the beginning. I remember waiting in line for hours a couple years at the X to get tickets. I know Target Field is bigger and seats more, but it's also a much newer experience that fans around here will want to experience. Tickets are going to be hard to come by eventually.

I already jumped on some cheap tickets on Ebay. Got some for a couple games at $11 a pop. Would highly recommend doing the same.

Buffalo - that makes sense. I plan on flushing all the toilets for sure!

I'm glad I have tickets for TF secured, not many games, but I KNOW I'll be going to a few. I just thought going to the Gopher game would be a great way to check it out.

Thanks Ben,

Sadly I don't think we are going to have a car or time to make a trip into the woods. Of course I would love to go for a longer trip but I think we are squeezing in a lot for the few days we are there.

Any opinion on Giants tix or AT&T Park?

For those considering partial season tickets pros and cons: I understand that $800 is a lot to fork out for baseball tickets for a season ($20 X 20 games X 2 seats). For me, I'm fortunate enough to still be employed, and have been able to reduce other expenses and come up with this amount over the past two years. I signed up in 2008 really for the purpose of securing seats in TF. I know I'm going to be in the upper deck, but I also know I'll have a good infield view of all games.

What I didn't expect is how much I really enjoyed going to extra games at the Metrodome with my son and always going to "our seats", giving away a pair occasionally to friends and family, and even donating a pair or two to charity auctions if I couldn't use them. I also got to go to game 163, which was the most memorable game I've ever seen live. That never would have happened without season tickets. I'm also excited in the long run for having the Met Club available (I poked my head in once in the Metrodome equivalent and never returned). I think it will be a mob scene this year, but really a nice amenity in the long run for STH.

The items that I knew were in the deal but I was not quite prepared for is all the additional costs associated with going to a game X 20 opportunities....getting through rush hour to get to the game, the parking/rail tickets, food, beer, maybe dinner before or what have you. If you go 4 times a year its a treat. If you do it 18 times it can add up. I knew this, but if you end up with a Monday night and Friday night game in the same week, your wallet might be empty for Saturday.

I was also not really prepared for the post-season ticket buying opportunity. It is optional, of course, but in both 2008 and 2009, with the Twins in the hunt and me getting emotionally invested in them, I was presented with the choice of NOT attending playoff games for the team I've followed all year, or the prospect of shelling out maybe up to an additional $1100 for 2 strips of tickets. I had to plan all year to make sure I had the $800, and now I've got 2 weeks to decide if this $1100 (potentially) is worth it or even available.

The Twins made it easier this past year on a "pay-as-we-play" plan, so you don't have to write a big check, you can buy strip by strip and you only get charged for the games they play. In the end, I bought the tix both years, but my son knows that if we go to the ALCS or World Series, that game 2 of each of those series has to be sold off to help defray costs. I can't justify $125 world series tickets, but if the Twins ever get back, I probably won't be able to justify not buying them either.

annoyingcustomer - did you not renew your plan for 2010?

CSG-

I was in SF last weekend... Although it was rainy, a trip to AT&T Park is always worth it. $12 gets you a comprehensive tour of the place... one of the best parks in baseball.

JCTwins - "assuming the Twins kept them on the same compensation plan for selling a ST plan as they had in the past."

What plan are you referring to? I know a few people that work those jobs and they do it for the perks, not the money, which everyone I've ever talked to say is relatively low. The group sales folks have a large commission component, season tickets have some commission component, but I don't know what it is (at least for the Twins).

Season ticket sales for any MLB club (and I presume most sports teams in general) is a "hope you like the job, because you aren't going to make a lot of money" job. Many do it to get their foot in the door with the organization.

jfh -
i bought my 2010 20 game ticket plan last april. i was not trying to go to opening day (i had game #2) but when this opportunity presented itself, i had to take it.

clublevelfan-

I disagree...20,000 season tickets sold...that means 19,000+ tickets available for 81 regular season games. My bet is that there will be cheap seats available for purchase at the ticket window a month or two into the season. For those who want to compare the Twins to the Wild....don't. 41 games versus 81 games. 18,500 seating capacity versus 39,000+ seating capacity.

