A scouting report: Target Field

The best features of the field could be summarized with the word "hospitality."

I entered the field from the Plaza that draws crowds alongside Butler Square. The best thing about the Plaza is it's ever-widening dimension the closer you get to the gate. On the right side of the Plaza is a large art installation, a sheet of metal discs that move with the wind. Beautiful...and it masks a boring parking ramp.

Upon entering Target Field, the first impression is that you stand at the top of a gentle decline onto the field; what is actually a drop of approximately 50 feet. The illusion is that the stadium is both large and intimate. There are only 39,800 seats (compared to the 50,000 in the Metrodome) and so the feeling of intimacy may be accurate...but I grew up in a town with 35,000 souls and that's a lot of people from where I come from.

The food is plentiful, although repetitive throughout. Kramarczuk's kiosks were producing fantastic smells -- would that there were more of them! Manny's steak sandwiches were good but at $11, a little steep for the Common Man's pocketbook. Beers are $7 and $12 in some locations throughout the Field.

The best value for ticket price has got to be the bleachers in Left Field. They are just inside the main gate off the Plaza.

For the hoi poloi, there is the Metropolitan Club which is much more for the hospitality than the game. It is pretty impressive. The private suites' best feature is outdoor seating. Otherwise, they are OK if you have spare cash.

The two large, public taverns in the Field are Hrbek's and Town Ball Tavern. Again, more hospitality than game. The interesting exception to these enclosed enclaves was upstair along the first base line: outdoor seating, a bar, cable flatscreens, and even a Hammond organ!

The roof deck in left field screams "party" but has a few sight-line problems. The crystal pit fire and wide open spaces to drink and be merry will make this a location for some games -- just not baseball.

On the first floor, all around the field, there are vistas of downtown, the game and the rest of the stadium. Bathrooms are a bit too dispersed but adequate in size (mourn the absence of stainless steel urinals!). The concourse has generous dimensions on every level.

A sign of a good ballpark: every seat is turned, slightly, to face the field. No more perpendicular seating. There are bad sight-lines here and there but no more than in most fields (approx. 2-3%, I think). The best seats in the stadium (and these have strong competition) are along the first base side, half-way up on the main floor and not too far from the food vendors. It is a glorious accomplishment, Target Field. Go. And bring your party. It's going to be that kind of place.