Welcome To Target Field!

Now Spring has officially arrived. Outdoor baseball. Back in Minnesota. And back in style.

Saturday afternoon's Gopher baseball game gave Minnesota baseball fans their first glimpse of the Twins' spanking new stadium in downtown Minneapolis, and it couldn't have been better. Well okay, it could have been 72 degrees instead of 50, but I don't think that anyone cared.

Target Field is perfect. They've captured just the right blend of an old ballpark feel with all the modern amenities. The wide open concourses tempt you to keep exploring what's ahead and yet you can always stop for a few minutes to catch up with what's going on on the field. There are even a couple of sections with vintage-type wooden seats to bring you back to your youth--well, if you're old enough, that is.

And the food! In the past, we've always made plans to eat somewhere either before or after a game because the Dome's food was so bad. Yesterday we had a hard time deciding what to try first. (By the way, we went for Juicy Lucy's and Murray's steak sandwiches--and a cold beer, of course, at the Town Ball Tavern and everything was excellent.)

Say what you will about taxpayers having to help build stadiums or about the choice of location, this ballpark is going to be a major attraction in the city of Minneapolis for years to come, and I can't wait to go back. Our tickets for a night game this May with the Tigers are already burning a hole in my pocket. I've heard the lighting is the best around.

Being Minnesotans, we just couldn't quite leave winter behind us though. After enjoying our afternoon at the ballpark, we ended the day watching the championship game of the NCAA regional hockey tournament at the X in St. Paul. We were mostly cheering for St. Cloud, but having been born in Wisconsin and educated at St. Cloud State, I couldn't lose. Turns out the Badgers were more than the Huskies could handle. One more weekend of hockey, and we wait for Opening Day.