Minneapolis has a great sports entertainment district, with tons of bars and restaurants within easy walking distance of the Viking’s Metrodome and the NBA Timberwolve’s Target Center. It makes for a safe and lively destination environment. So it stands to reason that when building a new ballpark, the Minnesota Twins had three good reasons for shoehorning Target Field into a very challenging piece of real estate. Location, location, location.

The decision to build upon this smallish parcel of land has its consequences though. Building a stadium “up” rather than “out” can make for a claustrophobia-inducing environment, as almost everywhere you go in Target Field you’re under some sort of overhang. Sometimes deep under that overhang, as is the case on the main concourse. And with thousands of people crowded into this cave-like area, the pre-game atmosphere on a warm evening can get a little…sauna-esque.

So as the ladies in the South might say, I was “misting” by the time I escaped the below-decks scrum and settled into Section V – home for the next nine innings of my life. As I sat there taking in the sights and sounds though, it troubled me to admit that the Target Field Kool-Aid that I had come to sample was not yet that easy to swallow.

Billed as the Taj Mahal of baseball stadiums when it opened in April, it had drawn this Sports Fan like a moth to a flame. Distressingly however, it had thus far failed to impress.

In yesterday’s post I described the “Target Field Shuffle” and “Find The Hidden Section” pre-game activities, but in the grand scheme of things those were momentary annoyances. I still had a mind to fall in love with this ballpark.

“It’s not you, it’s me”, I told the stadium. “After I get a little something to eat I’m sure I’ll feel better.” And so I ate.

I didn’t feel better.

Maybe it was because I was fresh from the Little League World Series at Williamsport, where a family of five could eat for a week on $23.75, but it struck me that the Target Field concession prices were a little on the high side. I had a steak sandwich which was the culinary equivalent of a routine fly ball, but which set me back $10.50. And it wasn’t like I had a lot of lower-cost alternatives. Even the lowly hot dog was extravagantly priced.

Much has been made in the sports biz press of the wide variety of local delicacies available at the new ballpark. The trendy item that had them lined up like Soviet-era Russians was the Kramarczuk sausage, which I would’ve liked to try but wasn’t willing to invest the required half-inning in line. I could’ve scored a walleye-on-a-stick without much wait, but…well, I couldn’t get my mind to divorce itself from the visual image of a fish popsicle. For 11 bucks.

At least part of the concept was to allow visitors to get a true taste of Minnesota cuisine while at Target Field. But I returned to my seat hoping that there are those in the Twin Cities with a more discriminating palate. Purely as a public service, I wanted to round up my Section V brethren and fly them to San Diego, where the food selection at Petco Park would no doubt leave them speechless in comparison.

Detroit was leading the Twins 2-0 in the top of the second inning when a sharp-looking group of young professionals arrived in Section V, setting off a domino effect of people relocating to the actual seats that they had purchased. Orchestrating this activity was a dark-haired beauty named Marissa, who I later discovered was there hosting a little client baseball outing. She wound up sitting in the seat next to mine.

Now it’s never a bad thing to find yourself seated next to a pretty girl, but here’s the kicker. As soon as she was settled she turned to me and asked “How did the Tigers score their runs?” She was a Fan – and proved to be a very knowledgeable one at that. Sure she was here on business on this night, but she knew her baseball inside and out. “But I’m a bad Minnesotan”, she confessed. “I’m a Yankees fan.”

After we had chatted a bit about baseball, I popped the burning question on the minds of sports fans throughout the universe: How do Minnesota residents truly feel about Brett Favre?

In a nutshell…they had grown as weary of the “Will Brett Be Back?” story as the rest of us. Which leaves ESPN programmers as the only people in America who felt the drama to be newsworthy. Proving once and for all that they really need to get out more.

I told Marissa a little about my reason for being there and solicited her help. I shared with her that thus far I had discovered only reasons NOT to love Target Field, and I desperately wanted to deliver a balanced report. A little help with the good stuff? Please?

“The women’s bathrooms are great!” was the immediate and enthusiastic reply. Well…I was looking for something a little bit more relevant to my own interests, but OK, we were getting somewhere.

She described how nice it was to finally see baseball outside, and that she had yet to watch a game from a seat that didn’t offer a great view of the field. But she was a little disappointed that they didn’t go the extra distance to add a retractable roof to the stadium. “I’m from here,” she said, “And there’s no way I’m going to pay to sit and freeze during a late October playoff game. Not even against the Yankees.”

She did appreciate all of the extra concession alternatives though (her suggestion of a locally-brewed Summit Extra Pale Ale turned out to be a definite winner), and while she had yet to visit the Budweiser Roof Deck high above the left field corner, she loved the idea that it could be rented out for private parties. And there are those great bathrooms…

But in searching for the single word that best described Target Field…“Cramped?” said Marissa. Thank you. And no, that doesn’t make you a bad Minnesotan.

While we chatted, the game was flying by. Detroit had taken an early 3-0 lead and the Twins had responded meekly. Then in the bottom of the 6th inning, the hugely popular All-Star Joe Mauer got things rolling with a double. Three base hits later the lead had been cut to 3-2.

The Twin’s momentum carried through into the bottom of the 7th, although this time it was more a case of taking advantage of Tiger pitching gifts. Two walks and two hit batsmen brought the tying run home, and then Delmon Young singled in Mauer from third with the go-ahead run.

Section V was rocking, along with the rest of Target Field. My new friends ordered another round of beers from one of the many good-natured vendors that came to call, and their energy became infectious.

By the time the game ended with a 4-3 Twins win, and I spilled out onto the sidewalk to a sultry city night, I still couldn’t say that I was in love with Target Field. But we were definitely dating.