The buzz surrounding the Gophers win over Michigan will surely help them in getting their stadium proposal discussed.

Will the Twins be able to squeeze a mention in?

Hopefully both can get done...

Dear Bat-Girl,

If the Twins move, would they move to Washington? DC has room for an American League franchise here - although it already has an NL team.

There used to be a Griffith Stadium in DC. Maybe they can find it and use it.

Hey, wasn't there a guy named Griffith associated with the Twins? Wouldn't that be perfect!

-Shoeless Joe

I'm gonna make a point to write now! This needs to get done.

Dear Shoeless,

No, it would not be perfect.

Be a pal & write to our legislators too.

Tell them that you will come to visit Minnesota to watch your team play the Twins if they build a new stadium. Tell them you will spend a lot of money in the metro area, and you will tell all your friends from Chicago to do the same.

Do it for the love of the game of baseball.
Do it for the rivalry.
Do it for Twins fans.

But most of all, for everything she has meant to you...

Do it for Batgirl.

bubblemint

Dear Batgirl,

I have already contacted all three of them.

Maybe if we all write to him, we can all help Timmy to grow a spine.

bubblemint

So if I write to these people and tell them I'm going to college in the Twin Cities just to see Joe Mauer play baseball again, will they build me a nice new stadium to watch him in?

*quiet little whispers* Er... in all honesty... is the Metrodome so very, very bad? I mean, I like the Metrodome... can't they wait a little longer, maybe when the economy is a bit better, or when Carl finally kicks the bucket and the new owner is a little more pliable in the money department?

Dear Carrie,

Even if we get a deal now, it will be at least 5 years before a stadium is completed and ready to use, so there will be plenty of time to say goodbye to the Dome.

Yes, the Dome holds some fond memories for us all, but it truly is a bad place to watch baseball.
It is a football stadium.
The turf, regardless of how new it is, is bad for the players health.
Why, last year that new turf came dangerously close to ending Chaiman Mauer's career before it even began.

A new owner would most likely move the team out of Minnesota, to a place where they are clamoring to get a major league baseball team. Some say Vegas, others say Portland OR.

Regardless, a new stadium is what we will need to keep the Twins in Minnesota.
And keeping the Twins in Minnesota is the ultimate goal.

bubblemint

How can anyone say the Dome isn't very,very bad? The Twins have played more games at the metrodome than Met Stadium......the time is NOW!!!! We went to 15 games at the Dome this year and 1 in Detroit(Comerica Park) No matter the scores the BEST was at Comerica where outdoor baseball lives...the game was meant to be played outdoors..Ask the bat kitties if they would rather romp around on natural grass or dome turf....better yet,,,ask the Twins players,,,In the last 10 years everyone else has built a outdoor stadium,,,Why can't we when the owner will put up 125 mill and this proposal will cost the State NOTHING...I have already contacted the state capital idiots for the past 12 months...but I plan to do it again,,and again ,,,and again until this gets done...The Minnesota Twins AND Minnesota Fans deserve OUTDOOR MLB baseball....Great job again this year batgirl.....

I'm an Orioles fan (*gasp* *shock*) and the Orioles have Camden Yards, which is generally regarded as one of the most beautiful stadiums in baseball. It's classic and modern. Everyone who has built a stadium since Camden Yards has opened has taken the design into account. I *love* Camden Yards. It's beautiful, it's spine-tingling, and it's a wonderful place to play baseball.

But I would take the Metrodome over Camden Yards.

Why? Two big reasons:

1) I think, in all honesty, it is undervalued just how much the Dome does for the Twins. They, and only they, know the unique effects of the turf, of the windlessness, of the dome itself. Visiting players are at a disadvantage, and disadvantage that I would conservatively estimate is worth 10 games a year. 10 games are a lot.

2) Weather. Forget the retractable dome (that we're only assuming we're going to somehow get) and how that would protect from rain. 95 degrees in blazing sunlight in July is what I'm talking about. I've done that for a lot of years. You get sunburned. You get heatstroke. You get uncomfortable and miserable and you leave by the 5th inning. Do not undervalue the importance of air conditioning. There was something like 25 days this year in the Twin Cities over 90 degrees. That affects ticket sales. I hope to buy season tickets to the Metrodome next year. I wouldn't do it for an outdoor stadium.

And that's just the effects on the fans. I watched Ben MacDonald lose 6 lbs over 5 innings that he started for the Orioles at Camden Yards, then have a heat stroke. Heat is hell on pitchers. Do we want to gamble with Carlos Silva, with Johan Santana?

