Approval Meets Twins’ Ballpark Design, But Where’s The Roof?

The design created by HOK Sport and HGA for the new Twins ballpark “rejects the red brick retro look of recent ballparks ... while steering away of steely modernism,” and has architectural forms that “feel right for this time and place,” according to Linda Mack of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. While the site is surrounded by historic brick warehouses and new parking ramps, the designers “chose the lighter-toned Minnesota limestone,” a native material used on a number of “beloved downtown Minneapolis buildings.” Tall limestone sections are separated by openings “that allow passersby to peak into the park,” and glass “punctuates the stone and brings a more contemporary punch to the heavy walls of the Warehouse District” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 4/13). The ballpark has “wide concourses, roomy seats, lots of restrooms and great sightlines” (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 4/13).

PRAISE FOR THE DESIGN: A STAR TRIBUNE editorial states if the “virtual images look as good on the actual site, then the team and Hennepin County have hit a home run.” HOK Sport Senior Principal Earl Santee said that “no other major public building in America fits so seamlessly into the life of the surrounding city” (STAR TRIBUNE, 4/13). Santee added the site was the smallest among 16 ballparks his firm has ever worked with, including AT&T Park, PNC Park and Jacobs Field. Santee: “In some ways, it’s a modern-day Wrigley Field.” Twins Sports President Jerry Bell said that a “fan-friendly and Minnesota-inspired ballpark were the designers’ marching orders.” Bell: “We’re very pleased with what they’ve done” (PIONEER PRESS, 4/13).

OUT IN THE COLD: In DC, Tim Lemke wrote the “most amazing thing about the Twins ballpark plans is that not only are there no plans to build a roof, the design of the stadium can’t accommodate the installation of a roof at a later date.” Twins President Dave St. Peter, in a January entry on his MLBlogs.com blog, wrote, “Some fans want to believe a magic funding source will emerge to pay for a roof. The reality is the Twins and Hennepin County are 100[%] committed to building a great OPEN-AIR park” (WASHINGTONTIMES.com, 4/11). The natural grass field will be heated to 65 degrees, “so games won’t be called for snow” (STAR TRIBUNE, 4/13).

FUNDING: The Twins this week committed to spending more money on the project. Team and county officials “declined to release the additional amount the Twins have promised — the team is already contributing $130[M] to the project — but said that the move would keep the stadium on schedule for a 2010 opening” (STAR TRIBUNE, 4/13).

Twins Unveil Renderings Of Final Design Of Downtown Ballpark