Great pics Rick! Since you've fired this site up a while back I have been a regular follower of the articles and great converstation that goes on here on the site. I can remember all the awesome feelings leading up to Opening Day last year and this year will be no exception :) Great job and thanks for an awesome site like this for us Twins fans to gather!

Win Twins!

I wouldnt mind the old fashion clock either. I suppose the one from the Met is long gone.

Rick, as always, GREAT job on the site and updates at Target Field! Thanks for the 2011 printable schedule too... I was looking for one of those on the Twins site. Just wanted you to know I turned it into a .pdf and put it on my site under the brand new Ballpark Magic graphic and link to this site. If you'd like changes to the banner, let me know, ok? Thanks for all you do and keep me in mind if you need a freebie ticket or two this year. Would be happy to oblige.
-Marty
www.joemauerfanclub.com
mntwinsmntwins@yahoo.com

As far as I can remember, "Twins Territory Time" was displayed on the ribbon board directly beneath the Batters Eye seats last year...for a while.

My hunch is the same batters that complained about the sedentary pine trees just below that section of seats, also complained that "Twins Territory Time" was just too colorful and blocked their range of sight.

So, shortly after the opening game, that section of ribbon board was turned off during at-bats.

Meh, not a fan of the tower. Right now it does look better than the renderings though.

Interesting post and nice pics -- thanks.

My understanding is that the Twins will raise the seats in the 1st row of the Legends Club to address sight line issues caused by the railing (not sure if they plan to do this elsewhere as well and I don't understand why they don't just lower the railing). Did you learn anything about this on your visit? I wonder whether this might cause sight line issues for those sitting in the rows behind the 1st row.

For those interested in the virtual waiting room...Not sure if this disclaimer is new or not, but I have never read it in-depth before. It points out that it does not matter what time you enter the virtual waiting room as all users in the virtual waiting room are randomly selected to enter the actual ticketing site.

I also like the "We are experiencing a higher than usual number of fans attempting to purchase tickets"....Since when is this a higher than usual number??? It has always been this crazy, at least going back to 2009.

We are currently experiencing a higher than usual number of fans attempting to purchase tickets. In an effort to be completely fair to all fans we have developed this Virtual Waiting Room, used to randomly allow access to the ticketing system during busy times such as this when all visitors cannot be served simultaneously. You are currently in the pool to be randomly chosen to enter the site to purchase tickets. When we automatically refresh your browser, the system will randomly determine your status in the virtual waiting room. You will either be randomly selected to continue to your ticket purchase or you will remain in the virtual waiting room.

When you are selected you will automatically see a popup which you must click on to enter the site. You will have a very limited amount of time to respond to the popup otherwise you will have to return to the Virtual Waiting Room, so please remain near your computer. Make sure your computer speakers are turned on to hear periodic countdown beeps. Closing your browser and opening a new one will not improve your chances of entering the site; however, you are welcome to return at a later time when the site is not busy.

When you reach the front of the line you will automatically see a popup which you must click on to enter the site. You will have a very limited amount of time to respond to the popup otherwise you will have to return to the end of the line so please remain near your computer. Make sure your computer speakers are turned on to hear periodic countdown beeps.

I'm in the room waiting now! FCOL! Wonder if I open up multiple waiting rooms if that works? LOL!

Still waiting 9 minutes in!

Would imagine at least 3 times more traffic today than yesterday. Still not in!

17 minutes and still not in!

21 minutes still waiting! Server meltdown????

Maybe better to just go see a scalper.

30 minutes still nuttin!

Perhaps! LOL! Wonder if people at the windows are in the waiting room also?? As capt Kirk would say "Need more power Scotty"!!!

This tower reminds me of the tower at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. That one is only a position tower, lightbulbs that show the position of the cars on the track, very useful. I wonder if the Twins could do something useful with the tower (when they aren't running advertisements or encouragements for EVERY BODY CLAP YOUR HANDS -- clap clap clap calp). For example maybe a string of the score book for the current batter? The alignment would be wrong, as those go from l-r, but maybe the current inning? The Addison Brown Line EL station in Chicago just down the street from Wrigley has some cool artwork that shows what I mean. This score was taken from one of Ron Santo's score books, I understand. Here's a link to a photo of it Addison EL

It would be cool for those of us who keep score. I like the broadcasts where they show the score book for each batter when they come up to the plate, they do that here in Boston. My wife likes it too, now that I taught her the fine art of keeping score.