Sure, there will be some sell-outs for the "Premium" games, but I don't think tickets will be as hard to come by as some are suggesting.

Clublevel fan predicts 3,199,824 tickets will be sold by the Twins this year (39,504 X 81 games). I'll take the under, but in general I agree with the post.

Does anyone have experience in Boston, or Cleveland when they sold out for something like 5 years straight? Is there any way for an average fan to get a couple tickets day of game from the ticket booth in places like that, or are all the booths just will call and that's it.

Like the Wild, this will be a change for people. I remember lots of nights just driving to Bloomington and buying Northstars tickets 5 minutes before game time. Can't do that with the Wild.

I still think that you'll be able to walk up for the Cleveland series in April and the Detroit series in May and grab 2 outfield/corner seats if you want them. Both series have 2 mid-week night games and a mid-week noon start. Minnesotans on a school night just won't turn out to fill 40,000 seats. I do think you won't want to wait to buy for a summer evening game in June - August.

CSG Mike ---

Never been to a ballpark there. I did two weeks of mostly wine country. Muir Woods is a walking deal and the area is pretty much just the other side of the GG bridge - if you can get to wine country you can easily get to the Woods. I recommend that you at least Google and consider.

CSG Mike:

AT&T is an extraordinary park. I've sat in the Field Club (best seats in the ballpark equivalent to the Dugout Box at Target Field), in the Club Level for Barry Bonds' 600th HR, and just down the 1st base line. If you can snag "Arcade" tickets for RF do it. They will be like the Twins' Overlook seats and offer tremendous value and great sightlines. Don't pay the StubHub or broker premiums, it is unnecessary. Go to Ebay, Craigslist, your hotel concierge, or better yet the street before the game. Get there early for your picture with Willie Mays Statue and walk the promenade near McCovey's Cove. The kayaks will be out there and the views to the East Bay are gorgeous. Eat the garlic fries. For that matter eat any/all food at the park. Their concessions/refreshment choices are really top notch in SF. Oh and maybe most importantly, bring a warm coat/hat. It gets cold at AT&T Park even on July afternoons. The wind is brutal and you want to be bundled up. Take special notice of the only woman PA announcer in MLB. I personally think she is tremendous and a welcome change from the regular monotony.

Teams usually stay at the Westin St. Francis in Union Square or the Fairmont. You can take a bus tour up to Sausalito/Marin County/Muir Woods that is guided from the city over the GG Bridge and well worth the time. The Muir Woods are absolutely breath taking. No doubt San Francisco is one of America's finest cities.

JFH-
Wasn't basing my comments on anything in particular, just assuming there was a commission in it for the sales people considering the effort they put into me when I first approached the idea of buying season tickets. I have no problem with that, as I am in business myself. My point was that I hope the Twins didn't under cut the sales people knowing they had easy sales coming going into TF.

If they didn't, those people are "earning their pay" going through this period. If they are relatively underpaid the way it is, then I really feel sorry for them.

There will be plenty of tickets available as its baseball, however, you will have to actually plan ahead and purchase tickets in advance whether its from the Twins or a secondary market.

Buying tickets day-of-game (walkups) are going to be very limited unless you go the route of on-street scalpers.

One big factor will be how well the Twins perform on the field. If the Twins are winning, demand will simply stay very high, especially as they head into September. However, if the Twins disappoint and fall out of contention, there will be plenty of people looking to get rid of their tickets, especially weekday games.

There will also be plenty of tickets available when you play teams like the Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals 8 or 9 times each, specifically early season games in April.

Anybody know of a very detailed TF seating chart, showing individual seats? Post a link if you have one, please. Very handy to know numbers of rows and seats in each row when dealing with odd-shaped sections, possible obstruction concerns, knowing what high-numbered seat is on the aisle, if a section starts with a row number other than '1,' etc.