3) Money. The cost of this stadium isn't going to be covered by this tax, not really. The upkeep will be paid for by increased ticket prices -- and the increase isn't going to be just to cover costs. The owners will happily pick the pockets of the fans under the pretense of "Well, new things cost more!" Cheap seats were, what, $4 or $5 dollars this year? You can expect them to go up to $13 or so, probably closer to $16 by the time the stadium is finished, and in a smaller area. And don't expect general seating to continue, either.

My prediction: the combination of the fewer wins, lack of climate control, and higher-priced tickets won't bring in more fans. Some will come initially, of course, with the novelty, but it won't last. There will be a slow wane in attendance, and when the owners tighten their fists on the cash flow, the team will continue to deteriorate, leading to even fewer wins. They'll jack up the ticket prices and things will keep getting worse. And then there will be a very expensive, very empty stadium in the middle of the Twin Cities, and it will be time to talk about contraction again.

thanks batgirl for the e-mail addresses. i just sent mine off.

i personally don't have a problem with the dome. its not the flashiest place around and yes, having to crank your neck around on the 1st and 3rd base sides sucks but i sit in the upper deck just to the 1st base side of home and i can see everything. i agree with carrieICL about the weather factor. get real, there are only a handful of days when perfect outdoor baseball weather happens here in MN and being from outstate, i appreciate being guaranteed a game no matter what. this season it was cold through may, it rained all of june and was ugly hot in july and august. i would have stayed in with dick and burt in my air conditioned home but i went to a lot of games.

the problem is that without the new stadium, the twins will eventually go somewhere else. they'll get sick of the lame-assed, waste-of-breath blowhards who call themselves lawmakers in st. paul and say "screw it, we're out of here." and who can blame them. the twins have done everything that was asked of them by finding a source of non-state money and they still don't even get consideration at a special session. it sucks.

and there is always that chance that when mr. tightwad pohlad kicks, the new owners won't be so sentimental about minnesota and conveniently forget about the 2 million fans.

so why not a stadium with a retractable roof? i hear safeco field is a great place to watch a game (frightwig's tour was excellent). i hope to see a game or 2 there next season. it's minnesota, we need a roof. lets get this done and play ball.

UNBELIEVABLE.........

Steve:

Why is it hard to believe that there may be someone who disagrees with an opinion of yours, no matter how widely held it is believed to be?

I happen to agree with Carrie on may of her points, and that the Dome is not the Pit of Satanic Hell that many make it out to be.

After all, it's a place to watch a game, not somewhere to live.

I guess I would rate the wonder of the outdoor baseball experience at higher worth if you guys didn't also have the Saints. But there's *already* opportunity for lovely summer night air baseball in the Cities. And I bet the beer is cheaper, too.

*shrugs*

"After all,it's a place to watch a game,not somewhere to live." Exactly!! Personally,I would rather watch the Minnesota Twins outdoors...that's all.

Well...I am not from the "Cities" butt do enjoy the St.Cloud River Bats up here(outdoors),and actually our beer up here is even cheaper. We are Minnesota Twins fans/season ticket holders and actually the topic I thought here was outdoor baseball for the Minnesota Twins? Thanks for the tip on the Saints though..

I happen to believe baseball belongs outdoors but the real reason the Dome has to be replaced, as has been stated, is that the Twins will certainly leave if they can't get a new stadium. Their lease with the Dome doesn't provide near enough income compared with what other teams get from their deals and the Twins will never be more than a second priority tennant in the Dome. That means less money for the club to spend on players and more players having to be let go of or traded when they become expensive. So, it's really more of a fiscal issue than it is an aesthetic one.

I'd stay a Twins fan even if they moved to Hong Kong. I'd much prefer they stay in Minny where they belong, but if the residents of the Twin Cities and the fine state of Minnesota decide it's no longer important to be a major league market, there's not much I can do about it.

BTW, you'd better hope the stadium deal goes through while Carl's alive. He may not be Mr Popularity, but I'm guessing once he's gone, his family will move/sell in a heartbeat.

My very first batgirl post for a topic near and dear to my heart; our new stadium!

I love the dome as much as anyone, but our team deserves so much better! It wasn't until I started travelling to other MLB parks that I realized just how very bad the dome is. It's not just a matter of wanting something nicer though, it's about keeping our team here where they belong and helping them to remain competitive.

I'm not very hopeful about this getting done; but if they could actually get the legislation passed, that is the ONLY way I'm voting for any incumbents this year.

I support the Gophers & Vikings stadiums as well. I wish they'd just get them all done in one shot and get it over with so they can do ONE positive thing this year. Nothing else went too well for our legislature, you'd think they'd want to finish the year on a 'high point.'

JimC is right about one of the main problems with the Dome: the Twins are treated quite unfairly in terms of the revenue from the stadium. Of course, that's not a problem with the Dome per se, but rather with their lease. But the Vikings aren't likely to decide to be nice and help out the Twins by allowing them their fair share.