Or Tom Petty " the waiting is the hardest part" LOL!

Took about 20 minutes for me to get in and get three games.

38 and counting still.

AJ was that today or yesterday?

Wow never had a wait like this even for playoff tickets last year. Think they don't like that I have 2 wait rooms open? Almost 50 minutes and counting!

What a joke this whole "exclusive pre-sale" has become...Is it even fair to consider this an "Exclusive" benefit? Not that the Twins are required to provide this benefit to STH's, but its fair to ask if this is even an exclusive event anymore?

Unless the Twins are holding back a lot of ticket inventory for the general public on-sale on Saturday, it's going to be a nightmare trying to get tickets on Saturday.

Even more frustrating is the fact the Twins are promoting these "exclusive presale" events as incentives for the Twins Territory Team membership...reality is, the TTT "presale" tonight is nothing more than a marketing ploy to get as many people as possible to pay the $20.00 membership.

In all due respect, I am happy with the games I have in my 20-game plan and I enjoy my MLB audio that comes with the TTT membership, but there are other fans who are not as fortunate and I can't imagine what it will be like trying to get tickets on Saturday for the general public.

We will wait and see come Saturday...

I work near TF so decided to go directly to the source and skip the "VWR experience" and the joy of paying "convenience" fees to let a computer select my tickets. Anyway, I got to TF at about 9:30 and there were around 25 people ahead of me. They opened the ticket windows a few minutes early and it took about 20 minutes for me to get to a window. I got 2 single tickets to the 8/5 bobblehead game (was told there are no pairs left) and 4 tickets to a September weekday game v CHI in the Overlook. Not bad, but not really good.

I'm glad I have season tickets. I think Saturday's sale to the public is going to be a nightmare.

A nightmare indeed!

One more point about the waiting room. The Red Sox used to use the system that the Twins use now, which randomly selects people. It's lousy and unfair, because people like Twinkfan are made to wait for no good reason. Where else do they serve customers like that?? But they created it to deal with scalpers who use numerous (20? 50?) computers to log in and try to hog all the seats. Of course, limiting the # of tix you can buy with an exclusive password does the same thing, so the randomness of the VWR actually just benefits people who have more computers running, and thus more chances of being "randomly" selected.

Boston now has a system that puts you in a spot in the waiting room and a graphic that shows you how far along in the process you are. It's still not perfect. Sometimes you seem to move quickly and then it stalls. But it at least has some "seniority/wait time" factor built into it.

No biggie I got a 20 game package. Just wanted to get 3-4 tickets so I could see my kid do the anthem for 5/23. Wow 1 hour still not a sniff!

Hello everyone,
I'm contemplating different possibilities for trips to some of the other AL Central home locations and maybe Milwaukee as well when the twins are in town. Probably will only be able to make one or two trips depending on the availability of some of my friends, but to those of you that have been to any of these locations, what are some best bang for your buck seats? I'm not looking to spend more that $30-40 per ticket, at most. Thanks for any help offered.

Got to be 4 times the traffic today as yesterday mayebe is all I can think of!

Still waiting on this end too...not even a sniff of getting through yet. Might need to get an angry mob together...storm the gates kinda deal. :)

Took an hour to get three games worth of tix so I could include a daughter or son. Wanted two more games but no availability for those

You get in today Ben? Stubb Hub frezzing us out again???

Maybe everybody has 20 waiting room browsers open?? LOL!

i got that ttt password but didn't pay for twins territory for 2011

One would think I could get some tickets for 5/23. I mean thats a monday night with kiddies still in school! But maybe not!

Considering the games I am trying for are supposedly not available any more in this pre-sale (according to those already through the pre-sale) and the Stubhub availability keeps going up and at least 2x face value, and for how many people here that are complaining, this certainly makes a good case for the electronic ticketing bill to pass.

Jared what games were you looking for?

Rick, did you notice if they had changed any of the concession stand branding during your tour?

I'm curious to know if the Senor Smoke and Frankie V stands might be changed for the coming year due to the quality and lack of interest issues last season. Rebranding to Hennepin Grill or Best of Twins Territory might ease the crush on other stands. If no changes in branding are afoot, then hopefully the product will be improved.

