Target Field's Attendance Problem Goes Beyond the Organization's Inflated Numbers

[Parfigliano]

9 hours ago, theBOMisthebomb said:

The Twins still have a lot of work to win back long term fans who abandoned ship after 2025 trade deadline disaster. 

I couldn't give away a ticket to the Joe vs. Sho game and asked many of the long term Twins fans I know that have given up on the franchise. Folks still don't trust the Twins organization. 

I bet you could have given away/sold that tik easily on this site.

[twinssporto]

Winning puts asses in the seats. Very simple formula for selling tickets.

[ashbury]

23 minutes ago, lecroy24fan said:

Dave St. Peter made the stupidest comment any Twins exec has ever made, blaming the fans for not coming to games. Most embarrassing comment ever.

Whew.  I don't know ...

[lecroy24fan]

I'm way more insulted by the fans comment. Right sizing the payroll is not cool but understandable that a business would say that. No one in the position that DSP was in should ever, EVER say the fans are to blame for not showing up.

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, ashbury said:

Whew.  I don't know ...

Wait.  He said ANY Twins exec, EVER.  I withdraw the above nominees.

One word:

Waseca.

[The Great Hambino]

11 hours ago, Sjoski said:

● The Twins Fan Base:  relies heavily on suburban families pulling out of driveways from places like Lakeville, Woodbury, or Plymouth. They are looking for a classic, seamless, secure "family night out" experience.

So strange - as someone who grew up in Plymouth and lives in Woodbury, I take my wife and two small children to like a dozen games a year and get that "secure family night out" every time.  Not once have we encountered anything even approaching danger.

I must be the luckiest guy in the world to not have been mugged or stabbed or carjacked in the lawless thunderdome that is downtown Minneapolis

[KikiMN]

$2 beer is great, but the $8 bottle of pop for the kids is kind of a problem.

[ziggy]

I attended the Joe vs Sho game with 2 of my grandsons.

Outfield seats=$225

food/beverages=$130     no alcohol either

parking=$25

zero souvineers but $300 for a jersey??? WTH?

2 hours to drive 70 miles to the parking garage, I live straight west of Target Field.

$380 for a night out without souvineers. They are not worth it.

All 3 of us can go to town team baseball for about $25 for the whole night. My town has a team.

 

[USAFChief]

17 minutes ago, ziggy said:

I attended the Joe vs Sho game with 2 of my grandsons.

Outfield seats=$225

food/beverages=$130     no alcohol either

parking=$25

zero souvineers but $300 for a jersey??? WTH?

2 hours to drive 70 miles to the parking garage, I live straight west of Target Field.

$380 for a night out without souvineers. They are not worth it.

All 3 of us can go to town team baseball for about $25 for the whole night. My town has a team.

 

70 miles straight west? On 7, 12, or 212?

If its 7, I grew up there too.

[USAFChief]

27 minutes ago, KikiMN said:

$2 beer is great, but the $8 bottle of pop for the kids is kind of a problem.

$3.99 I think in the family section.

Of course, it's Pepsi products so it's overpriced if free.

Edited Sunday at 02:16 AM by USAFChief

[ziggy]

15 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

70 miles straight west? On 7, 12, or 212?

If its 7, I grew up there too.

12, I have an easy trip to Target Field, except for the road construction.

Lake Lillian?

[USAFChief]

Just now, ziggy said:

12

Lake Lillian?

Cosmos.

Grove City?

[ziggy]

Just now, USAFChief said:

Cosmos.

Grove City?

Litchfield now.

my BIL was police cheif for 25 years in Cosmos.

[USAFChief]

4 minutes ago, ziggy said:

Litchfield now.

my BIL was police cheif for 25 years in Cosmos.

I have family in Litchfield. 

 

[TheLeviathan]

14 hours ago, Sjoski said:

It's easy to pointing to:

1/ ownership’s payroll slashes,

2/ a mediocre product on the field,

3/ and April/May weather.

I agree. That's a ...

 Strike 3.

But there’s a massive elephant in the room that this fan base—and the local sports media—completely refuses to acknowledge.

The real attendance crisis isn't just about baseball. It’s about the city itself.

For a massive segment of the suburban fan base, the calculation for a night out completely changed after 2020. What used to be a seamless, routine trip downtown now feels like navigating a political minefield and a landscape a lot of folks simply no longer want to support or step foot in.

