Well stated Rick and thanks for the great pictures! I am a huge ballpark fan but have just recently discovered your site and have been reading your postings. This is the first truly "new" ballpark built in a long time. I can't help falling in love with the variety of seating areas and the modern look of the ballpark. Which is what those unfamiliar with baseball and ballparks will criticize. Congratulations Minnesota on one of the best ballparks in baseball. Enjoy.

Has their been any talk as to what the name of the ballpark will be?

I am very excited about the new design. I've been kind of upset that it is taking so long to build, especially compared to the Nats and Yankees, but I think the wait will be worth it. There is a Discovery HD show about the rushed design-build process in Washington--I'm sure glad they aren't doing that here.

My first child will be born in the next couple of weeks and I can't wait to bring him to his first game in the new park!

Nice write-up Rick. One question on the model - it looks like the batter's eye is still in centerfield. Did HOK address this at the meeting?

Nice job Rick !!! After seeing the "flyover" video of this park, I looked at similar ones for the new Yankees, Nationals, Mets, A's. The first impression of I had of each was the mammoth size of the structure surrounding the playing fields. I for one, have always liked the idea that the designers of this park were forced to work with a "19th century" parcel of land. It's still hard to believe that this is going to become a reality very soon.

i wish they could reveal an exact seat count. it appears they are over the 40 thousand number with the added outfield sections. the outfield overhangs are a nice touch because there could've been criticism once the park opens that the seats are so far away out there and no different than what we have at the dome. you're right about the standard hok infield seating bowl. it'll be cool to enter right into the park from the street and you'll be able to look in from the sidewalk as you approach by car also. the main outfield entrances are unique and the approaches look urban and open. it's better than turner field, another park where the main entrances are in the outfield. we won't be entereing from a vast parking lot. (although for football, i'd like a vast lot for the tailgating experience) the site had a lot of constraints but the designers appeared to have turned those qualities into positives. and as has been mentioned, it's very cool to see how rail transit will be so integral to the gameday experience. time to count down the days 'til we get real baseball under the sky back! it's nice the designers incorporated some of the fan's (and this site's)suggestions.

Great job Rick, as always! This definitely is going to be one jewel of a ballpark, and as you stated, it's our "own" ballpark with our own identity. That is the way it should be. I will admit, I still see a little bit of Fenway and Jacobs Field when looking at the model, but overall, it will be Minnesota's unique identity and you will know you are in Minnesota when you see different shots on TV, just like in Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Wrigley, and Fenway.

I still hope for bleacher seating in left field, but we will have to wait and see what that brings.

As for the upper deck, I wish there would have been a way to make that a little closer to the field, but maybe it won't be so bad afterall.

Could someone explain to me the gripe about the "standard HOK infield bowl", why that is bad and what would be an alternative? I'm neutral toward it but just curious to get more details on that comment.

The standard HoK seating bowl doesn't use cantilevered upper decks to their full potential. With their typical design, the HoK bowl heavily favors the lower level seating and luxury boxes, thus pushing the upper decks farther back and higher up. The Twins ballpark appears to be much better than most of the HoK main grandstands, still, many fans would like to see more agressive cantilevers like the ones in left field, throughout the main grandstand. It gives it more of an intimate feel and reminds people of the classic ballparks without the support beams. RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. has one of the coolest cantilevered upper decks.

Has anyone else noticed the trapezoid theme going on with the new Twins park? I really like it!

it's trade-off between being higher up or set back but lower. i'd rather be high and seemingly looming over the field than lower and back. higher seating is a detriment to certain segments of the fan base from enjoying the game, though. my father stopped going to games because his legs couldn't take the steep stair climbing at the dome. at the new park, more levels of seating means less of a hike for fans to trudge up and down to their seats.

IowaWigman,

The batter's eye is supposed to be in centerfield. A batter's eye is the backdrop behind the pitcher, and is what the batters see while hitting. Batter's eyes are always in centerfield as that is directly behind the pitcher. I'm guessing by your comment that maybe you are referring to the restaurant, which in previous images was above the batter's eye in centerfield. The restaurant has been moved to the building in left field, and a family picnic area has been put in centerfield above the batter's eye. These changes are reflected in the new model. Other than that, I don't know what you mean by "One question on the model - it looks like the batter's eye is still in centerfield. Did HOK address this at the meeting?"

Rick, Thanks for the clarification. I guess I was mistaken on the model having it correct. However, I believe the 3D animation has it correct. I guess I just have sensory overload finally having all these new images to digest.

Where can the model be viewed by the public?

All soccer,football, and baseball fields are green. Red and blue are documented to provide a beautiful blend with green fields. Too much green takes away some charm. I am disappointed at
the possibility of most seats being green. This format would be a mistake in any stadium that hosts any of those sports. Thanks.

