Explore Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins
Welcome to Target Field, the living, breathing heart of Minneapolis’ buzzy and vibrant “North Loop” neighborhood, the building where fans of the Minnesota Twins were reacquainted with experiencing America’s pastime under the open sky. Year after year, bone-chilling April afternoons give way to one of the most pleasant summer baseball environments in the league -- one with a distinctly Midwestern flavor.
Minnesota Twins
Established: 1961
Division Name: American League Central
Ballpark: Target Field (opened 2010)
When this franchise arrived in the North Star State in 1961, it bucked tradition by naming itself not after its home city, but after its home state -- becoming the Minnesota Twins -- as it hoped to represent not only the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, but all those in what the club now calls “Twins Territory,” sprawling across not only Minnesota, but the Dakotas, Iowa, western Wisconsin, and, once upon a time, far beyond that, too.
They remain immensely proud of that geographic reach, sending players and coaches scattering across swaths of all those states every January as part of their “Winter Caravan,” where fans have had the chance over the years to acquaint themselves with, now, seven members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, along with two World Series Championship-winning teams.
Foremost among those are the five legends whose retired jersey numbers now adorn the entrance gates to Target Field: Harmon Killebrew (Gate 3, center field), Tony Oliva (Gate 6, left field), Kent Hrbek (Gate 14, home plate), Tony Oliva (Gate 29, right field) and Kirby Puckett (Gate 34, Target Field Plaza).
Those titans have exemplified the rich and proud baseball heritage of a region that has featured historic Black baseball teams in the Minneapolis Keystones and St. Paul Gophers, the onetime crosstown teams of the Minneapolis Millers and the St. Paul Saints, and a continuing tradition of Town Ball in the smaller communities around the state that makes baseball at all levels a constant presence in the lives of so many.
Target Field
Target Field location (via Google Maps)
Twins schedule
Twins roster
1 Twins Way
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Capacity: 38,544
Dimensions: Left field, 339 feet; center field, 404 feet; right field, 328 feet
Park factors (2022-24)
100 = league average
Runs: 104 | Homers: 105 | Hits: 101
The person who coined the adage, “All roads lead to Rome,” might have thought twice about that saying if they’d only had the chance to visit Target Field first.
Not only does the Twins’ home ballpark occupy a central location between Downtown Minneapolis and the young, lively North Loop neighborhood, but it also lies at the terminus of both light rail lines in the Twin Cities (the Blue Line heads to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America, while the Green Line takes you to the University of Minnesota and Downtown St. Paul) and the Northstar Commuter Rail (connecting Minneapolis to its northwestern suburbs and exurbs).
Want to drive instead? That’s fine, too -- Target Field literally lies above the terminus of Interstate 394, and is surrounded by the oh-so-creatively named Ramps A, B and C, massive parking megastructures that serve as the main car hubs for workers in Downtown Minneapolis (before they provide affordable parking to baseball fans).
Oh, and the ballpark is connected to the 9.5 miles of “skyways” of Downtown Minneapolis -- the elevated, covered, climate-controlled walkways that help pedestrians endure the Minnesota winters.
The Twins make it very, very easy on the logistics for fans, and once they arrive, the successor to Bloomington’s old Metropolitan Stadium (1961-81) and the much-maligned and much-beloved Metrodome (1982-2009) is a distinctly Minnesotan building that continues to stand the test of time remarkably well in serving as the steward for outdoor baseball in the Upper Midwest.
It’s an intimate-feeling building, mainly because of how vertical it is. It’s built on a tiny 8-acre lot, the smallest in Major League Baseball, meaning the steep outfield stands are essentially stacked on top of each other, while the massive “Minnie and Paul” home run sculpture towers over you from its perch above the center-field upper deck.
And the most distinctive design feature of the hyper-sustainable ballpark is the local Minnesota limestone used everywhere -- the outside walls, the backstop behind home plate, the large wall in foul territory in left field and the right-field overhang -- that makes for a unique visual that immediately identifies any scene in the building as being distinctly Minnesotan.
