Changes to CF at Target Field

[Otto von Ballpark]

Exactly. This entire thread is silly.

 

After all, the entire discussion revolves around having a play space or a bar inside a billionaire's publicly funded stadium which we opt to invest our money and time following while children both locally and around the world are more concerned about having a roof over their head and food in their mouths. People are dying everyday. Famine. War. Genocide. Etc.

 

Yes, when we boil it down, it is definitely a tad silly.

New tag line for Twins Daily? It's a little wordy, but I like it.

[Mike Sixel]

Exactly. This entire thread is silly.

 

After all, the entire discussion revolves around having a play space or a bar inside a billionaire's publicly funded stadium which we opt to invest our money and time following while children both locally and around the world are more concerned about having a roof over their head and food in their mouths. People are dying everyday. Famine. War. Genocide. Etc.

 

Yes, when we boil it down, it is definitely a tad silly.

so, shut down the board because it is all silliness? I'm not sure I understand this post even 1 tiny bit, frankly.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

It most certainly was. The subject of the kid's area was broached by several commenters. 

Parker, just for reference, when you quoted me saying "Great, you responded to a request absolutely no one made" (I do regret the sarcasm), my following sentence was "We don't want a place for our kids to play the whole game" which I hoped would have made clear exactly what I was referring to -- your statement that "I honestly don't see the point of paying the amount to bring kids to the game and then have them play games in the concourse the entire time."

 

I would have thought it was abundantly clear that I wasn't denying a conversation about a kid's area was taking place at all, as I was one of the conversation's chief proponents and participants.

 

Not sure if you made it that far into my post, though, or if you went straight to your source for Helen Lovejoy pics after the first sentence.  In any case, I will endeavor to be even more clear and less sarcastic with future posts.

[Craig Arko]

Do they have any dog-friendly days planned at Target Field? I'd like to bring my kids to a game, too.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Do they have any dog-friendly days planned at Target Field? I'd like to bring my kids to a game, too.

20 of 30 MLB stadiums have such "dog days", as well as the new Saints park, but not Target Field:

http://www.twincities.com/stpaulsaints/ci_28271591/saints-pooch-promotion-is-hit-dont-expect-target

 

I wonder if dogs aren't compatible with all of the bars...

 

Twins official quoted as saying dog day "just hasn't been a shtick for our marketplace".  Wonder if that's the rationale behind no kid's area too?  I actually could see it, from a business perspective -- families with small kids, already budget conscious, might prefer the Saints park or other activities anyway.  Hence, more investment is put towards capturing the warehouse district bar crowd....

[SwainZag]

 

Well, right, but for some of us that want a reason to bring our families to the game this is disappointing news.  I think it's fair to vent some frustration at that.

 

I just don't see how this feature is disappointing news.  If they would have said "Well we were going to put a kid's area there, but instead put in a new bar." I can see how that would be bad news, but unless it was one or the other, I just can't see how a cool new feature is disappointing news, at least in my eyes.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I just don't see how this feature is disappointing news.  If they would have said "Well we were going to put a kid's area there, but instead put in a new bar." I can see how that would be bad news, but unless it was one or the other, I just can't see how a cool new feature is disappointing news, at least in my eyes.

I think it speaks to their priorities.  Especially after they specifically censored the bar news leak here last Friday to protect their own official announcement of it Monday, that suggests "new bar" is a lot more important to them than it is to many of us.

[SwainZag]

 

I think it speaks to their priorities.  Especially after they specifically censored the bar news leak here last Friday to protect their own official announcement of it Monday, that suggests "new bar" is a lot more important to them than it is to many of us.

 

Fair enough.

[Parker Hageman]

 

so, shut down the board because it is all silliness? I'm not sure I understand this post even 1 tiny bit, frankly.

 

i was being facetious. 

[Mike Sixel]

i was being facetious.

I had hoped so, but so hard to tell......you don't generally get all heated, so I was pretty sure.

[Parker Hageman]

 

I had hoped so, but so hard to tell......you don't generally get all heated, so I was pretty sure.

I wasn't heated, more ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ about the direction of the conversation. 

[TheLeviathan]

 

I just don't see how this feature is disappointing news.  If they would have said "Well we were going to put a kid's area there, but instead put in a new bar." I can see how that would be bad news, but unless it was one or the other, I just can't see how a cool new feature is disappointing news, at least in my eyes.