I know that one of the big improvements of TF was the elimination of those 36+ seat rows found in the HumptyDump, but there are a couple of places (OF corners, especially) where I've counted 24 or so in a row.

Linc,

I was living in chicago for the last couple of years and the cubs sell out every game so it is similar to those years in cleveland and boston.

I think the bottom line is that there will always be tickets if you go to the park and buy them from a scalper, and usually not that high of a markup, or not a markup at all if you don't mind missing the first inning.

Even the super-hyped games that are sold out USUALLY have super-cheap tickets outside the stadium from scalpers.

I got into game 163 for $15 a ticket from a scalper when the cheapest I ever saw them online was $50+ for cheap seats from ticket brokers.

For the Yankees ALDS game I bought a ticket for $10, and I bet the scalpers ate several dozens that they couldn't sell (I went in 1 minute before the first pitch, the scalpers were practically begging me to buy them.)

I doubt 4/12 will be like this, but 90% of the time these eye-popping prices on Stubhub are just for suckers.

Ben and Max,

Thanks for the input. I will try to check out the Muir Woods. I just wonder if I'll have enough time. How long would it probably take?

I really appreciate the help as I've never been and we are trying to get everything in from Thursday Night to Sunday Morning...

I've found some tix for in SF. Sec 305 row A. Seem like good tix on the 3D viewer and I got them at a fair price.

Any suggestions on "must see" restaurants? Or the best hotel close to all the action?

Tis quite true Beta. Quite true.

Thanks for straightening me out buddy.

CSG Mike ---

I don't think there is any even mediocre food in SF. The Twin Cities are pretty much a wasteland in regard to restaurants when compared to 'Frisco, New Orleans, Boston, NY, etc. The big place right on the wharf is nothing short of excellent as is the Top of the Mark (which has magnificent views to boot). Great ethnic food abounds and will be easily located. Napa boasts a couple of great steak houses that are second to none. You might want to take the bus tour mentioned above. Once you get to Muir Woods a couple of hours hiking on excellent trails will be as good for your soul as anything you ever done (with the possible exception of motorcycle ownership) and I can not recommend it highly enough. When you get back all your stories are going to end with "Oh, and we went to a ballgame as well."

I was shut out in both attempts to pick up tickets for the exhibition games. I do have tickets to both games, however I only have two seats and thought I would pick up a couple extra for my son to bring a friend. I logged in both days and got through the waiting room with no issues, but never got any farther.

I just looked on Stub hub to see what I could find and was really surprised by one offer.

Skyline Deck section V. --- 86 tickets available to be purchased together. Rows 5,6,7, 8, 9 and 10. Every seat selling for $65 each. This section was not available to be purchased as a season ticket plan. Did a scapler crack the Twins ticket system and come up with 6 rows of tickets or did the twins withold these tickets from the general public only to sell them on Stubhub? Is it possible that someone went through the group sales area, with the idea that they would then resell them?

Intersted in your thoughts.

"have" ever done --- sorry

CSG Mike,
I was at AT&T Park back in 2001 and really enjoyed the place. Section 305 should give you a really nice view of the field and the bay beyond. It's a very picturesque place.

I had a lot of fun in SF, even though I was there on business. I'm sure you will too.

for 4/14 the tickets i got on stubhub were actually decent price 23.99/each for sec 304, i got 2 for the lady and I. Not bad price, wanted april 12th since that is our 2 year but 4/14 is fine too

CSG,

I was born in the bay area and consider it my native land. I have a cousin who runs a restaurant named Maverick. Check it out, it's awesome (sorry, Ben). Also, spend some time in Golden Gate Park. I went to an exhibition game at AT&T in 2004. Sat in upper deck, third base line. Fun time just walking around. Have a blast, I'm jealous.

BTW, that same trip we went to both Stanford and Cal's football stadiums and were able to just walk into both of them. This was before Stanford's renovation.

Golden Gate Park is also a good call. Unfortunately you are not going to be there long enough to even scratch the surface - especially if you "waste" any of your precious time at anything so mundane as a ballgame.