Really nice piece, Rick. But, where is "our" flagpole? I really want to see that idea become one of the realities, and I think you do as well. ---Ben

Does anyone else think the scoreboard should be moved a little bit more to the left field line? This way it would be aligned with the LF Grandstand a little bit better, unless the Twins intentionally want the scoreboard in Left-Center. I know all of the original designs called for a centerfield scoreboard, so this Left-Center could be what the final design is. I just think it could be moved a little bit more towards the left field line and centered above the left field grandstand. That is just my opinion though. Otherwise this park is definitely going to be one-of-a-kind! Thanks for the great work Rick and keep it up! I am sure this site is progressing into a very popular site as well!

Rational - yeah, I meant the "club" and not the actual batter's eye where the pine trees are at.

Thanks for the explanation Rick.

Has anyone else noticed the change made to the canopy since the model was on display in the summer. Back then the canopy was positioned on its supports so it extended over all of the top upper deck seats. Now it has been changed; the canopy has been moved back on its supports so that only half of the canopy now extends over the top upper deck seats. Why the change? Tom

Overall I really love the design. I agree with everyone else's comments about this being a step forward from other new ballparks in terms of design.

A few comments (not to be too critical, I just think some things can be even better):

The short limestone wall between the seats and the field seems to be contained mostly behind home plate, I'd love to see this used more along this wall, possibly all the way to where the wall meets the left and right foul lines.

I do think the right field upper deck section is a bit gimmicky. I'd probably rather see this section have the same height (it's current lowest height) and the advertising board behind it be a rectangle. We'd lose some seats, but since it appears that there are more seats added in the upper deck in left field this might be OK.

The promenade facing the HERC looks really nice, but I hope they put enough food or merchandise vendors out there or there really won't be much reason to walk along it since there isn't an entrance between 5th and 7th, just at each end. There are a few small kiosks shown in the animation, but I think we need more. Maybe even permanent ones. (I am glad this side of the building has limestone)

I'm a bit concerned about the street level of the building in terms of the pedestrian. The knot holes are great, but there are significant stretches of building with blank limestone walls, particularly the HERC and 7th St sides. They could possibly be animated with advertising boards, video screens, etc. Some are shown, but not enough! It's the downside to the limestone- it creates such a monumental building that it may feel imposing at street level.

I'd really love the seats to be a dark navy blue like the Twins color rather than green. We'll already have green grass, and not to be too blasphemous, but watching Fenway in the World Series, I think there's just too much green there. The upside to blue seats is that if no one's sitting there, it still appears to be someone wearing Twins colors when looking at shots of the crowd. We could do some TC logos in red and white seats (think Williams Arena) which would look awesome as we peep into the park on non-game days. If people are concerned about blue seats looking like the Metrodome seats (royal blue) I don't think there's much to worry about. A dark blue is just as timeless as green.

In the end I’m just really excited for outdoor baseball!

Maybe I am just missing it in the video, renderings, etc., but does anyone know if we will we see the iconic "TC" logo anywhere inside/outside the ballpark? I would really like to see it displayed prominently somewhere as I think it is only right to pay some degree of homage to Minneapolis & St. Paul specifically versus only seeing the "Twins" logo and/or "Minnesota" all over the building & scoreboard.

Upper deck looks US Cellular steep. Not a fun experience for anyone with a reasonable apprehension about heights. Not much else they could do in that footprint, but yikes!

In the interest of having a distinctive feature, how about a limestone wall behind homeplate? The uneven nature of the limestone would reward control pitchers and punish the wild ones. I would love to see a ball bounce off the back wall away from a hustling catcher.

definetly in agreement with that betaband.
the underlined "twins" logo sucks in comparison to the tc. I was and am still hoping for atleast a big TC over the bigscreen.

good points andy. and it's hard to tell how much the canopy will actually cover. it has to be functional as well as decorative. i know the seat color debate has been hashed out a lot on the site, but i have yet to hear from anyone involved with the design the rationale for green seats, or maybe i missed something. i was thinking an homage to the old met could've been best expressed with the seating color. and you're right, that old flag pole has to be put someplace near the park.

Mark me down as another person who prefers a dark blue for the seats instead of green. I also agree that they should work a logo into the seats. However, I would be fine with just dark blue seats. I just think green looks too plain and rehashed.

a big traditional blue and white "TC" logo would look great above the scoreboard facing the field, another good point! the modern twins script logo that first appeared when the team redesigned it's uniforms prior to the '87 season is better where it's shown on the model decorating the side of the scoreboard that will face the street.

Hey Rick...what is your feeling/analysis of the green seats? I know a few other people have voiced their displeasure of them...but yours is the opinion I look for, hahah.

I guess the green is not "terrible" in my mind, but I do agree that blue is more in line with the Twins team colors, and I think one thing I like so much about the drawings we've had all along was the blue-ish color scheme to go with the blue dugouts, green grass, limestone, glass, etc.

I assume with the model and stuff that the green is probably a done deal.

What do you think?!?

In the new renderings the scoreboard has the TC logo on it rather than the Twins script as seen on the model. Also in the renderings the right field seeting in pic one is single level angled but in pic 4 it is double deck straight topped with rectangular advertising above it.

Which of all of these things are correct? I thought I had read that the illustrations were correct but that the model isn't quite up to date.

I prefer the green seats.

