Mississippi River Ballpark Site

North of the Metrodome, Downtown Minneapolis

Info Links:     Official Site     Ballparks.com     Additional Information

This is the best-known of all the proposals. The retractable roof seems a little ominous, and somehow not quite right. I know that it's cold in April, May and September, but am I ever going to want to watch a game inside a giant warehouse? Maybe if that roof was clear and the sky remained visible...

Anyway, this plan was conceived to be put in any one of four locations, making it also a bit too generic for my taste. (You may wish to take a moment and examine the uncanny similarity between this plan and Coors Field. It turns out that all of the cost estimates for a new Twins park in the last few years have been made using this calculation: Coors plus inflation. I'm really beginning to distrust HOK Sport.)

Even worse, all of the potential locations discussed for this concept would have had the park facing away from the skyline. If you're gonna put it downtown, I better be able to see tall buildings! Of course, that may explain why there are so many seats in right field -- the only place where the city could have been glimpsed. Not all bad, I guess, since those would be the cheap seats. Or would they...?

 

Notice that the side with the least seats has the best view.

 

I think the Tiny Twins just hit a grand slam. But what a weird shape for the playing field.

 

This is from the official web site. Notice anything weird...?

 

This screen-capture makes it look like it would be pretty dark in there with the roof closed.