More Target Field Information

Maybe if I was more motivated, I would have had this done on Sunday night or Monday (six days ago). Oh well, I still have some various goodies to share with you that I learned from my Primary Orientation about Target Field. I’ll try to remember as many things as possible, but I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to tell you everything that I wanted.

1. No alcohol, pop, or coolers will be allowed into the stadium. This includes whatever you buy on Target Plaza.
2. You can bring in milk or juice, provided that they are in soft-sided containers. (read: Juicy Juice, Capri Sun, etc.)
3. You can bring a 32 oz. bottle of water or less into the stadium, but the cap will be removed at the ticket gate (to discourage you from re-enacting your favorite Chuck Knoblauch memory). The only exception is if you are a serious risk for accidentally spilling your water, like an 80 year old grandma. As we were told, our supervisor isn’t worried that Granny will throw the water onto the field anyway.
4. You can bring an empty hard bottle, like a Nalgene, into the stadium to fill with water once you’re inside. Also, water will be provided for free at various spots around the park.
5. Sunscreen will be free. Just go to Guest Services.
6. Also at Guest Services, you can exchange dead batteries from your camera for fresh ones. Remember though, this is a trade. You can’t just show up and start asking for some double-A’s. I believe they’ll also charge reusable batteries and will contact you 1/2 hour or so later so they can return it/them to you.

While Target Field was being built, there was a huge concern over the nearby Hennepin Energy Resource Company (HERC), or the incinerator. While there isn’t a giant wall between the building and the stadium, there have been changes made to avoid the smell from ruining your first outdoor professional baseball experience. The doors to the HERC that faced Target Field have now been sealed shut, and new doors have been installed on the sides of the HERC. Plus, there are double doors, so the inside set won’t open or shut until the outside doors are closed. According to Twins management, there haven’t been any issues with bad smells coming from the HERC since the new doors were built.

The Twins made sure to take advantage of being green as much as possible. For example:

1. Light Rail Transit and the Northstar Commuter Rail. There are also over 300 bike parking spots within 200 yards of Target Field, and the Cedar Lake Bike Trail is also a great way to travel to the park.
2. There are as many recycling containers as there are trash containers at Target Field, so you can’t say you never had a chance to recycle.
3. The paper towels from the bathrooms will be mixed with food waste to make compost. I heard that there will be paper towel-only trash bins in the bathrooms, so please keep your other trash out of those containers.
4. Your toilet handles lift up. No, seriously. As my cheat sheet says, “Up for #1, Down for #2.” All I’m going to say is that more water is used for pushing down.
5. The Town Ball Tavern is one of the restaurants available to the general public in Target Field. The floor behind the bar is the same used by the Minneapolis Lakers years ago.

I’m sure many of you already knew this, but once a game starts or the time is past the scheduled start time of the game, only the umpires can decide if a weather delay warrants a postponed game. I don’t mean to sound crabby here, but don’t expect a definitive answer if you ask an usher when a delayed game will resume!

Finally, something that I’m sure many of you are curious about. Where’s the food? Well, with this poorly made map of Target Field, I can tell you where all of your favorite foods can be found (click on the picture to enlarge). Lowercase letters designate concessions found on the 100 level, and uppercase is for the suite and 200 level.

As you can see, unfortunately the outfield seats get shafted on variety, but they do get first dibs on the State Fair Classics! Here is a rough list of the food that will be sold at each place. Additionally, if you want me to be more specific with where all this food is located, here you go.

Mill City Grill: 1st base lounge and 3rd base lounge (not shown above), 103 (right field foul territory), 118 and 219 (home plate), and Legend’s Club A (1st base).

Halsey’s Sausage Haus: 104 (right field foul territory), 121 and 224 (left field foul territory).

Hennepin Grille: 108, 211, 212 (1st base), 206 (right field foul territory), Legend’s Club U and Q (left field foul territory).

Senor Smoke’s: 105 and 207 (right field foul territory).

Frankie V’s Italian: 122 and Legend’s Club R (left field foul territory), 218 (home plate).

Taste of Twins Territory: 124, 127, and 227 (left field foul territory), 131, (left field), 235 and 238 (center field), and Target Plaza (outside right field).

North Shore Creamery: 109, 220 (1st base), 117 (home plate), 127 (left field foul territory), 205 (right field foul territory), 235 (center field).

State Fair Classics: 132 (center field).

With plenty of choices, it’s going to be hard to sample everything. I hope that this has been informative. By the way, there’s only 15 days left until the 2010 season starts!