With travel lining up so I was in Minnesota while the Twins were home, I took the chance to check out Target Field. The ballpark is located in the northwest corner of downtown Minneapolis with the Metro Light Rail (Blue Line) making it super easy and cheap ($2 one way or $4 for an all-day pass) to get to the ballpark from the MSP airport. It takes about 30 minutes to get from the airport to the Target Field Light Rail station that is literally in front of Gate 6.

The first thing I noticed is the limestone exterior that’s like Petco Park, making it more modern looking versus the retro feel some of the other ballparks built in the past 30 years are going for.

I personally like this more modern look though incidentally it doesn’t blend into the surrounding buildings as much since most of the buildings around the ballpark have more of the dark red/brick look to them, including the nearby Target Center arena.

Walking on the outside of Target Field, I liked how they have statues of Twins legends along with banners and other indicators to celebrate their history which is a nice touch without having to go inside.

And I noticed that there were restrooms on the outside of the ballpark too. Besides porta potties you see in some parking lots outside ballparks and stadiums, I don’t recall seeing a restroom that’s part of the actual ballpark being accessible without going inside so that’s a nice fan-friendly touch.

The gates are numbered after Twins legends which is a nice homage but can be confusing if you’re not familar with the ballpark and trying to look for a specific gate, thinking the gates would go up sequentially as you walk around the ballpark.

Once you enter the main concourse, you can see the field as you walk around. Since there are no suites behind home plate on the main concourse level, it’s also easy to get to your seats behind home plate on this level and unlike some of the ballparks like Petco where you have to go up and down stairs/escalators/ramps to go around the main level, here once you enter a gate you’re able to easily walk around the entire park.

As well, there are standing room only areas throughout the ballpark on every level, including many places with drink rails, which is a great thing for fans to be able to watch on any level whether they just want to see different areas or don’t want to rush back to their seats. The escalators in the ballpark run in both directions so you can easily go up and down between levels throughout the game, another touch that really makes this ballpark fan-friendly.

The one thing is as you walk around the main concourse level, the side that’s opposite the field (i.e. the left side if you were walking clockwise around the ballpark with the field on the right), is where all the stands are and as a result, it makes the concourse feel a little closed and not as open air as other ballparks where both sides tend to be more open.

Because the ballpark has the smallest footprint of all current ballparks (8.5 acres), Target Field does have a large amount of seats in the outfield versus using the outfield space to be more open like Nationals Park though you still have views of the Downtown Minneapolis skyline in right field.

Really in right field is the only place that has an open space:

In right field is also where you’ll find Truly On Deck, a bar that has the Twins World Series memorabilia and also has reserved outdoor patio seating but also indoor seating that anyone can sit at.

This is one of a number of social areas throughout the ballpark. Even though I’m a fan who likes to sit down in a seat and really watch a game, the reality if there are many more casual fans and having these social areas is a way to get the non-diehard fans to go to the ballpark and have a great time. It’s really what many ballparks are doing to get the large crowds at the game which in turn creates more energy and a livelier atmosphere.

Watching the game, the seats have a pretty good view from various parts of the ballpark including the upper deck.

Speaking of the upper deck, this is where the Home Plate Tap Room is located (around sections 214 and 215) in what appears to be suites on the upper level at one time but are now a social area that anyone can go into.

In the Home Plate Tap Room is where Sue the Organist performs and she’s very friendly to go up and talk to her before the game and watch her do her work during the game.

In terms of concessions, the ballpark has a mixture of local restaurants like Kramarczuk’s, Pizza Luce and Union Hmong Kitchen along with stands that are inspired by the local food scene (Mill City Grill and North Shore Creamery). Though I’m spoiled by having a lot of local food options the way Petco does it so it’s really hard to find anywhere that offers the same variety, Target Field concessions are of good quality from the different food I sampled.

What really stood out is how they have Value Stands offering hot dogs, preztels, soda for under $5 and 612 Saturdays where they sell $1 snacks, $2 food and $6 beer. It really makes it affordable for families and friends to go to the ballpark and again goes with how fan-friendly this ballpark is.

As well, within a few blocks of the ballpark are many breweries, bars and restaurants to give you different food options. Walking to the ballpark I saw many of these places pretty crowded before the game.

Watching the game, they upgraded the video screen and LED boards prior to the 2023 season and they really make good use of all these boards. All the pitching and batting information is shown (pitch type, break, exit velocity, distance a ball was hit on contact, etc) as well as a constant out-of-town scoreboard. Basically all the information stat geeks like myself are looking for all the time while watching the game.

The in-game entertainment had things like celebrity look-a-like, a mascot-like race, the hat shuffle and prize contests involving fans. It wasn’t consistently every half inning (other innings they just played music) so wasn’t always keeping the fans engaged but when they did, fans seemed to get into them.

Overall I liked Target Field and would definitely recommend checking it out. It has a nice look and feel to it, it’s fan-friendly, has good views from the seats and it’s set up so you can be into the game or be there for more of a social outing. Being in downtown also allows you to check out other notable things in Minneapolis (like the Stone Arch Bridge, Guthrie Theater and Mill City Museum) or catch other games at US Bank Stadium or Target Center if the seasons overlap.