The Twins have unveiled a $99 spring ballpark pass "covering 30 games in April and May," according to the AP. The deal excludes Opening Day on April 3 against the Royals and "does not provide a seat, only standing room access." Customers can "purchase up to eight of the passes, which will deliver tickets directly to their mobile device, and attend any or all of the 30 games over the first third of the schedule" (AP, 3/8). In Minneapolis, Michael Rand wrote the ballpark pass works out to "just a little more than $3 per game if you went to all 30," making it a "fairly absurd deal." The offer is "clearly a nod to declining overall attendance at Target Field -- which didn't get any help from last year's 59-103 record -- and the annual struggle to attract fans in colder weather before school gets out." The overall attendance at Target Field in '16 was 1,963,912, the seventh consecutive season it has "decreased since the ballpark opened." Rand: "The Twins' strategy appears to be essentially: hey, there's room." It is a "practical strategy, but there is also some risk when you devalue your product to such a level as the Twins are doing now" (STARTRIBUNE.com, 3/8).
