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Next game at Target Field: White Sox at Twins |
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Picture of the Day
BallparkMagic presents a little bit of Target Field each day. (Click to enlarge.)  Opening Day (Somewhere)April 1, 2011 1:36 PM There's a game for us Yesterday was opening day...somewhere. Somewhere, the crack of major league bats could be heard in games which count. Somewhere, official major league balls were hurled toward batters filled with adrenaline and ready to crush them. Somewhere, major league hot dog vendors began the long, slow march toward the hoarseness of fall. Somewhere, bellies got bigger, wallets got thinner, fists were either thrown into the air in triumph or had chins rested upon them with a sigh. High fives and fist bumps were exchanged (sometimes awkwardly). Somewhere, hungry rookies joined The Show, old men in their 30s (and, God help us, even their early 40s) tried to prove that they still have something left in the tank, and the fans began their annual rite of living and dying by the box scores. Somewhere, the big names were in the dugouts and out on the grass. Averages which started the day at .000 became either gaudy improbabilities or remained goose eggs. But we are left to read about it. We can read all about how Albert Pujols was a double-play machine (in a bad way), and how Pat Neshek (oddly, not in a Twins uniform) sawed off Pujols' bat and got his first win in the National League. We can read how Carlos Gomez (also, not a Twin) was part of a back-to-back-homer season start for the Brewers, how Curtis Granderson stuck it to his old team, and... Where are our boys? We can't read about the Twins because they didn't play. OK, so today is opening day for the rest of us. We'll have to take that. It's still a joyous occasion, but wouldn't it have been great to read about 15 games today? To see all of the big names out there? To cover the continent with games which matter? To feel the virus which is baseball infecting people from sea to shining sea? Wouldn't it be great if the season started with a solid blast of baseball? I mean, everybody will probably have Monday off as a safety date for weather, but why have only some teams play on "opening" day? Even with the scheduling gods being what they are (mercurial), it's a very weird thing (which I'm sure has something to do with TV schedules). * Sigh * There's a game for us I'll take you there, indeed. We still have a few tickets remaining for the first BallparkMagic night of the season: BallparkMagic at Target Field:
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"You talk about the magic, the aura, but what really makes a stadium is the fans. Concrete doesn't talk back to you. Chairs don't talk back to you. It's the people who are there, day in, day out, that makes the place magic."– Bernie WilliamsExplore the SiteHere are 50 images chosen randomly from the 3004 found on this site. Click the image to be taken to the original post. A new list is created every 10 minutes.
 Plaza overview from the A ramp  The angle on the main scoreboard from the Batter's Eye is surprisingly good -- acceptable, at least.  Nicely-cushioned seats, lots of room, great sightlines  Click to enlarge.  An early concept for St. Paul.   For reference, here's that spot on the model.  Here's one big problem with a retractable roof: completely terrible seating in left. These scant few seats would have been tucked under the track. No sunshine, no open concourse, it was a terribly kludgy idea. With some hindsight, it's very clear that adding a retractable roof on this small site would have required compromises which would have just been too extensive to tolerate. Without it, the design was free to grow into something much more memorable.    The rough outlines of our urban trench. (North is up.)  Now, why is there horse shit on the street next to Target Field? (I saw it in two places. Mounted police maybe?)  A detailed crowd shot. Click to enlarge greatly.   Metropolitan Club   This looks up Sixth Street from Hennepin. Just imagine what this will look like during a night game!  Pillows!   Trees now line Seventh Street  Dedicated closed-captioning ribbon board     All three seating mounds   Site plan for the new Nationals ballpark, with the size of the Rapid Park site overlaid  I took this picture just moments before Morneau's homer landed almost exactly where I had been standing. If only I hadn't wanted to watch the game...  Up close, this is what you'll see as you walk along.   Future station?  Ballpark elevation diagram, viewed from Fifth Street. (Click to enlarge.) Ballpark elevation diagram, viewed from Fifth Street. (Click to enlarge.)  One thing that the design disguises nicely is that the Pro Shop (and other key components) are actually built over lanes of freeway. That can clearly be seen here.  The season was perfectly bookended by Mick Sterling on the plaza  At one point, we thought these windows might represent one of the so-called knotholes. But nope. Nothing to see here. (Nearest I can tell, there will be no view of the playing field whatsoever from the Seventh Street sidewalk.)   Clemson Memorial Stadium  Wrigley Field. Paradise? Not from these seats.  A last look on the way out.  Fenway has posts. Target Field does not. But...   The proposed wooden screen covering the circulation ramp on Fifth Street (at left is the equivalent screen on Seventh Street).      Party deck down the right field line  Actual LRT tracks are now in the street, and buses now pass over them before entering the transit hub.  Working on the main concourse right about directly behind the plate. Welcome Visitors From Two Men On (Accessiblity) Glossary BPM - Ballpark Magic BRT - Bus Rapid Transit DSP - Dave St. Peter FSE - Full Season Equivalent FYS - Fake Yankee Stadium (see also: NYS) HERC - Hennepin Energy Resource Company (aka the Garbage Burner) HPB - Home Plate Box HRP - Home Run Porch LC - Legends Club LRT - Light Rail Transit MBA - Minnesota Ballpark Authority (will own Target Field) MOA - Mall of America MSFC - Minnesota Sports Facilities Commission (owns the Metrodome) NYS - New Yankee Stadium SRO - Standing Room Only STH - Season Ticket Holder TCFBS - TCF Bank Stadium TF - Target Field Selected Bibliography - Analysis
Selected Bibliography - Surveys
Selected Bibliography - Nostalgia
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