Monday, July 4, 2011

Accessibility Review: Target Field

Target Field
Mik had high expectations for this ballpark with it being new and he was not disappointed.  We did not do parking, so not sure how the parking garages are set up, but walking from the Hyatt (about a mile) to the ballpark worked out very well.  Supposedly, you can get everywhere around this area of Minneapolis through the Skyway, but we walked on the Street Level.  It is nice that when you approach on 6th Street you end up walking over the freeway on the nice Target Plaza that connects Target Center and Target Field.

Previous Minneapolis BallparksHarmon Killebrew at Target FieldHall of Fame Outside Target Field

Target Plaza includes some statues of great Twins players such as Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett.  Interestingly, they also have concession stands out here that were open before the gates opened, although you cannot leave the park and come back in during game I do not think.  From the plaza you can only walk around to the left or so we were told (map looks like you can maybe cut through parking garage to Gate 3).  It is definitely worth going around the park at least until you get to the Team Shop corner, as around here the walls across from the park have the Twins Hall of Fame.  There is also a cool memorial that shows the history of ballparks in Minneapolis. 

Outside Target Field

From here there is not much reason to keep going around the ballpark unless you want to enter at a gate closer to your seats, although the side opposite Target Plaza does have some fun old baseball card style banners of former Twins players.

The first thing we did when we could go in the ballpark two hours before the game was go to the Team Store.  We barely ventured in, but were able to get a mini bat and ball, as well as get over to the penny smashing machine.  However, getting through the checkout line was sort of a pain with the wheelchair.  The dividers are placed too close together to fit, but at least they are movable.  We had to keep moving them to get by and then we would wind back and have to move them again, so the next wheelchair going through would still have to arrange as they went through.  The worst is once you check out, it is hard to get out with there being like no room to get past others checking out.  Thus you have to wait for them to be done and at the same time you are holding up the line because registers open up and people cannot get past you to them.  Bottom Line is Mik recommends skipping the Team Shop and hitting one of the several little souvenir kiosks out on the concourse, as they seemed to have most of the same stuff, which sometimes is not the case.  The Team Shop mainly seems to only have a wider selection of apparel.

Cup Holder at Target Field

For the game we sat in section 129, which is part of the Right Field Bleachers.  The view of the field was great, but you cannot see the scoreboard at all.  However, they do have televisions mounted here, which is kind of cooler, especially when they played other games going on around the MLB during the rain delay (played on scoreboard, too).  Mik likd the seats because they were way above the section, so no possibility of someone tall standing up and blocking the view.  What he really loved, though, was that there were cup holders for the handicap section, which the rest of the bleachers do not get.

Wheelchair Seats at Target Field

Mik did not entirely enjoy the section, though, because the standing room only divider is just a blue line painted on the ground and the game had a lot of standing room people.  Most respected the rules, but without a rope or some sort of real divider who can blame them for inching forward.  However, it is not okay when they ended up being right behind us, especially when one guy ended up spilling his beer onto the girl next to us and then proceeded to yell into our ears and touch us to try to get us to join his stupid yelling to get the attention of the Brewers outfield that he was actually a fan of when the game was going on.  Dad got him to go away and customer relations later even offered us hot dogs, which we did not want, but were happy they were doing their job and trying their best to have everyone enjoy the game.

Game Wrap Up: July 1, 2011 Milwaukee Brewers 2 @ Minnesota Twins 6

Target Field

After a 2 hour rain delay, the Twins game finally started around 9pm on July 1, 2011. It was an extra late night of baseball, but at least we can again say we have seen a complete game at every current MLB ballpark. Of course, next year we will have to catch up again with the new Marlins ballpark, but we are already working on planning that into our 2012 summer vacation.

Rain Delay at Target FieldRain Delay at Target FieldTarget Field

It was a rather long wait for the game to start including a decent amount of time with no rain. However, it made sense to wait out the storm, as there was a major thunderstorm including hail. Much better to wait it all out and then have the whole game instead of the stop and start that sometimes happens. Of course, this is one reason why the MetroDome was better. Overall Target Field is a better ballpark, but Mik seriously wants to know why a team would go from a roofed stadium to absolutely no roof.

The game went pretty quick once it started. Ended up with some very rude Brewers fans that would not stay behind the blue line for standing and even spilled their beer on the girl next to us. Then he was touching us and yelling at the outfielder basically right in my ear. Dad got him to go away and customer relations later even offered us free hot dogs, but we did not feel like taking advantage of that when customer relations did there job and really made efforts to have everyone enjoy the game. I got nothing wrong with people cheering, but for one he did not have a ticket for the wheelchair section and it makes no sense to be yelling to get the attention of an outfielder during play, especially when it is the outfielder for the team you are rooting for.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Summer in Tucson: Eegee's and Baseball

Truly feels like the beginning of summer having Eegee's at a the Tucson Padres game tonight. Mik enjoyed Piña Colada flavor and I had strawberry. Only thing missing is 100 degree weather, but not complaining about that!

We are enjoying the game from the General Admission section.

It's the bottom of the 2nd and Padres are already winning 6 to 0.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Plans to Be Back Up to Date on Having Seen a Game at All the Ballparks

For over a year now we have been out of date with the having seen a game at All the Current Ballparks claim, but we now have tickets to see the July 1, 2011 game at Target Field. Our summer travels are not as extensive as 2009 and definitely not baseball focused (quite Disney focused instead!), but we are going to take in a Twins game and also going to fit in seeing the oldest ballpark (Rickwood Field in Birmingham, AL). Perhaps a few more Tucson Padres games as well during the parts of the summer we are home.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Mik's Food Scrapbook: Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium


Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium used to be a pretty boring food options stadium when it was Tucson Electric Park. Sure they brought vendors in for the Spring Training Season, but for Triple A baseball they normally just had the regular concession stands. Hi Corbett has always been better with them always having Eegees and even Dominos (not just Pizza, but even lava cakes!) with the Tucson Toros (not even MLB farm baseball!).

Now that Triple A is back with the Tucson Padres, they have stepped it up. They actually have Eegees, which is a necessity for summer baseball if you ask me. For those that have never been to Tucson, Eegees are frozen fruit drinks. All the games are night games, but you get into June and July and it is easily still 100+ at game start. It was not hot for Opening Day, but Mik still got an Eegee.

They have Dominos as the pizza options (much better than the crap at Chase Field I had during Dbacks Opening Day), although sadly no Lava Cakes like the Toros had at Hi Corbett last season.

They also have a good Mexican place. Dad got the nachos, which is a pretty big platter, although the price certainly corresponds to that.

We also got some mini donuts.

Besides normal ballpark fare (hot dogs, pretzels, peanuts, etc.) they also have a veggie stir fry noodle place, which is the same one they had for the Spring Training game I went to last month. The noodles are pretty good and even a reasonable price.

Related Posts:

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Mik's Mini Bat Collection: Light Blue Tucson Padres


Mik debated a while before finally settling on the Light Blue Tucson Padres mini bat. He liked the natural one as well, but finally decided on the light blue because it is not a color he has many if any mini bats in. They also had dark blue, pink, and silver. The silver was not bad, but the dark blue was not good, as the logo kind of blended in. The pink is just a continued trend we do not like, as they only make sense when the MLB does it on purpose to sell the bats after Mother's Day to raise money for Breast Cancer and not a regular no donation gear unless somehow a team actually has pink as a team color.

Kj's Baseball Collection: Tucson Padres


They had a few different ball options, but nothing all that cool. An inaugural season or something that said 2011 would have been cool, but the silver one is not bad, especially since the Tucson Padres logo itself is pretty nice.