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 Metrodome
Minneapolis,
MN
For 27
seasons, Twins baseball was played indoors at the Metrodome, where
baseballs could hit off the roof, bounce fast off the turf or knock
off
the baggy in right field. Although it may not have been the best
ballpark in baseball, some fans came to love its quirks by its
closing in 2009. The Twins have called Minneapolis there home since 1961,
playing there first two decades at Metropolitan Stadium. Located in
Bloomington, MN the Twins shared this stadium with the Minnesota
Vikings (NFL). By the mid 1970s it began to show its age. Both teams
began the push for a new stadium and in 1977 the Minnesota State
Legislature passed a bill authorizing construction of a multipurpose
domed stadium. A 25 acre site was chosen in downtown Minneapolis for
the stadium and construction began on December 20, 1979. The dome consists of an air supported fiberglass fabric
roof. A 340 ton cover for the dome is held in place by air pressure
generated fans and steel cables. The roof has snow melting ducts to
prevent a collapse. However, in fall 1982 the dome collapsed,
but was re-inflated.
 Named after former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, the H.H.H.
Metrodome opened on April 3, 1982. It was the third dome stadium to
open. Approximately 48,678 blue seats circled the entire stadium for
baseball. Making up the right field wall of the Metrodome was 7,600
retractable seats that allowed for the conversion from baseball to
football. A huge scoreboard/video board was located above the upper
deck in left field.
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The Metrodome changed little during the Twins tenure here.
Before the 1994 season the dugouts were moved closer to the field
allowing for three rows of seats increasing the seating capacity by
900. A gathering plaza for fans was added in 1996 along Kirby
Puckett Place. This was a place for groups to meet and enjoy food and
beverages. To help reduce the number of empty seats, a 200 foot long
curtain was added to cover many of the seats
that were in the
upper deck in right field.
After the 2003 season, the Astroturf was
removed from the Metrodome and replaced with Fieldturf. For more
than a decade, beginning in the mid 1990s, the Twins began trying to get
a new ballpark built. In May 2006,
the State of Minnesota
approved financing for construction of a new ballpark. Constructed
in downtown Minneapolis,
Target Field opened in April 2010. The
Minnesota Twins played their last game at the Metrodome, an American
League Division Series game against the New York Yankees on October
11, 2009. Today the Metrodome remains the home of the Minnesota
Vikings (NFL) and numerous other events.
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