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At the beginning of December, KARE 11 reported that the Twins would be selling tickets only for the main bowl of the ballpark for April games this year. Those sections include the entirety of the 100 level, as well as 229-240 and 321-334. Season tickets are obviously sold throughout the ballpark, but fans with tickets in the terrace sections will be automatically upgraded for the final 10 games in April.
In talking with the Twins' director of business communications Matt Hodson, the focus is enhancing the fan experience. If you’ve been to the ballpark in April, you are aware that both the weather and the attendance can be spotty. The upper levels of Target Field are often barren, and some of the concession stands remain closed. Rather than spreading fans throughout the ballpark, bringing everyone in attendance together can elevate the experience for those watching and playing alike.
Selling only main bowl tickets does raise the minimum threshold to get into the ballpark, but reasonable options still exist. “Lower-level tickets are not tiered, but if you’re still just looking to find out how you can get in at the lowest price ticket, the Home Run Deck, Terrace, and Grandstand are all still open. There still is a lot of affordability in that sense,” Hodson said. Minnesota uses dynamic pricing. Tickets for the Chicago White Sox series at the end of April will still be considerably cheaper than equivalent ones for the Detroit Tigers series in July.
This isn’t going to be an Oakland Athletics situation; we won’t see tarps around Target Field. This is a logistical move, and it is one that should have a positive impact on the ballpark experience. Hodson noted the Carly Pearce postgame concert last season, where 16-18,000 fans filled the stadium. “You bring everybody down after (the game) and the energy picks up. Same number of people, but everyone is compact and enjoying the experience together. It made for a much more lively environment. We thought, let’s try to replicate that for baseball."
If the demand for the entirety of the ballpark is there, then Minnesota will sell the tickets and have those areas open. From an aesthetic perspective, the view could be impacted for the better on broadcasts as well. With just sections 301-327 unsold, the upper levels behind the plate will be the only areas where fans are not present. More bodies filling visible parts of the stadium present nicely on whatever eventual home the Twins television offering is held.
Surely, the Twins would love to see the demand warrant the entirety of the ballpark being open. While the games could be impacted by cooler temperatures, the Los Angeles Dodgers bring their billion-dollar spending spree to town during the stretch of 10 games for which Minnesota is imposing this change. “We are certainly keeping our eye on it (the Dodgers series). Seeing one billion dollars thrown about has even caught the eyes of some casual fans. That’s certainly one that we have earmarked to see how it’s trending as Twins Fest and spring training starts.”
Single-game tickets won’t be the only way to experience Twins baseball in April and beyond this year, either. Twins Pass is returning, and the details are being finalized. It will return prior to the season, although the exact on-sale date is not yet known. Twins Pass will not be impacted by the closing of certain sections. All publicly accessible parts of the stadium remain open, and while you don’t have a seat guarantee, it remains a great economical option to take in games.
Hand it to the Twins for looking to recapture October excitement as soon as possible this season. “This is really to try and say to the season ticket holders who are here more often than not, to somebody who is coming once, how do we make that April environment the best it can be?" said Hodson. "You can’t replicate October or some of the big summer games, but we thought for a year, let’s try this out and see if everyone has a better time.”
As with select concession stands being closed in the upper levels early on in the season, the Twins also stand to save some dollars by staffing fewer ushers and stadium workers. With sections 302 through 327 averaging right around 270 seats apiece, and 301 checking in at about 50 seats less, there is a substantial amount of real estate unused. Decreasing the Target Field capacity by about 7,000 openings, it will be interesting to see how the supply and demand impacts play out across markets. The full capacity for Minnesota's home sits at just above 35,500.
The opening series against Cleveland will be a full ballpark for the Twins, and Minnesota’s hope would be that a strong atmosphere continues to materialize across a big series with the Dodgers and seven more divisional matchups split between Detroit and Chicago. Fans, meanwhile, will have to decide how much they trust the organization's motives for what will also be a cost-saving measure.
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- Hrbeks Divot and nclahammer
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