Wishful Fields Archive Target Field History

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Watch Out For That Railing!

April 15, 2007 11:26 PM

COMMENT

I only have time for a quick update today, and I decided to answer a small piece of my own curiosity. Check out this diagram:

That's the new playing field dimensions (in color) superimposed to scale over the Metrodome dimensions (in grayscale, based on the meticulous diagram by Andrew Clem).

So, just how much less foul territory there will be in the new park? The answer is: a whole lot less! I'm just eyeballing it, but it looks like less than half to me. (I welcome input from anyone who wants to do the math and get an exact number.)

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How much of foul territory will also be filled with tarps or media areas for photographers/cameramen? I hope that there is a large enough space for a Twins logo behind home plate. Thanks for such a great website!

Posted on April 17, 2007 at 01:53 AM by James 1

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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 Williams

Explore the Site

Here 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.

The Pro Shop

Three weeks ago this was a patch of scruffy trees. Now it's a patio. In case you were wondering, that's where I've been...

A sharp-eyed reader caught me trying to make the best of a bad situation with my SP-570UZ on Sunday afternoon

Gate 29 escalators

At left, across the tracks by that pile of dirt is where the Northstar commuter train platform will be built, and where Twins fans will apparently NOT be able to get a train after night games. (For reference, that's the Fifth Street bridge, with the ballpark site just beyond it. The east corner of Ford Centre is just visible at the right edge of the picture.)

Mystery door on Seventh Street...

Inspecting the delivery

At the corner of the Pro Shop.

Emergency access viewed in context

Section 125, Row 1

A few weeks ago there were sand volleyball courts here. When the park opens, this will be surface parking. Maybe one day there will be something more interesting built on top of that parking...

There's the opening through which the groundskeeping equipment will emerge (and disappear).

Hooked up

OK, just how many servings per container?

Chef stand and menu in the Carew atrium

More flowers, more pennants.

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

Click on this photo to see what it looked like on this spot 101 years ago (I'm not kidding)

Fabulous Fantasy

We took refuge for a time in the Twins Pub where you can drink a beer (or just hang out) and listen to some ballpark tunes. The organ is decorated with a TC (of course) and what looked like drawings which Sue has received from kids.

There must be millions of details needing tending

The Fifth Street side is pretty busy. There's a small street entrance to the B ramp, then ticket booths and an entrance gate, a rare exterior section not covered in limestone, the wooden screen covering the circulation ramps, the administration building, and finally (just out of view) the interface with Northstar. All of that sits behind the LRT action. How pedestrians will interact with this side of the park is a great mystery to me. You know that Metro Transit won't be letting them cross the tracks anywhere but at either end of the block...

The tracks on the right will be moved to the newly-cleared area on the left. The edge of the ballpark will be about where the rocks and dirt meet.

Staging for the next section (Home Plate Box)

Path of quick escape.

Banners on the parking ramp are a great touch. They help manage scale and turn a lemon into lemonade. On my way there today I passed the WCCO building and remembered how the Twins schedule used to be painted in giant form on the side of that building (which is no longer visible). Wouldn't that be a great thing to resurrect on the side of that ramp? A giant Twins schedule. I always thought that was cool.

A portrait of the 573 Club.

September 23, 2007

Now from the inside looking at the same area.

Look beyond the gigantic hand (a hounds tooth jacket? really?) and you'll get a glimpse of the main grandstand configuration. The two (or is it three?) levels of suites are visible, as is the design of the so-called "split upper deck," and the extensive use of limestone for decorative accents. Let's hope these little touches don't get cut as costs increase, because they make a nice tie-in from the outside of the park to the inside. Of most interest to me is the way that the very best seats are physically separated from all the rest of the seats by that limestone. There will be virtually no way to sneak into these seats. On one level, that's a somewhat sad design feature...

Let's be honest and say that this promenade, which will face the HERC plant, won't be the most exciting part of the streetscape. It has to be provided for circulation reasons, but there won't be much to see unless vendors and other attractions take root here.