The Twins have already sold-out more than a dozen of their 81 home dates and set a franchise record with over 22,000 season tickets, but don’t count on Target Field being expanded beyond its present capacity of 39,504, according to a Twins executive.
“I really doubt it,” Patrick Klinger told Sports Headliners on Wednesday. “We were built on such a small foot print, 8½ acres.”
The new ballpark is surrounded by neighboring facilities and infrastructure. “We needed a crowbar, axel grease and a good shove in the back to get it (the stadium) in,” the Twins vice president of marketing said.
Target Field’s capacity is among the smallest in the American League but fewer seats meant less construction cost. The capacity creates incentive for ticket buyers to purchase seats ahead of time to ensure they see games of their choosing.
The Twins expect to draw more than 3 million fans to the new ballpark. Klinger said the limited capacity will not be a financial problem for the franchise in the years ahead if demand for seats remains high and ticket pricing is adjusted to keep pace with other costs.
Except for 100 places in the left field area (Budweiser Roof Deck), no plans are in place yet for standing room tickets. Klinger said initially the club wants to test stadium operations but may sell standing room tickets in parts of the facility later in the season.
The Twins open their regular season schedule at Target Field on Monday, April 12. The last two Twins opening days had wintry weather in Minneapolis but it wasn’t a problem because of the Metrodome. Klinger said if games are postponed because of weather in the series opener against Boston those games can be made up on open dates. The three-game series against the Red Sox, April 12, 14 and 15 is sold out.
The concourses have radiant heating to help fans warm themselves. There are protected areas throughout the stadium to minimize wind, cold and sun.