 

What spycake said - it's disappointment with the priorities.  And that disappointment is deepened by my desire to want to bring my family there more often and seeing that as a lower priority to drinking establishments.  

 

It is what it is, I'm still a Twins fan.  I'm just also still a Twins fan that attends less games because of choices like these. 

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I wasn't heated, more ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ about the direction of the conversation. 

I hope it wasn't my misinterpreted sarcastic sentence that turned you off, I thought I was being reasonable and tried to clarify.

[ashbury]

i was being facetious. 

Obviously. The examples you raised, children without food or a roof over their head, people dying every day, famine, war, genocide, are themselves a tad silly in comparison to the impending Heat Death Of The Universe in a short 10¹⁰⁰ years or so. I got it right away.

[Craig Arko]

 

Obviously. The examples you raised, children without food or a roof over their head, people dying every day, famine, war, genocide, are themselves a tad silly in comparison to the impending Heat Death Of The Universe in a short 10¹⁰⁰ years or so. I got it right away.

"In the long run, we are all regressed to the mean." - Not John Maynard Keynes.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Heat Death? Maybe they should have stayed in the air conditioned Dome...

[Parker Hageman]

I hope it wasn't my misinterpreted sarcastic sentence that turned you off, I thought I was being reasonable and tried to clarify.

 

 

Not at all. I welcome sarcasm. The conversation had run its course and seemed to be just arguing on people's opinions.

 

For the record, I am hoping to get Dave St Peter on the podcast here again to answer some of these questions. Stay tuned. 

 

By the by, Andrew at TwinkieTown has a good summary of basically everything we have discussed here: http://www.twinkietown.com/2015/10/28/9623634/money-driving-target-field-improvements

 

[nicksaviking]

What if they combine the two?  Let the kids tend the bar and mix drinks?

[Otto von Ballpark]

Thanks for the link, that's a pretty good summary.  Looking forward to some St. Peter feedback.

 

On that thought, it would be nice to see a Twins stadium representative participate in relevant discussions here, Jack Goin-style, rather than just drop in to scrub stadium news leaks.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Here's an interesting review, I think from 2011:

 

http://www.ballparkratings.com/viewpark/n/Target_Field/f/Amenities

 

 

 

Target Field’s one severe flaw, while obviously not fatal, is the complete lack of entertainment options and kid related activities.

It’s obvious with the land restraints that they weren’t going to have some requite amenity.  I’d rather a couple restaurants than a playground.  But by my account, it’s the only ballpark built in more than 20 years to lack any significant activities for the kids, other than new Yankee Stadium.  No playgrounds.  No speed pitch.  No batting cages.  And while most of us don’t care, it’s hard to overlook that when judging amenities.

 

(Emphasis mine)

 

I don't like playing the Yankees, and I don't like keeping company with the Yankees in this regard either...

[TheLeviathan]

Good article by Twinkie Town.  No one is asking for a palace for children...but something would be nice.  Anything really.  Just, as mentioned, to serve as a brief thing to go see for an inning or two to get up and stretch.

 

I've been to a lot of the new ballparks and it's a very noticeable difference about TF that we have nothing for kids.  I didn't mind pre-kids so much, but now that I have one it is a big deal.  I would venture to guess there are a lot of baseball fan parents who would like to see that changed.

 

Hopefully the Twins recognize that blindspot as well.  

[Brock Beauchamp]

I was surprised to hear they're adding yet another bar... But on the other hand, I almost never make it out to CF so I have no idea what kind of amenities (or lack thereof) they offer out there.

 

Like others, I question the need for another bar when the stadium has few family-friendly options (though I don't have kids myself).

[Kwak]

 

20 of 30 MLB stadiums have such "dog days", as well as the new Saints park, but not Target Field:

http://www.twincities.com/stpaulsaints/ci_28271591/saints-pooch-promotion-is-hit-dont-expect-target

 

I wonder if dogs aren't compatible with all of the bars...

 

Twins official quoted as saying dog day "just hasn't been a shtick for our marketplace".  Wonder if that's the rationale behind no kid's area too?  I actually could see it, from a business perspective -- families with small kids, already budget conscious, might prefer the Saints park or other activities anyway.  Hence, more investment is put towards capturing the warehouse district bar crowd....

Like say amateur ballgames where one can watch for 2-3 innings and leave early without feeling they have "overpaid" for entertainment.

[JB_Iowa]

This thread isn't silly. What is silly is that baseball games have become more about booze than baseball.