CSG Mike,
If you have time, on the north end of the GG, there's an overlook called Battery Spencer. It's an old shore battery that's no longer in use, but the view of the bridge and SF in the background is spectacular. I'm sure you've seen pictures from there a million times, but they don't do justice to the live view.
Further west on that road, there's a tunnel next to the road at Battery Construction 129. Pull off and walk through the tunnel, and you'll come to a wooded area. Acros this area (not too big) is another tunnel. Walk to the end of this tunnel and you'll find yourself standing in front of an old gun emplacement with a spectacular view of the Pacific.
The whole Marin headlands area is dotted with old shore batteries like these. I found them pretty interesting.

Are those trees suppose to grow in Center field?

I can't believe the Strib let this run. Actually, I can.

No, those trees in center field aren't suppposed to grow. They are specially designed dwarf trees that never get taller than 4 feet. The Twins decided to create a buzz for years to come when people continually ask the question, "are those trees suppose to grow?"

Does anyone know the pricing and how they are handling tickets for the Budweiser Roof Deck? Also, is the Metropolitan Club the only area that non-season ticket holders have access to?

That Suzanne's blog post really stunk. Here was my reply:

Asinine?

Suzanne, it would have been asinine to ADD the roof. The Twins averaged 3 to 4 rain-outs per season at the Met. Even if it were 4, that would be 120 rain-outs over the course of 30 years. If a roof really cost $125 million, this means that the tax payer and/or the Twins would pay ONE MILLION DOLLARS for each time the roof would actually be needed. There is precisely nothing reasonable about that fact.

well she DID open with I agree with: "Since we're both Minnesota natives, we're used to the chilly April weather, the likelihood of snow, possibility of sleet, and that overall feeling of "When the crap is Spring going to get here?" Luckily, nothing cures cabin fever better than baseball, even if it is only 35 degrees outside. Who needs a roof in the winter? Sissies, that's who."

Luke, I was thinking of you the whole time....:D

That blog post was horrendous... I wonder how long it took her to find out why it is called the 573 club??? :-) clubs, bathrooms, and freezing temps pretty much sums up the high points of her posting.

jpberka, great job educating her about the roof.

Here is the Audio Archive I mentioned a few days ago. There are currently 17 different audio files ranging from team songs to famous calls to Kirby Puckett clips.

schweady - the most detailed seating chart I've seen so far is the seats3d model used for the seat relocation process last summer. I doubt that the Twins will publish a chart for public consumption with that level of detail - anyone know a club that does? I presume a ticket rep will be glad to tell you how many rows are in a particular location if you ask.

minn55441 - section V was supposed to be reserved for group sales, but that does seem like a lot of seats for someone to buy just to resell.

KMSP FOX 9 is going inside Target Field tonight at 10.

It might be something new and interesting, it might not be, who knows. I just wanted to mention it regardless.

Think what you want... any tickets will get gobbled up by scalpers for resale , yes royals and indian games too.. if i was a scalper i would know that alot of people who dont want the crazy crowds and the high prices.. well they know that and will plan accordenly, im just saying get your seats now...the scalpers took a bath in twins tix last season ... nobody went to the games just bought tix for TF priority. so i seen scalpers in the 2nd inning( cuz i was on the plaza enjoying the sun and drinking my store bought beer) with thousands of tix.. i mean 65 seats trying to dump them for 10 bucks .. no takers

They will get thier money back this year

Thanks jfh. I know it's a bit anal, but it sure is handy to have my collection of seating charts from area theaters when choosing seats. And, I do often ask a lot of questions of ticket reps before buying... number of rows in the section, number of seats in the row, etc. I'm sure they're just wishing to close it out and move on to the next sale... The animated seat views app on the Twins site helps a lot, among other sites, I'm just looking for it on one printable file. Never know when you'll need the help of a good scalper fact-checker cheat sheet until such time we all become more familiar with TF's seat sections!