Twink ---

Yes, today - just luckier at "random" I guess (if an hour is lucky).

I got in after about a half hour in the waiting room. Others' tips from yesterday were helpful - there were a number of games where four seats together weren't available but 3 seats were. Nothing but some singles for the most desirable games so I went to my b list and got several games worth of oddball tix here and there. I did get some grandstand seats so my theory about them holding all of those out for Saturday was wrong. Saturday will be pretty interesting....

I have family coming in for the 4th of July weekend that want to go to games and it just so happens that's Milwaukee. Wa Wa Waaaa. I am not going to complain because I understand the perfect storm of demand that created. Still sucks though. There are a couple other random games that have similar results though. Some of those games people have mentioned already. I guess you just gotta click around and get lucky now or find other options later on. At least I have my split 20 games to get me to some games I want.

Longtime lurker, first time poster. Rick, I love your site. I love the great information here, and have always considered news, information and insight here, literally second to none.

I have a 20-game pack. Got in after about 15 minutes. Basically all the games for the June, July and August series seemed sold out. I had to 'settle' for May and September games. Got some overlook tickets in September which should be cool. Tickets just seemed to disappear very quick if you selected a game, then requested different seats even to the same game.

With Twins Territory people getting to purchase at 2pm, I'm assuming the general public MAY have a tougher time than last year to purchase tickets. $20 to join and get in on the presale is really not that much if you are going to buy 4 tickets to a game ($5 extra per ticket) and that is only considering one game. If you are purchasing multiple games, and want to have some type of say in your seating location, (which will not happen this Saturday when the go on sale to the general public), the Twins Territory buy-in is a no brainer.

Nice to finally post. GO TWINS!

-will

Ok finally got in after almost 1 hour and 45 minute wait. Grabbed 4 seats sec 305. Didn't want to diddle around so grabbed them got out! Nice $16.50 fee charge for 4 of the #12.00 seats! LOL! Oh well!

visionsaul pretty much summed it up...plenty of availability for games in April and September but nothing for June, July and August...It helps availability when you have plenty of games against teams such as Cleveland and Kansas City in April and September :)

I settled for some row 2 field box seats for the lone Saturday game in September.

Other than that, nothing available for games in June, July and August.
I know several friends/relatives who are hoping to get tickets to the Brewers series July 1-3...good luck to them...And to any other fans of opposing teams hoping to catch their favorite teams play at Target Field.

Be intersted to see what they do for standing room this year. How many they will sell etc. Some of those areas last year were more than 5 rows deep.

Just wait about 7-10 days (sometimes 3-7 days or even 3 hours) prior to the game and the Twins release an allotment of tickets. I found a pair of tickets in Section 3 Row 2 last year about 4 hours prior to the game.

I understand that some people cannot wait that long, but the couple next to me paid $200/ticket outside (overheard them tell a friend on the phone how they talked down a scalper from $275).

Standing room only tickets should be interesting too. Considering Thome is approaching 600 HR's, the Plaza/Overlook area will be packed. I wonder if they will have issues with the fire marshal considering how it is basically the main aisle-way/most used entrance, exit and walkway.

-will

Rick, love the pics of the old met. Had many memories of going to games out there with the old man and his dad! Yep wish they would put in the old fashioned clock on that tower! Used to buy the cheap 3rd base bleacher seats and by the 3rd inning would be behind home plate! LOL!

TwinkFan-
Sorry, I didn't see your message before. My pre-sale was for today. It looks like I had an easier time than most of you. I didn't do anything special either.

TwinkFan,

I never had the honor to seeing Met Stadium, but I did have similar experiences in college in 2000, when the average attendance at the dump was 12,355

TK yep. Although I could not stand walking into the dump! I refused to go any games about the last 5 years in there. Instead made some road trips to KC, Milwaukee and Chicago!

I still think the concourses are too sterile.

One thing I noticed from Rick's picture looking down the pedestrian walkway near Target Center is how the tower draws your attention toward it, a little like the tower at the Guthrie Theater. It will give a focal point to the TF plaza that did not previously exist.

In looking at the concourses, I forgot they were so big! Those carts and movable concessions really get in the way. I wonder if they are going to be redesigning or arranging the layout of those stands.

