Jun 27, 2006 8:23 pm US/Central
Twins Searching For Signature Stadium Design
St. Paul (AP) ―
The Minnesota Twins have a ballpark to build, and they're determined to craft a design that's unique for the team and the state.
At PNC Park, for example, the Pirates have a striking backdrop of the bridges across the Allegheny River and the skyscrapers of downtown Pittsburgh. The Royals play in front of a waterfall that sits behind the Kauffman Stadium outfield in Kansas City. And the Giants, at AT&T Park in San Francisco, can boast of the bay water where Barry Bonds hits many of his home runs.
"When the game comes on TV, on the picture screen, we want people to recognize that this is where the Twins play. This is Minneapolis," team executive Jerry Bell said Tuesday. "We need some defining feature."
The site of the yet-to-be-named, 42,000-seat stadium will certainly contribute toward that, with the downtown skyline framing the outfield seats. Bell has been talking with HOK Sport, a prominent architectural firm that has designed dozens of major league stadiums and will probably be chosen to draw up the plans for this one. Hennepin County must be involved in the selection process, however, so no formal commitments have been made.
Bell, speaking at the annual Minnesota Associated Press sports editors meeting, said that one priority is to maximize field views for club-level seating. Another is wider concourses and many more concessions than are currently at the Metrodome.
Environmental impact studies and public hearings must be held before ground can be broken, so it will as long as a year before construction actually begins. There remains a window of two to three months, Bell said, that would allow for the addition of a retractable roof to the design, but there is no payment plan in place and the team has not been focused on that issue.
Among other topics Bell touched on:
-- There is the possibility of opening the top level of nearby parking ramps for pregame tailgating.
-- A pedestrian bridge will be built from the street corner opposite Target Center's west side to guide patrons toward the ballpark's main entrance, which will be in right field.
-- A heating plan was promised in the legislation, which could mean hanging radiant heaters over some sections of the park or turning wastewater from the garbage-burning plant next door into heat underneath seats that are the least covered.
-- Permission is being sought to cantilever the upper deck above railroad tracks that run by the park.
For Bell, these subjects are all sweet, since the team's decade-long quest for funding is finally over. He said he nearly gave up lobbying seven times, including once a few months ago when an election year, construction cost inflation and a bill that wasn't voted on in 2005 seemed to spell another failure.
But a preliminary poll among the four legislative caucuses revealed there were enough votes for this to pass, and Bell stuck around to see the fruits of his labor.
"We don't have any bad meetings anymore. They're all good meetings," he said.
-------
The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission owns The Metrodome.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
