Target Corporation and the Minnesota Twins today announced that they have
reached an agreement in principle on an exclusive 25-year partnership that
includes the naming rights for Target Field, the new world-class home of the
Twins scheduled to open in 2010. Beyond Target Field, Target and the Twins also
will collaborate on the design of Target Plaza - a pedestrian bridge and public
gathering space connecting Target Field to downtown Minneapolis.
My prediction is that, aesthetically-speaking, we'll all love the new place, somehow feel better about going there than other, similar stadiums, yet realize at the end of the day that it's not truly giving us anything different or special.
3 comments:
I know you're joking about the Target shopping experience but you're also right in a literal sense. Beautiful park, nice views, nostalgia, etc. But at the end of the day it's the same as every other park built since Camden Yards opened.
It HAS to be way, way better than the Metrodome. I've never been there but I will be so happy to NEVER see another ball bounce off "the baggy". Is it a HR if it hits "the baggy"? I can't remember. Truly AWFUL.
Having said that, the novelty of the retro stadiums is / has worn off. Most recent example is Washington.
From "Public Dollars, Private Stadiums".
"....Historically, new stadiums draw more fans than do the old ones they replace; and previous research suggests that such a honeymoon period lasts about ten years, after which a team's performance largely determines attendance. (Baade 1996).
Very recent data, however, suggests that this honeymoon period is getting much shorter as more cities get new stadiums and the novelty effect wears off. Indeed, the new stadiums n Phoenix and Detroit showed precipitous attendance drops after only one year....2001 inaugural season in PNC Park showed an average attendance of 30,000; but by the following year attendance had dropped to about 20,000....Miller Park showed a similar first- to second- year drop-off.....It is increasingly clear that most teams should no longer expect huge attendance windfalls from new stadiums much past the first or second years."
Since the taxpayers paid for this stadium, it seems like the city should get some of this Target money.
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