Maybe not place a beer stand in front of the Section 323 stairwell to impede traffic flow?

I really believe the use of stanchions, like at Barnes and Noble or the Delta Airlines check in counter at MSP, would do a lot for better organizing the crowds and keeping them from blocking the traffic lanes in the concourses. Plus, I think having one line with the person in front always going to the next available register would keep things moving better.

I've always wanted some more design/details in the concourses. Awnings, paint, signs, wall murals, something...the cream colored upper walls just bother me for some stupid reason.

I think some wall murals would really help. They can't be that expensive, as the club has used them in plenty of other spots throughout the park.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks the concourses are way too ascetic/spartan. Murals or paint would be great. Just something to indicate that it's a baseball park and not an government institution. I'm not saying to make it retro, but it reminds of looking at your house before you have even moved a single piece of furniture in. No soul.

For comparison, here is a pic of the concourse at Coors. I know it's a different style park, but it just has more warmth and visual interest, in my opinion.

http://www.jdbaseball.com/pictures/colorado-rockies/coors-field-concourse.htm

Yeah, I just about everything about the park but the concourses do leave something to be desired. I still can't get over the signage used above the different "feeding troughs." The whole area has a very sterile look.

Twins said that they would be adding more displays/memorabilia to the main level. We'll see what that looks like.

Edit: "Yeah, I love everything about the park..."

The Coors image provides more perspective. However, to be fair from my point of view the primary visual interest at Coors comes from the exposed beams/concrete from seating and most of the remaining visuals from the concession signage overhead. Extra money was contributed to TF to cover those areas and the signage is on the walls which makes more sense to the "sterile" perception. With that in mind i think that to add more interest the visual aspect would be best served using the enormous blank canvas that is the concourse ceiling/overhead space at TF. The walls generally could add some things but not too much to clutter sign space. I have seen places where wall art completely overruns/hides signage. In my mind simpler has always been better but this space could use something.

Didn't the Twins plan on using the dynamic pricing system this year like the SF Giants use? If that is the case, don't bank on paying the same price you would now for tickets 7-10 days before a game. That is of course if the Twins release tickets like they did last year.

What about tiling the cieling with Twins themed tiles like they did in Hrbek's? I think that would do wonders, although it would probably cost an arm and a leg...

http://cbsminnesota.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/hrbeksceilingbigger.jpg?w=300&h=225

I think baseball fans from the 1960's would be laughing at us for actually caring what the concourse ceilings look like! Who cares.

That's the difference about then and now. In the '60s no one cared and that's why it wasn't included in design. These days it is and its even more apparent when you consider the fact that the twins spent extra money to cover up the "exposed look" and go with a more clean contemporary look. I really don't mind either way, just contributing to conversation.

Looking at that Coors Field concourse picture, all I can think of is the number of pigeons that would be living in those beams.

Remember, the Target Field concourses are outdoors. ;-)

Personally, I like the clean look, although some colors or textures would be a nice addition.

Personally can't wait for baseball to start to distract from the interior decorating thread.

^^^Word^^^

How 'bout this, Juggler: Joe Mauer goes 1 for 3 today at DH. :-)

Yes, thank you. You're updates are awesome as usual.

^Just skip the foreplay and get straight to the action huh? :)

FD,

I would not think the Twins would roll out dynamic pricing after the season started, or you would think you would hear about it now. I think the Twins may only use that if they are going to lower prices to fill games. I cannot imagine the PR blunder they would have in, "we have tickets now, but they're more expensive..." So those of you that paid $20 to do a presale back in March, you now have to pay more for the tickets we are releasing...

My apologies for giving an opinion about the ballpark. I guess we should get back to the stimulating conversations about virtual waiting rooms and purchasing tickets.

Take a look at this pic posted by the Twins. You can hit the enlarge link and really get a look at a few things. For one, they put those wood planks underneath the new scoreboard, like they have outside the stadium. You can also see the new limestone, as well as the paneling on the center field wall that will continue up the batters eye. Trees, also are gone.

And a cute receptionist.

As for the concourse, it woud be nice every year if the Twins conintued the limestone look further in to the ballpark, encasing a few support pillars every year.