Concessions
Do yourself a favor and seek out Tony O’s Cuban Sandwich. You’re welcome.
You’ll find all manner of different cuisines and nationalities represented around the nooks and crannies of Target Field, but the biggest crowd-pleaser is the melty mound of meat, cheese and pickles found in the Thrivent Club and Section 114 -- and, if you’re lucky, you might even run into Hall of Famer Tony Oliva himself, who has been known to linger around the sandwich stands to greet and take pictures with fans.
For a taste of some regional favorites, seek out the Union Hmong Kitchen stand for a representation of Minneapolis’ vibrant southeast Asian community, Soul Bowl to sample the comforting food of a local, Black-owned business, local burger chain Red Cow for the 60/40 burger, Official Fried Chicken above the right-field wall, and, since you’re in the Midwest, what could be more apt than a sausage or bratwurst from Kramarczuk’s or Sheboygan Sausage?
The Twin Cities area is also fiercely proud of its many craft breweries, with Summit Brewing leading the way as part of a large representation of local sips scattered around the ballpark, with fun spaces found at the Truly On Deck in right field, and Summit Brewing Pub and the Gray Duck Deck down the left-field line.
Mascot
T.C. Bear seems to find increasingly zany props to add to his antics every season, and when he’s not stationed on the limestone roof of the Twins’ first-base dugout, there’s a good chance he’s in T.C.’s Clubhouse in the left-field upper deck to spend time with younger Twins fans (usually around the third inning).
The “T.C.” stands for “Twin Cities” (like the interlocking logo of the organization) -- and why is he a bear, of all things? There’s local flavor to that, too, as T.C. bears a striking resemblance to the cartoon bear that would feature in local commercials for St. Paul-based Hamm’s Brewery, an easy model for an organization seeking a happy-go-lucky type of mascot.
Where to stay
There’s no shortage of hotels in Downtown Minneapolis, from megachains and boutique hotels alike, almost all of which are within walking distance of the ballpark. The two closest are the Element Minneapolis Downtown just down the road from Gate 6 in left field, and the Lofton Hotel Minneapolis, two blocks from Target Field Plaza outside Gate 34 in right field.
Want a change of scenery? That’s fine -- take the light rail’s Blue Line down to the hotels near the airport and the Mall of America, or the Green Line over towards St. Paul, if either of those options is more your speed.
Local attractions
It’s a little bit of a walk (or a very short drive) to either of the two most photographed attractions in Minneapolis. The iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture by Claes Oldenburg is the centerpiece of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden outside the Walker Art Center as you head south towards Uptown, while the Stone Arch Bridge spans the Mighty Mississippi River a bit to the northeast, towards the University of Minnesota’s main campus.
The Mall of America, down the Blue Line towards the airport, is, of course, Minnesota’s most acclaimed tourist attraction, but the real allure of Minnesota is its summer nature (they don’t call it the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” for nothing), and the green spaces around the Mississippi River as it flows through Minneapolis and the “Chain of Lakes” in Uptown can’t be beat.
Got a car and some extra time? Head into the southwestern exurbs to Chanhassen to make the pilgrimage to Paisley Park -- home and performing studio of music icon Prince -- or head about an hour east to Stillwater, a beautiful town on the St. Croix river along the Minnesota-Wisconsin border.
Food and drink
The North Loop neighborhood around Target Field is home to the Twin Cities’ most bustling food and drink scene. There’s Spoon and Stable, the first restaurant by James Beard-winning chef Gavin Kaysen, alongside other local favorites in the neighborhood like the pasta at Bar La Grassa, the newly opened Billy Sushi, and the wings at Runyon’s.
If you head downtown, Manny’s Steakhouse in the shadow of the Foshay Tower (on the national register of historic places and the tallest building in Minneapolis for most of the 20th century) is a tried-and-true classic.
There are far, far too many great breweries and taprooms around the Twin Cities to list, but local powerhouses Fulton, Inbound and Modist are all within three blocks of the ballpark with great beer selections.