I doubt the decisions about exactly what's going to be on the scoreboard (in terms of logos) have been made just yet.

I doubt the decisions about exactly what's going to be on the scoreboard (in terms of logos) have been made just yet.

I prefer any seat that isn't located inside the Metrodome, regardless of its color.

And yes, TC logo is by far the best!!

I'm all for coloring the seats like the Met. Since that's not going to happen, I don't particularly care what color they are.

I like the right-field stands in the model. It fits with the trapezoid theme.

I'm still concerned about how this will connect with the rest of downtown. At one time there was talk of decking over 394 and making a nice plaza. Then that got reduced to a bridge. I hope they make that bridge as wide as they can and built it in a way that allows full decking later on. Pedestrian connections are going to be very important for downtown businesses and and residential neighborhoods around the stadium.

Can't wait 'til we get Southwest and Bottineau LRT lines running to this!

I also prefer the green seats. I think any green added to an urban stadium is a plus (especially next to a garbage burning plant). Really it doesn't matter that much to me though. I just love the stadium.

I think it looks great.

I like the green seats as well.

Rick ---

I'm probably a bit rusty on flag protocol - but if I remember right the US flag always flies the highest and no other flies as high. Isn't that where "our" pole would come in? Is it possible that US and Canada share equal billing in a ballpark?

IIRC, the renderings had 4 flagpoles, all at equal heights (POW, US, Canada, and Minnesota), but the model shows the US and Canadian flags in the middle and higher than the other two. Rick, the past picture in this blog post seems to show that they're not equal. I believe this is the correct etiquette: National flags fly higher than state or other lesser flags. The US flag does not fly higher than that of other nations when displayed simultaneously, but it does fly 'first,' meaning that it would be at the center of a large display, or to the left (as if you were 'reading' the flags from L to R) in a sequence. I believe the model has this correct, as the two national flags are taller than the others, and the US flag is to the left of the Canadian flag from the main vantage point of the infield.

I'm sure HOK deals with plenty of flags and will do just fine.

As an aside about flags, I've now moved to Washington, DC, a city that really uses the city flag all over the place. It's great. Chicago is another city that really publicizes the city's flag. I wish Minneapolis would do this more, even though the flag isn't the greatest (it's OK, I guess).

Flag_of_Minneapolis

Perhaps they could play on the "TC" logo and fly St. Paul's flag, too. It's kinda a cool one:

StPaulMN

Even though we're the Minnesota Twins (And I'm sure the Minnesota flag will be flying somewhere), the state flag is just so boring:

Flag_of_Minnesota

A state seal centered on a blue field. How exciting.

Rick,

Based on earlier renderings, I believe the Twins intend to have the flags of other teams flags flying above the upper deck. Also, I'm sure the Twins a long way from deciding exactly which logos will go where and specifically what they will be. Who knows, we might have a new uniform and a new look altogether. (San Diego, SF, Milwaukee, Houston - many teams have done this when building a new park)

Something else that's intriguing is that the Twins will have a "flagship" proshop, according to the animation and model. I've spoken with several apparel reps in the past few days - New Era's rep told me that team headwear and apparel sales doubled for over a year in cities with new parks. Interesting...

Yes, lots of cool things can be done with flags. If they have flags for other teams, they can order them according to the standings.

It's hard to tell from the pictures what's on the right-center field scoreboard. Anyone get a good look? What information will be displayed there?

yep, like at wrigley, order the flags based on the standings. also, are we going to have an old-time manual scoreboard anywhere?

It would be cool to have flags from both Minneapolis and St. Paul along side the US, Canada and Minnesota flags. Unfortunatly the Minnesota flag is not that great. ItRanked in the bottom 10 of State and Canadian Provincial flags in a survey of Flag entusiasts. St. Paul is not that great either in my personal opinion. I like playing around with ideas for new flags and have some for both St. Paul and MN if anyone is interested (click on my link below.. I think thats how this works... 1st time posting)

I saw a game at AT&T a few years back and they had flags for all the teams flying above the infield upper deck. Something like that out in the outfield would be nice at the MN park. "they can order them according to the standings." Great idea David!

Here's another idea with flags and the standings. If the Twins win and move up a slot in the standings, have a little post-game ceremony to swap the Twins' flag with the team they overtook. It would be a great Minnesota tradition.

I really, really hope the Twins don't change uniforms, unless they go "retro" to something they wore in the past. Most modern uniform "upgrades" are hideous - see Minnesota Vikings.

Actually, I would say the current Vikings uniforms are not too bad and an improvement over their uni's of the early 1990's that had the viking on the sleeve. But, I do agree that their uni's from the 60's-80's with black shoes and the white/gray face bars were the best & most traditional looking.

and finally just to get some of you on this board going i hope the twins pull out a new alternate "minneapolis" script jersey they wear every once in a while come 2010 when the new ballpark opens. it would only be right considering where the majority of the ballpark funding is coming from :-)

Someone commented in here about the "bleacher" seats over in right field. According to St. Peter's blog on the Twins site "The “terrace” type seating on the Overlook (found in right field) has been replaced with standard ballpark seats."