When you combine a hollowed-out downtown climate with premium parking rates, expensive tickets, and an ownership group that actively signal-flashed a surrender on the season before it even began, the magnet is gone.

Free tickets won’t fix it. Cheap beer  barely moves the needle. If the team won't invest in the fans, and the city doesn't feel like the welcoming entertainment hub it used to be, a lot of us aren't even stepping into the batter's box anymore.

I say this as respectfully as possible, as someone who grew up in super rural Minnesota myself.....this is nonsense.  Your world-view could stand an injection of empathy and understanding.  

I hope you find it someday, you'll be surprised at how it softens you to the real world rather than the hardened one you've imagined.

[lecroy24fan]

1 hour ago, ashbury said:

Wait.  He said ANY Twins exec, EVER.  I withdraw the above nominees.

One word:

Waseca.

I humbly admit you have this right.

[rv78]

The formula to look at if you want to know what fills the seats is, WIN. The Herbie/Kirby era saw 3 million in attendance. It's not rocket science or brain surgery. Pretending you have built a winner and selling the hype to the fans doesn't work, and the more often you try that losing formula, the more fans you alienate. If you have to give seats away, sell cheap beer, or have concerts AFTER the game, to get fans to come and see your product, then there is something wrong with the product.

[theBOMisthebomb]

9 hours ago, KikiMN said:

$2 beer is great, but the $8 bottle of pop for the kids is kind of a problem.

Fountain Pepsi Products are $2.49 at the value stands at every game. There are cans of soda for $2 on Friday night pregame sales. Plus, you can bring your own water bottles to the game and refill for free at the hydration station. 

[theBOMisthebomb]

9 hours ago, ziggy said:

I attended the Joe vs Sho game with 2 of my grandsons.

Outfield seats=$225

food/beverages=$130     no alcohol either

parking=$25

zero souvineers but $300 for a jersey??? WTH?

2 hours to drive 70 miles to the parking garage, I live straight west of Target Field.

$380 for a night out without souvineers. They are not worth it.

All 3 of us can go to town team baseball for about $25 for the whole night. My town has a team.

 

You went to the highest price, in demand game in years, so yes you are going to pay a premium. You were blessed to see perhaps the greatest baseball player ever pitch and hit in the same game against the popular Twins ace. Why complain about the cost? 

FYI, you can take a family to Target Field for about $25 if you are smart about it, I'm doing so today with free tickets on the Kwik Trip app, walking a few extra minutes to park, and bringing my own drinks and food (both allowed). 

[Coach Wheels]

15 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

You know you just supported my point that the Twins draw when they win but there are not large numbers of diehard baseball fans similar to the Vikings or Wild fans.

My post wasn't meant to argue your post. Perhaps I misinterpreted your comments but I'd agree that Minnesota is Viking and Wild country first. The Twins benefit from 81 home games and people outside Minnesota traveling to .Minneapolis in the summer; having a winning product attracts better crowds.

[HarmonK03]

This market has always supported winning teams the most.  There are a lot of options with 4 major league sports, a division 1 college, and a thriving Arts scene.  People can not support all of these options and will allocate their entertainment dollars based on perceived value and winning is part of that formula.  It has always been that way in this market.  Getting tickets for the Wild and Vikings has been easier in the last couple of years because they have not consistently been winning in the playoffs.

As for downtown, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.  There are issues with crime downtown but if you go to a game and leave with the crowd, the odds are pretty low that you are going to have an issue.  If you stay after the game and hang out, yes the odds go up that you may find trouble.  The problem is the perception that downtown is unsafe and the city leaders will not acknowledge this.  They can trot out facts and say it is safe but they have to show people and change their perception but they refuse to.  I remember a time before the Wolves and Twins that you didn't cross Hennepin Ave if you wanted to insure you were safe especially after dark.  With the Warehouse district it is much safer in that area than it ever has been.

 

 

[bean5302]

19 hours ago, USAFChief said:

...But I'm confident I've never debated that with you. I'd be likely to remember such a bad take.

It's always a bad take if you're debating me. :D hahhahaha

[bean5302]

@ziggy I'm sorry you went through so much dough for that game! Only sellout at Target Field this year. I wonder if the ticket scalpers were driving the prices?