I don't suppose that seats3d model included a downloadable file, eh? I do have copies of the relocation guide and environmental impact statement pdf files, but no such detailed seating schematics included.

Faber, maz, Kevin, Jax, TTH and all the rest...I've read that blog from the Strib - and now I understand why you're all pissed off at me!

I kinda feel like that last juror in "Twelve Angry Men" who finally caved in...

Maybe it won't be as bad as she seemed to describe it. And, BTW, the "wooden chairback seating" isn't in the lower level, it's on the club level. And I kinda had a chuckle when she said a 23-foot high wall replaces the Baggie. This is true, but she did kinda miss the part about saying concrete wall or Baggie, they're still 23-feet high.

OK folks - I'm finished. No more bitchin' from me about a roofless TF.

Channel 9 just spent a good ten minutes or so on the Twins/Target Field. Hopefully they post it online later.

One interesting thing I learned was that they actually turned on the field heating system today so it shouldn't be long before the blanket is removed and green grass will be visible. It was pretty interesting to see how that field heating system is controlled by computer to the exact degree in certain spots.

I also forgot to mention that the Twins blocked off tickets for the construction workers for the exhibition games as the construction workers will be honored and appreciated by the Twins organization those first two exhibition games.

I am not sure how many construction workers actually got tickets and how many each worker was given (2-4 most likely), but that could be a significant number of seats too considering how quickly they "sold out" both Monday and Tuesday.

As far as the tix for the exhibitions, we've had lengthy discussions here about game one and how it was dominated by tix to season ticket holders. The same is true on the exhibitions. All season ticket holders were required to buy at least one exhibition ticket (two for full season packages). That took up a huge number right there.

did someone hijack luke's moniker and post in his place?! that couldn't have been "our" luke who just wrote that......right?

;-)

I managed to get a pair of tickets for the Saturday game by sheer luck and nothing else.

Regarding scalpers getting big blocks of tickets together, it boils down to two things. One, they buy group tickets under the pretense of being a legit group in order to not arouse suspicion from the ticket sales staff or the group sales rep looks the other way in spite of reality (the reps technically aren't supposed to sell to anyone who is or may be a scalper). Two, scalpers definitely have technology that lets them hack the ticketing system. Ticketmaster even sued an outfit called RMG Technologies in 2007 over its software and its use by scalpers.

Josh, the Metropolitan Club is actually for season ticket holders (or at least those using season tickets).
Bud Roof Deck has 120 seats and 130 add'l standing room tickets. I'm not sure if one group has to buy them all (probably not) or if numerous groups combined can get them with a minimum purchase each. That said, 250 tickets cost 7500, 8000 or 10000 dollars for value, select or premium games. A little tougher than regular groups as you have to pay 500 non-refundable deposit when booking. Let's do it.
I have been of the opinion that tickets would be much easier to get than people think, but am starting to change my mind a bit.

Josh, the Metropolitan Club is actually for season ticket holders (or at least those using season tickets).
Bud Roof Deck has 120 seats and 130 add'l standing room tickets. I'm not sure if one group has to buy them all (probably not) or if numerous groups combined can get them with a minimum purchase each. That said, 250 tickets cost 7500, 8000 or 10000 dollars for value, select or premium games. A little tougher than regular groups as you have to pay 500 non-refundable deposit when booking. Let's do it.
I have been of the opinion that tickets would be much easier to get than people think, but am starting to change my mind a bit.

Based on the tone of that blog article, and from other people I've talked to, there are going to be some disappointed 20 somethings that are at the game strictly for a beer-drinking good time. It seems like many of them have the impression the roof deck will be a "hang out" for public consumption, when in actuality it will be essentially a private party every game, at least in the first year.

Going to Cleveland last year, their party deck was empty, but even then I'm not sure you could sit there without a ticket. I didn't try, though. Obviously the novelty had worn off.

I coulda sworn that the 1990 version linked above (the 15-second clip) was from earlier in the 1980s. It sure sounds like '80s-era production. I know that longer clip (with the second verse) is from the early '90s, around the time of the 1991 World Series (I have that version on a WCCO Twins radio highlights CD from that era).