Looks like they are out fertilzing already. Almost looks ready to play on. Lets hope we don't get dumped on like Cleveland did in 07!

Hey Twinkfan, My kid's high school baseball team is selling tix to the May 23rd game. They are in the 3rd deck directly behind home plate and cost $23 each.

Send me an e-mail at freealonzo [at] comcast [dot] net and I will give you the details. (I will need a check by next Wednesday April 23)

I personally love the look of the concourses at Target Field. It is 2011. I like the clean finished look over the exposed steel structure overhead. People were complaining about the stadium being too 'flashy' with all the LED lights etc...now they are complaining that the concourse looks too sterile? Wow!

Land of 10,000 Takes - A Minnesota Sports Blog
http://www.minnesotasports.net

Pat-

I think that "paneling" on the outfield wall is just the substructure that keeps the padding up. The Batter's eye material is supposed to be a honeycomb shape.

Thanks Freealonzo but I was able to score 4 seats in sec 305 earlier today after the 90 minute wait. Appreciate the offer though!

Im still waiting in the virtual waiting room. 25 minutes now. still not in...

Get comfortable Vike: I've had one window open for 2+ hours (group leader). Just opened up a TTT window that started at 4...no luck yet!

Was weird as I had 3 windows open this morning afternoon and they all let me in about the same time 90 minutes latter! Good luck!

this is ridiculous...there has to be a better system than this.

I don't know how I got that lucky, but I was in shortly after 4pm and got four tickets to five different games. Got shut out for June, but otherwise one game per month, which is just about all my budget can go for this year.

Although I might still splurge on a few 'just me' games from Stubhub...

Good luck, all! I'll probably be back in the system Saturday morning with my fingers crossed that the Twins release more tickets then.

The official Twins twitter said it is wood panelling. If you enlarge it you can see the detail.

Oh you are talking about the wall. Yeah I don't know what its made out of.

Well I finally got in 90 minutes later...sadly there wasnt 2 seats available for any of the games i wanted.

Tickets are real slim pickins and if you want tickets to games this year, it looks like stubhub is going to be the only place to get them besides a scalper

@ Grizzly RE: road trips to see the Twins. Ironically, we all used to take road trips to get out of our lousy stadium and see baseball outdoors. Now we have to take road trips just to see our team on days and prices that meet our schedule :).

For you requirements (1-2 trips, $30-$40 per seat), I think most of us would concur that Kansas City should be one of those trips. Easy drive, tickets available in a variety of price ranges, wonderful stadium, and a great city for eating (at least if you enjoy smoked meats and steaks). I've done this trip and had a blast.

Milwaukee drew very well last year, and the Twins games are often packed, making a cheap ticket harder to come by. The other place you could walk right up and buy a ticket easy is Cleveland, but that is a bit more of a trip.

The presale was a joke. I waited 20 mins and when i got in there wasn't even two seats together for any game i tried. By the way i didn't log on til 5:15 but still. We'll have to check on Sat. morn i guess

So they have removed the green ticket "T" box for several games now...does that mean those games are "sold out" or the designated ticket availability for those games is gone?

Even though every game you click on there are still no tickets available...have never understood this ticketing system

Nothing new, but found a very well done slide show of Target Field by Tim Davis at conphoto.net. Click my name to check it out.

Had a fun conversation walking out of the office at the end of the day today. The best part that came out of it was a short discussion of what would happen with the tree space vacated in the batters eye. All of a sudden it came out, turn it into a small pond back there and let the kiddos fish over the batters eye wall. That got a good laugh.

Click my name to see what Dynamic pricing looks like as an example.

I have never purchased a ticket for a Giants game, so I do not know what is printed on the ticket for face value, but you will see the various prices one seat can have.

This is the disclaimer that is up when you click on ticket pricing:

"Market pricing applies to all tickets. Rates can fluctuate based on factors affecting supply and demand. Lock in your price and location today!"

As you will see, a View Reserved Left Field seat will cost $8.00 on a Tuesday against the DBacks, while the same seat will cost $40.50 on a Saturday against the A's.

I would guess if demand gets tight for the DBacks game the price will start going up. If there is a lot of tickets left for the A's game, you are going to see that price go way down.

Great to see Harmon Killebrew all smiles at Twins camp in Fort Myers!