I'm also unconcerned with the weather issue in an open-air stadium. It's all a part of the game. Stay hydrated when it's warm out, and you'll be fine. Also keep in mind that we don't always have as many hot days as we did this summer. A retractable roof is a deal-breaker, and it's not worth losing the Twins over, that's for sure.

My feeling is that as long as the Chairman is with the team, they are going nowhere.

If the city (read: politicians) allows a hometown hero like him to up and leave with the team and make everyone watch him develop into the great player he will be elsewhere, they will never live it down.

NEVER.

(at least, for me)

Dear Carrie,

They are jacking up ticket prices already.
The cheap seats this season were $6.00. They will be the same next year, but the other ticket prices are going up by $3.00 per ticket, plus they will also have "premium game" prices for home games with teams like the Yankees, Red Sox & Cubs which will be an additional $3.00, even for the cheap seats.

http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/min/ticketing/min_seating_pricing.jsp

Contraction is off the table, Selig said it just last week. Here's a link to Hartman's column, and it was printed in other sources too. http://www.startribune.com/stories/507/5646328.html

The Twins will be sold and most likely moved if we don't get a new stadium.

I think we can all agree we want to keep the Twins in Minnesota. To do that we need a new stadium.

So we all need to let the legislators & the Governor how we feel.

bubblemint

I wish you TONS of luck getting out of a dome. I loved my sunburned face from going to Safeco field.
10 years ago I ran out on to the field of the Kingdom when the team won its first divison title. It was a great moment. I however remember thinking, "Truck a duck! These guys slide and run on this Trucking carpet?"
That win lead to the team getting a new stadium. It has costed a great deal of money to the city and the state. But I love, love going to the games at Safeco. The new stadium is a really wonderful place to see baseball.

Good luck.
mark

Timing is everything....Why couldnt we had this discussion a year ago when I was on National TV holding up a Santana/Nathan Pres/VP/Batgirl sign?

The stadium "saga" is really really tiring. The Twins biggest beef has got to be the lack of 'corporate luxury suites'. The general fan ticket prices are probably NOT going to significantly increase. I mean, prices go up, it's inevitable, but relatively speaking it will still be cheap to see a ball game.

But the real dollars that the Twins are looking for, are the $1500 per suite times 150 suites times 82 games. $18.45MM a year, versus $0.00MM a year now.

And that's probably conservative.

I just think it's funny that most of the people who think the Dome is fine rarely go to Twins games, because they don't live here. (and yes, I know that some people who go to many games are also fine with the Dome.) but spend some time in that heap, and then maybe you'll change your mind.

and yes, certain sections upstairs are an inexpensive alternative to the neck-cranking from the lower sides. but should everyone have to vacate those areas to avoid neck strain? shouldn't we be able to sit and watch the game comfortably from wherever we choose to sit?

and the Saints are hardly a replacement for the Twins. just sayin'.

Interesting. Because I think it's funny that people who aren't able to go to outdoor baseball on a regular basis are so sure that outdoor baseball is inherently superior to indoor baseball.

*shrugs* I did live in Minnesota for a year with indoor baseball. I've also lived in Baltimore. So I've had rather up close and personal experiences with both. Just sayin'.

I got a letter back from Pawlenty. It wasn't personal. It just said that Pawlenty receives hundreds of letters and this is letting me know that he got mine. Nothing from any of the others yet!

As a fan of the Giants and season ticketholder since PacBell/SBC Park opened in 2000, I can say that you WILL experience increases in ticket prices. BUT, at least in our case, I am OK paying them (the price paid by season ticketholders in my section went from $23 in 2000 to $34 this year - each year a little more) and OK with increased corporate signage because the ballpark was privately financed (the first since Dodger Stadium in the early 60s). MLB (in particular the owners) was not happy about that but the public sure was.

I would have been, well, VERY UNHAPPY (and probably unwilling) to pay for the increases (which you can count on will happen as it has with every other new stadium) if the ballpark had been publicly financed. As much as I love baseball and have followed the Giants for close to 40 years, it is hard to justify shelling out big public dollars for supremely wealthy owners. Closer to my Berkeley home, I do hope the A's get a new ballpark but, please, not at the expense of the City of Oakland (those folks have been fleeced for years by Al Davis and his Raiders. enough!). I hope you get your stadium - outdoor baseball, real grass, sunburns, bundling up on a cold night in late spring or early October (or, in our case, July) - that is how it should be (just like those lovable lunatics at Lambeau dealing with the football cold (oops, probably should not say that on a Twins site)). I just hope that the Twins new park is not paid for with public funds. Again, as much as I love baseball, I don't think any pro sports team is worth that.

DK