Is there a full version floating around of that first clip I referred to, and does anyone know if it was, in fact, recorded in the early-mid '80s (maybe around the time of the Metrodome opening)?

Here's the '80s-sounding version I'm talking about (I just went back to the posts from a few days ago where TwinsTerritory was posting clips and found the 2nd verse version that was posted).

Do we have an answer to this one yet: If I give tickets from my season package to a friend, can they get into the Met Club?

Linc-
If I remember correctly, and was given the right info which doesn't happen often, they'll need the season ticket holder card to get into the Met Club. They go by that card and not the tickets.

Anyone happen to have a list of important dates? I've been trying to remember them all and I'm failing at it. I was thinking of dates like the open house, single game sales for ST and public, when the plaza might open and the main store at TF. There are more, I just can't think right now.

Correct me if I'm wrong:
Open house is March 20th for ST and March 21st for non-ST
Plaza-March 13th?
Team store-March 3rd?

If anyone knows all or most of the dates for things could you let me know? I've been looking back on this site and the Twins site, but it takes quite a bit of time to find things. They don't have to be exact dates, I know some might be a tentative date. Thanks for the help.

Honestly, I don't know how they'll do the Metropolitan Club. I'm not sure we can go on past experiences on this one. The old man who worked the door at the Metrodome won't be there (I asked him). That guy frankly didn't really ever check anyone. I think he just basically assumed that nobody would TRY to get in if they didn't have season tickets, and I think he was right for the most part. With the Metropolitan Club, it might be very different. It is far more visible and prominent within the structure of the ballpark and people are going to be out exploring the place. It may be more restricted. Still, I think that as long as you give a friend your card to borrow, that might do the trick. I suppose we will see.

For $8 a beer they aren't too fussy who they let in.

There has been a lot of talk about getting tickets from scalpers for the upcoming season. I am sure there are a lot of trustworthy people selling these tickets, but I think with the high demand this year, there is going to be a lot more ticket fraud (like the Vikings/Packers game this year). Basically you get to the gate and find out you don't have a valid ticket. In addition this year many of the tickets will be electronic tickets, which I would guess are easier to manipulate. Wonder if other high demand markets experience a lot of ticket fraud or if this is a non-issue? I just want to know if I buy a ticket on the street (for a markup) that its going to be legit.

Mike that's why I never buy those printed tickets from scalpers. How do I know that they haven't run off 10 copies of that same piece of paper? I asked a scalper to walk with me to the gate (40 yards away) once if I was going to buy it and he was definitely not interested in doing that.

Does anyone know the dimensions of certain objects in the outfield?

I.E. How far from home plate to the scoreboard, 5th st, the trapezoid sign, the Puckett gates.

My rep told me in January that you will need your actual season ticket ID card (which will be mailed to ticket account holders in March) to enter the Metropolitan Club and it would be good for up to 4 guests. Not sure if this is official or not, but that's what I was told last month.

While he said you will have much more access to roam around the ballpark compared to the Metrodome, the Metropolitan Club and other "exclusive" areas are going to be much more controlled.

It will be interesting how they "control" this with the massive crowds expected and people coming and going.

Twinscentric blog is now up on StarTrib. The Sooze girl that everyone seems to dislike also has a new one up. I don't really care if some of the coverage sucks, the more coverage the better in my opinion. Especially now that Joe Mauer Contract-watch 2K10 has driven me to read every last article for even a drop of Joe Mauer news.

Mike - I was told at TwinsFest by a rep that they will just scan your ticket to entrance into the Metropolitan Club. The scanner will know if it is a season ticket or not to gain entrance.

There is conflicting information on this. Hopefully it is what I was told and not what Mike was told, as there are many "group" STH holders out there and it would be a pain to have to give those ID cards to your group members when they are going to a game.

