Mason: Target Field delivers true outdoor feel

MINNEAPOLIS — So you say you want a roof on Target Field. Are you sure? True, days like Monday make it a challenge to play baseball. In fact, the Twins and Marlins won't be, as Monday's game at Target Field was postponed (the third such game so far this season) due to snow in the forecast. The game has been rescheduled for Tuesday as part of a double-header. Yet as gross as the weather is Monday, remember the thought of a roof on Target Field when temperatures hit 70 degrees and the sun is shining this weekend when the Texas Rangers come to town. Still want a roof then? It's hard to beat a day at the ballpark in the summer when the sun is beaming, the smells of burgers and brats are emanating throughout the stadium and there's baseball being played on the lush, green grass. Is it worth enduring a few cold games early in the season to have that experience?
Absolutely. Since the day Target Field was opened, there have been skeptics who said outdoor baseball and Minnesota's tricky weather don't mix. Many called for a permanent roof on the stadium, while others felt a retractable roof was the way to go. But at the current site of Target Field — which is perfectly shoehorned into downtown Minneapolis — a roof would have been a challenge. There are currently six parks in Major League Baseball with retractable roofs. The one located in the most similar climate to Minnesota is Miller Park in Milwaukee. It seems as if the Brewers err on the side of caution when deciding whether or not to open the roof. If there's a chance it might be a bit chilly, the roof is closed — as was the case this past weekend when the Brewers' rival, the Chicago Cubs, came to town. With all due respect to Miller Park, the ballpark experience when the roof is open is not truly an outdoor game. The analogy I like to use is this: Outdoor parks like Target Field are like a convertible with the top down, while Miller Park with the roof open is like a sedan with the sunroof open and the windows rolled down. In fairness, I have not been to Safeco Field in Seattle or Minute Maid Park in Houston, who perhaps pull off the retractable roof more effectively than Miller Park. But even those parks can't compete with the overall ambiance that only an outdoor stadium can provide. I remember many summers prior to 2010 when I'd walk into the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on a beautiful summer day…only to be confined under the dingy Teflon roof for three hours, void of any sunshine or blue skies. While that's how a generation of fans in Minnesota grew up watching baseball, there's no reason why anyone would want to go back to that type of stadium after having played games at Target Field for three-plus years. Yet I've read and heard some fans say, "Why don't they just play at the Metrodome when it rains?" There are a lot of factors working against that plan, not the least of which is the fact that the Twins have "moved on" from the Dome, as team president Dave St. Peter said. The multi-purpose facility, which was home to the Twins until 2009, is currently being used for a multitude of high school and college baseball games, with games being played around the clock. Obviously, an MLB game would trump those games already scheduled, but there are other issues. St. Peter notes the changes to the infield. There is no longer dirt along the base paths and at the bases at the Metrodome. The only dirt is the pitcher's mound and the area around home plate. That would no doubt have to change before a major league game could be played there. Finally, there's the issue of ticketing. Obviously, the seating arrangements are very different between the two stadiums. How do you solve it? Do you let all fans sit wherever they'd like? What about the people who pay good money for season tickets at Target Field? Clearly, there are several hurdles to jump before the Twins will ever play a game in the Dome again. "I would never say never," St. Peter said. "If we were dealing with some type of catastrophic event or some long-term weather pattern, we'd certainly look at it. … We're focused on playing at Target Field, not at the Metrodome." Minnesota is hardly alone in the early-season weather challenges. In fact, Friday's game in Chicago between the Twins and White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field was postponed due to inclement weather. Are fans in Chicago clamoring to put a roof on their outdoor park on the Southside? Probably not. That's simply the reality of playing outdoor baseball in the Midwest in April. The Twins knew that when they built Target Field and opened the open-air park in 2010, but the team knew the reward of mid-summer games in a beautiful outdoor ballpark far outweighed the handful of games that may need to be postponed. "We love our ballpark," St. Peter said. "We're willing to trade two, three, four challenging days for all those beautiful days we're going to have over the course of the spring and summer and hopefully fall."

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