Sports & Fitness

Twins to make changes to Target Field

With the Minnesota Twins setting a new record for fan attendance in 2010 and the inaugural season of Target Field, the Twins plan to make a few changes to the ballpark before next season to enhance the experience.

First and foremost, the Twins will add a second video display board to be located above the right-field grandstand. The scoreboard will be 28 feet high by 50 feet wide and allow fans in left field and in front of the main center-field scoreboard to see replays and other video highlights on the screen.

Directly next to the new video scoreboard, the Twins will be adding a Twins Tower, which is a 100-foot-tall tower that will be lit up in multiple ways using LED lights. It will also be capable of showing scores and other displays.

The tower and video board will be completed in March of 2011, just in time for the Twins’ second season at Target Field. Twins officials estimated the costs of the two additions at around $4-6 million.

However, these are not the only additions the team plans to make to augment the fans experience at Target Field for this season and in the future.

The Twins also plan to add more signature food items throughout the stadium to reduce the length of lines, help with customer service and decrease waiting times.

As many Minnesota residents are familiar, the weather can be sporadic, especially in April at the beginning of the season and October at the end of the season. In order to address this issue, the Twins plan to add radiant heat to the outfield areas, the Terrace Level and the home run porch for next year.

The Twins also plan to make a few technological enhancements to Target Field, addressing full cell phone coverage throughout the stadium as well as a free wireless Internet network: “TwiFi.”

Finally, the Twins may make a few additions to the ballpark, including adding more Kasota Stone and artwork related to the history of Twins baseball.

All of these additions are being planned to further enhance the fan experience at Target Field and to possibly set another new record for attendance for the 2011 season.