MINNEAPOLIS -- The fan experience at Target Field is set to be enhanced yet again, as the Twins announced plans for the creation of Bat & Barrel in right field, which replaces the former Metropolitan Club, as well as expanding the concourse at the entrance near the right-field foul pole between Gates 29 and 34.
Both projects will be ready by Opening Day, with Bat & Barrel one of the more ambitious additions to Target Field since the stadium opened in 2010. Bat & Barrel, which is open to all fans -- unlike the former Metropolitan Club -- will be a gathering space for fans to watch the game from drink rails and community tables in the club behind the large retractable glass windows down the right-field line. The garage-style windows also feature radiant heat when open on cool days.
"The Minnesota Twins are incredibly excited to unveil more details surrounding these major enhancements to the Target Field experience for the 2018 season," Twins president Dave St. Peter said. "Bat & Barrel promises to be another highly memorable destination within the ballpark, while the main concourse revisions create meaningful ingress and egress improvements for a huge majority of our fans. Both projects are rooted in a commitment to make Target Field better -- each and every year."
Bat & Barrel, which can be accessed via a staircase and an elevator from the main concourse and is on the same level as the Delta Sky360 Club, will feature an infield-shaped bar, new food items and screens to watch the game. It seats roughly 300 fans with drink rails available down the right-field line for fans to watch the game. Season ticket holders will get priority when booking tables in advance.
It will also feature 1987 and '91 World Series trophies and other prominent awards won by Twins players as well as Minnesota-based artwork.
Additionally, the main concourse below Bat & Barrel will be expanded by more than 1,300 square feet to ease congestion in that part of the ballpark, as 60 percent of fans enter in that area. It'll also feature new drink rails and new concessions, including Draft 34, which is named after Kirby Puckett and will have 22 beers on tap.
"It corrects a pinch-point where traffic met," St. Peter said. "There will also be standing drink locations with great sightlines."
The specific food and drink additions will be announced prior to Opening Day at the Twins' annual food and beverage preview at Target Field. The project is also roughly 50 percent complete but is on schedule.
The Twins have actively renovated Target Field every year since it opened in 2010, including scoreboard additions, the creation of Catch and Minnie & Paul's in center field, the addition of the Great Clips, Great Seats drink rail seats in right field and Barrio bar in left field.
"Since 2010, [owner] Jim Pohlad has pushed our office hard each and every year to make our organization better on the field and the ballpark itself," St. Peter said. "This is our most significant offseason project to date."