This Monday, April 12th at 4 p.m. Eastern time, the Red Sox will play the Minnesota Twins in the Twins’ first ever game at their new ballpark, Target Field. The 3-3 Red Sox are just looking to build on momentum that they have gained as of late, with a 2-game win streak and coming off of their first series win of the season in Kansas City this past weekend.
For the 5-2 Minnesota Twins, though, Monday’s game will not be just any other home opener. For the first time since the Twins moved to Minnesota in 1961, they will have their own ballpark. For their first 11 years in Minnesota, the Twins were co-tenants at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota, and in their 28 years of playing in the Metrodome, they shared the stadium with the University of Minnesota Gophers and the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings.
The Twins had been vying to get a new stadium since the mid-1990s, and they had put up a number of legislative proposals for a new ballpark, and even brought up the possibility of moving the team to another city. But finally, on May 26, 2006, Governor Tim Pawlenty signed the legislation to build the Twins’ new ballpark.
So now, after years of waiting for a new home, one that is their own,the Minnesota Twins finally get to open their new ballpark, Target Field, on Monday against the Boston Red Sox. As expected, there is a ton of excitement around the opening of the new ballpark in Minneapolis.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire chimed in on the excitement around Target Field. “Opening Day is going to be pretty special,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming. I don’t know how you prepare for that stuff. You just try to work your way through it. There are a lot of emotions, a lot of people coming back. Ultimately, when all is said and done, you just can’t wait for the game to start, because everything calms down then.”
Minnesota Twins outfielder Denard Span also offered his thoughts about the opening of Target Field. “I think it’s the first time that everybody is ready to get back home,” he said. “I think everybody was looking forward in the past to go on the road because of the Metrodome. Now, everybody is looking forward to tomorrow and playing at Target Field. You know it’s going to be a special day for the fans and for the city.” As for the Boston Red Sox, they feel honored to be playing in the first game at Target Field, especially considering its going to be unusually warm weather for Minnesota when the game starts, with weather expected to be in the 60s.
Sox right fielder J.D. Drew offered his thoughts on the game. “Well, you know, I’ll be glad it’s going to be decent weather,” he said. “Everyone was anticipating snow and flurries when we looked at the schedule.” Overall, it will be an exciting game on Monday between the Red Sox and the Twins when the Twins open their new ballpark, Target Field.
Quotes from this article courtesy of:
minnesota.twins.mlb.com
mlb.mlb.com