That said, attendance was listed at 39k. I haven't been to a game with that kind of energy since the 2023 playoffs. Must have been awesome!

[NYCTK]

1 hour ago, karcherd said:

The problem is the perception that downtown is unsafe and the city leaders will not acknowledge this.  They can trot out facts and say it is safe but they have to show people and change their perception but they refuse to. 

Well, the bigger issue is half (more like a third) of this country is in an echo chamber that doesn't allow facts, and there is no incentive for those lying to change. 

When one of the major parties holds a moment of silence for a convicted murderer in order to maintain a political narrative, I don't know what normal people are supposed to do about that. 

[HarmonK03]

1 minute ago, NYCTK said:

Well, the bigger issue is half (more like a third) of this country is in an echo chamber that doesn't allow facts, and there is no incentive for those lying to change. 

When one of the major parties holds a moment of silence for a convicted murderer in order to maintain a political narrative, I don't know what normal people are supposed to do about that. 

I didn't bring politics into this thread and I don't think this is the place for it.  I talked about city leadership, not political party.

[TheLeviathan]

3 minutes ago, karcherd said:

I didn't bring politics into this thread and I don't think this is the place for it.  I talked about city leadership, not political party.

City leadership are politicians, so by definition you did bring in politics.  (Though, in fairness, the previous poster did as well) The problem with the "perception" you are vaguely referring to is that it is also political and prejudicial.  

We're in a tough spot generally getting people to get off "perceptions" where they are spoon-fed falsehoods.  I hope for the sake of many of those with such perceptions that they find the means to open their perspectives so that they can let truth and reality back in.

[HarmonK03]

5 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

City leadership are politicians, so by definition you did bring in politics.  (Though, in fairness, the previous poster did as well) The problem with the "perception" you are vaguely referring to is that it is also political and prejudicial.  

We're in a tough spot generally getting people to get off "perceptions" where they are spoon-fed falsehoods.  I hope for the sake of many of those with such perceptions that they find the means to open their perspectives so that they can let truth and reality back in.

Let me clarify when I say city leadership I meant city hall and business leaders both working together.  It is in the best interests of the businesses to have people want to come downtown.   I do not agree that perception is political, people have to want to go someplace and if they don't feel it is safe they won't.  I am not saying I totally agree with that because in my opinion Minneapolis is no different than any other big city, there are parts you stay away from and most of the other parts if you mind your own business you will be just fine.  But just telling people it is safe isn't working and I have seen this playbook for over 40 years.  When they have shown concrete actions that make people feel safe they come downtown.  

[TheLeviathan]

2 minutes ago, karcherd said:

Let me clarify when I say city leadership I meant city hall and business leaders both working together.  It is in the best interests of the businesses to have people want to come downtown.   I do not agree that perception is political, people have to want to go someplace and if they don't feel it is safe they won't.  I am not saying I totally agree with that because in my opinion Minneapolis is no different than any other big city, there are parts you stay away from and most of the other parts if you mind your own business you will be just fine.  But just telling people it is safe isn't working and I have seen this playbook for over 40 years.  When they have shown concrete actions that make people feel safe they come downtown.  

One element of our current politics is telling a group of our electorate that cities are unsafe.  

I agree that there should always be an effort for cities to market themselves as welcoming, but the problem is not the reality or the PR...it's the poison in the "perception".

[HarmonK03]

2 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

One element of our current politics is telling a group of our electorate that cities are unsafe.  

I agree that there should always be an effort for cities to market themselves as welcoming, but the problem is not the reality or the PR...it's the poison in the "perception".

I have heard this about Minneapolis multiple times over 40 years, I don't agree with your narrative that it is current politics.  It also depends upon your background and where you live, outstate vs. suburban can be part of it as well.

[TheLeviathan]

3 minutes ago, karcherd said:

I have heard this about Minneapolis multiple times over 40 years, I don't agree with your narrative that it is current politics.  It also depends upon your background and where you live, outstate vs. suburban can be part of it as well.

Speaking as someone who grew up in rural, outstate....yes, that has always been a common issue in rural areas.  Politics, moreso now than ever before in my life, is exacerbating it on purpose.  Minneapolis, New York, Chicago, Portland being specific targets of late.