Trosy29, I hope and expect you may be right. The tickets are coded as season tickets and have been for years. Even the flex 40 tickets (which appear to be normal tix from a distance) show this on the face. It would make little sense to force someone to carry a card when it is clear from the tickets who should and who should not enter.

But I think Mike will be also correct that season ticket holders will be permitted a couple of guests, which is a good thing, because I intend to take my parents from Iowa in there when we go to a game together opening series.

I hope you are right trosy29 - as we all know, we have all been getting different stories from different reps over the last year or so regarding Target Field information.

The only thing I use my actual ID card for is the 25% discount at the pro shop.

jpberka - As long as your parents tickets are season tickets, it shouldn't matter if the info I was told is correct.

But, if the information that I was told is correct, then if you buy season tickets from a scalper or by other means, that person can gain access.

I guess we will find out for sure when we get out tickets in the next couple weeks.

Ditto on the 25% Mike...

trosy29, they won't be. Only my wife and I will have season tickets. This is why the fact that they will be our guests is an important aspect. Everything I have been told has led me to believe we will be permitted a couple of guests.

I wanted to mention that Kevin Smith is scheduled to appear on KFAN at 10:20 this morning to talk to Target Field.

Also just heard on KFAN that the Twins and Hormel have "parted ways" meaning no more wiener winners.

Call me elitist if you want, but I sincerely hope that you DO need your season ticket holder's id to enter the Metropolitan Club. With Hrbek's and the Town Ball Tavern being open to everyone, it would be nice to have a slightly less crowded area that season ticket holders can go to for a drink. If all that's required is the actual ticket, the place will be absolutely packed for each and every game (which it very well may be anyway), and won't end up being much of a perk for season ticket holders.

I'm not saying I want the place empty, but I also don't want to have to wait 30 minutes to get in, or stand in a sea of people once inside.

Perhaps if all that's required would be the ticket, they could find away to cancel access if the ticket has been resold on stubhub. If they are electronic tickets being sold, it should be pretty simple to just print them like single game tickets when they are re-issued via stubhub.

I agree with trosy29. I am a part of a group STH. We have 4 seats in section B and there are 16 of us splitting the tix. We picked 1st base side to be closer to the Met Club. If we have to pass the card around it's gonna be a real pain in the ass.

Thanks for all the SF suggestions. It's going to be a great trip. And I know some might see it as a "waste" to go to a game... but I am aiming to see all MLB stadiums before I am 35. (SF will be #7 and I am 28...) I am likely also adding LA Angels, LA Dodgers, SD Padres, and Brewers stadiums this year.

Hey ajax - "elitist" ;)

What about the groups of friends who pitch and and purchase season tickets together? Does only the original purchaser get the ID card? I think they all should be able to get in. If you're ticket is part of a season ticket package, then you should be granted entrance in my opinion.

Sounds like we are getting into the old debate of actual "season ticket account holders" vs "season ticket groupie"...if you are part of a season ticket "group", you are not a season ticket holder unless you are the actual account holder.

I am in the minority, but I just don't think a "groupie" should be considered a season ticket holder.

Excellent post, Luke! I retract my harsh statement... good to have you on board!

In my case they family tickets split between parents and siblings. My brothers name is on the account. You are saying that he should get in and no other members of the family?

How to regulate access with season ticket groups is not something I had thought about, and you are right. It doesn't seem to be fair to not allow the others access to the club just because their name isn't on the account, or weren't able to get the card from the account holder.

At the same time, it doesn't seem fair to allow someone entrance just because they bought the ticket from a scalper or from stubhub, when season ticket holders were sold that the club would be exclusive to them. Although, anyone who made the decision between whether or not to buy based on the metroplitan club probably deserves some disappointment.

I'm not sure there really is a right answer. I will concede that the most fair solution is probably to have the actual ticket control access (id card should work too, because once I get in the stadium, the tickets tend to get beat up in my pockets). If that's the direction they go, I certainly understand and won't complain (much).

