By Brian Ojanpa
The Free Press
April 14, 2007 05:27 pm
—
In the new Twins ballpark, the operative fan chant may have to go from “Hey, batter batter” to “Heybladder.”
If you like restrooms, you’re going to love this place because there will be 667 fixtures in which to, uh, rest.
For new-ballpark comparison’s sake, that’s 140 more than PNC Park in Pittsburgh and 334 more than AT&T Park in San Francisco. It’s also 187 more than in the Metrodome.
The plethora of pit stops will be just one of the ballpark’s tantalizing amenities, not the least of which is the facility itself.
Many people in this state, Twins followers included, have never seen a big league game outdoors. Their only reference point to a Major League Baseball game-day experience is the Metrodome.
This is like having a Big Mac serve as your only connection to beef. Anyone who has been to Fenway Park or Wrigley Field knows what it feels like to watch a game a planet removed from the Twins current home.
The newly unveiled ballpark plans show a venue shoehorned into a site footprint that is both a debit and an asset.
The downside figures to be accessibility. If you choose to drive there rather than opt for mass transit, it could be a cluster hump.
But that’s a minor quibble within the context of what awaits, which is a game experience chock full of intimacy. That’s where the site’s asset part comes in.
Fans will be bowled over by how close they’ll be to the field compared to in the Metrodome.
At the new park, the closest seats to home plate will be 45 feet away, and the first rows of seating will be six inches above field level, compared to 12 feet above in the Metrodome.
And in a nod to Americans’ ever-expanding girth, seats will be wider and legroom will increase several inches.
Also, bring a glove if you want to collect foul balls. Foul territory will be half that of the Metrodome, resulting in free souvenirs by the droves.
The right-field wall will be 23 feet high to compensate for the shortish distances down the line and in the power alley. That’s owed to space restrictions on the tight site, although the park’s designers seem to prefer being cutesy about it.
They bill the high wall as some sort of instant-nostalgia bit that takes its cue from the same-height right-field baggie in the Metrodome.
Dome nostalgia? No thank you. We’re not in the market for oxymorons today.
The design of the park’s exterior pays homage to indigenous Minnesota building materials, and to the future. Which is to say, it’s limestone-intensive to a fault, with a nod to “The Jetsons.”
I know the neo-retro look for new-ballpark design has fallen out of fashion. Even so, it would be nice to break up all those blond expanses of limestone with a little red brick and green frieze.
And what’s with all the glass windows? Forward-looking ballpark design is one thing, but the architect’s drawings show a facade that looks more like an airport control tower.
But again, a small quibble because no one buys a ticket to come watch walls and windows.
2010 can’t come too soon. Hey Wally, need a coupla cold ones over here ...
Brian Ojanpa is a Free Press staff writer. Call him at 344-6316 or e-mail bojanpa@mankatofreepress.com.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.
Photos
