Row 9

I promised in my last blog post that I might put one together about a potential Vikings stadium. Well, nothing really happened in the final weeks of the MN State Legislative session, matter of fact, a bill that went up that would have put a tax on sports jerseys, hotels, car rentals and a specialized lottery game, died almost as soon as it was introduced in committee.

So, I thought I'd share about my third trip to Target Field on May 6, some new things I've discovered and so forth.

I do like how Target Field looks at night. And, just like it was when I went to the Red Sox game, it was raining, albeit much stronger than it did on that April afternoon. Last night's rain lasted most of the game (incidentally, tonight's game against the Orioles has been officially declared a rain out).

First, a little bit of caution, and an explanation for this particular post's title. I sat in Section 320 Row 9 last night. Here's an interesting thing about row 9, and a caution - if you have aisle seats, you will encounter a railing in front of you. That didn't bother me so much as the night wore on (I got over it pretty quickly, I just didn't realize it was going to be there).

Because of the railing, there are no cup holders in front of you, or affixed to the railing. So, that's just a heads up if you get aisle seats in the 9th row of sections in the 300 level. I got a good deal on the tickets, and overall, they were great seats, so I can't complain.

Also, just a forewarning, sitting there, you will encounter lots of people walking by, as people are coming up from the concourse. No worries though, by the bottom of the second inning, things cooled down substantially in that area.

I decided to try the "Big Dog" last night, which is the replacement for the Dome Dog. I've heard some not so great comments about it, so I tried it myself. As far as a hot dog goes, it tasted OK. About the same as the Dome Dog did. Many people have complained that the temperature of the hot dog is somewhat on the cold side. That was not my experience last night.

A price comparison for you: I purchased a Big Dog and a regular Pepsi for a grand total of $9.25. The cheeseburger and fries without the drink, costs you $9.25.

Later on in the game, I tracked down a "retro vendor" that sells the Dugout Dog. It's a natural casing hot dog, and is slightly longer than a typical hot dog, but not "foot long" size. This particular hot dog has lots of good flavor and a nice, crisp taste. Hands down, the best of the 4 hot dogs Target Field has to offer. The key is, if you can find them. The vendors that sell them wear red and white striped short-sleeved shirts.

Unlike April 14 when I took the bus down, I drove last night and parked in the same spot I usually did for games at "the other place." So, I thought it would be interesting to calculate how exiting the park differed between the two modes of transportation.

Crowd traffic getting out of the park was pretty slow, in my estimation. We ended up taking the stairs down to the main level, which in hind sight was probably a mistake. While the crowds don't exit single file through a revolving door, it still takes a little bit to get out. Traffic entering to I-94 west from 3rd St. was about the same as it would be during rush-hour. Once you're on the freeway, you're good to go.

The upper level concourse at Target Field is probably no wider than the concourses at the Dome. I thought about this the other day..."what then is so different"? At the Dome, the 22-foot-wide upper concourse services about 33-to-34,000 people. At Target Field, the 22-foot-wide upper concourse services about 11,000 people. There are roughly 11,000 seats in the 300 level at Target Field. So, there is a lot less foot traffic.

Looking at the main concourse throughout the night, last night in particular, people were mostly standing at the top of the aisles, standing underneath the radiant heat lamps. Granted, this probably won't be a concern come June and July, but for these early season games, it does create a great deal of congestion on the main concourse. However, while it is congested, you can still move around fairly easily.

So, for the second game experience at Target Field, a great night, all-around.

Thanks for reading. Click the title of the post "Row 9" to see pictures from the game.