Either way, I probably will use the Metropolitan club sparingly, because there are so many other areas to enjoy. I'd rather just grab a beer and sit outside in my seat. However, since my seats are pretty close to the metropolitan club (sec 206), it would be a nice place to go during a rain delay (gasp!), before the game when I get there early, or after the game to allow the crowd to disperse a bit. No matter what, it's going to be a great year for outdoor baseball!

I don't mind the "elitist" feeling in this case as you paid for the right (assuming as was mentioned that you actually pay for a package and not just a couple tickets within a package). That being said, I believe part of the joy of being a season ticket holder is being able to confer my status upon my friends for a game if I let them have my tickets, to experience what I experience in my stead or as my guest. After all, even country club members can bring guests in.

As all other parks i have been to you will just need the Ticket, at miller park you need a seperate ticket just for the club... but that is something that even if you are a sth you still have to pay a extra 900 a season or so to get into...

The old guy at the door is Duane, he is the coolest dude in the world of the last 7 years i have only had sth for about 4 of them and there was a 3 year gap that i did not renew i would just gome walking up yelling "Deuane my man!" and he let us in and the GF give the guy a hug he liked that... im gonna miss my lil pervery duane.

Something I just thought about... with 20,000 FSE sold doesn't that mean almost anyone will have access to STH areas?

I wonder what the hours will be for all these extra areas? I would love to get off work at 5ish and head to the park to have a drink at Hrbeks, Town Ball or the Met Club. But I am guessing these establishments will open whe the gates open. Is that typically 2 hours before game time? And will they be staying open til bars close after a game? Or will they kick us all out within 30 mins of the game ending?

I have a feeling you're going to see some unique ways for the Twins to make money when the game is over and before it begins. They'll figure out ways to let you spend money if it means you stick around a little longer to do it.

Twins' twitter feed reporting that Gopher's 3/27 game at TF will be at 1pm. TIckets $2 on sale at 8am at box office; gates open at 9am and TF will be open to 5pm. No pre-sales. Proceeds to community fund.

Also via Twitter, Hormel and Twins parting ways. No more wiener winners.

There are so many bars right there that I don't think you will have to worry about those bars being over-crowded. Why spend $7 on a beer when you can get one a block away for $3? Rain delays would definitely cause them to crowd up though. I wouldn't think that the prices for drinks/food will be any different than in the rest of the park though.

I'd like the TF establishments to stay open a bit longer, if no other reason than to allow me a place to hang out while the ballpark and parking ramps empty before I head out.

I think you are delusional if you believe the Metropolitan Club will NOT be crowded at Target Field (especially this season). Do the math. 20K+ have the "opportunity" to patronize the MC. What can the capacity possibly be? 2K? 1K? Less? This is really no big deal and people will find this out fast. The only "uber" exclusive spot in the entire ballpark is the Champions Club. And rightfully so with the all-inclusive food/beverage/valet.

I've got 2 exhibition (4-2) tickets, if people are still looking let me know.

Also, just an FYI for the beer guzzlers. Surly mentioned on their Twitter feed the other day that all of the draft lines have been spoken for at Target Field this year. They still may offer cans of Surly, but the price is determined by the Twins/Delaware North ($10/can, not sure of size). Would people pay that to drink Surly instead of Anheuser-Busch products?

As others have said, there's a lot of good stuff in S.F. I particularly enjoyed the cablecar museum. You will too if you're a "how does that work?" kind of person. The Ferry Building Farmer's Market is also a lot of fun.

But bring a sweatshirt! The micro-climates in the city can really catch you off-guard. It will be balmy in one place and four blocks away you'll want a sweater.

I completely disagree with Ben about the food. There's plenty of bad food in S.F., just like everywhere else. To get the good stuff, go to the "rougher" neighborhoods. We ate at a fine Indian restuarant.

We stayed at the Intercontinental with a great price from Hotwire. Fabulous place. I'd go there again.

And Ben, you've never been to the multitude of excellent restaurants in the Twin Cities? You must not get out much. I would say there are more excellent restaurants per capita here than in New York. And I'm pretty snobbish about food.

wtf?