Summary
The 39,021-seat open-air ballpark is located in the Warehouse District west of Downtown Minneapolis. Designed by Populous with Bruce Miller as principal lead, Target Field is a modern take on other Populous-designed stadiums such as Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, and AT&T Park in San Francisco. The Twins opted for a "neutral" park which was intended to favor neither hitters nor pitchers; however, following the 2010 regular season, statistics showed that the park definitely played more to the favor of pitchers than hitters. In contrast, the Twins' previous homes in the Twin Cities, Metropolitan Stadium and the Metrodome, were friendly to hitters. Unlike the Metrodome, Target Field is an open-air stadium.
Estimates put the stadium cost at $390 million, while infrastructure and financing costs bring the total to $522 million. Work on the site began on May 21, 2007, with the official groundbreaking for the stadium taking place August 30, 2007, delayed from the original date of August 2 due to the I-35W bridge collapse. The first concrete slab was poured on December 17, 2007.
The first tour was an open house held on March 20 for season ticket holders. Public tours are available on off-days during the season.
The first baseball game played there was on March 27, 2010 between the Minnesota Gophers and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. On that day, 37,757 fans went through the turnstiles from 9:15 a.m. until the conclusion of the game, marking the second-largest attendance for a collegiate baseball game. The largest came on March 11, 2004, when 40,106 fans saw San Diego State and Houston play at Petco Park in San Diego.
On July 3, 2011, the Twins set a three-game series attendance record (123,385) at Target Field against the Brewers. An attendance record of 42,524 for a single event at Target Field was set on July 8, 2012 during the Brothers of the Sun Tour featuring Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw. The event also holds the distinction of being the first concert ever held at Target Field.
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