In 2009, Target Field mania was building. The ballpark was a year away from opening, and we were determined to have season tickets in the first real ballpark we could call our own. So for the final year of Metrodome ball, we gathered a group of friends and shared a cheap season ticket package, giving us priority for tickets for the 2010 opening in Target Field (and the baseball in 2009 at the Dome was a nice bonus).

Our group decided on an economical but good-for-the-price full-season package of two tickets in Target Field's Skyline View area (section 323, to be exact) in that first year, then renewed for 2011 and 2012. The total bill was around $2,100 a year, split six ways, or roughly $350 per person for two tickets to 13 games, with three total leftover games to share.

We imagine plenty of others faced this same decision when it came to 2013: stick it out for the lure of better times ahead or cut ties until the on-field product improved.

Our group, splintered already by time constraints and an out-of-state move, opted for the latter. The decision was brought up recently as we thought about the 2014 All-Star Game. Season-ticket holders have been given priority, with current holders who renew for 2014 able to buy the same number of All-Star strip packages for that game at Target Field as they have season tickets.

The logo is out now, but All-Star ticket prices likely won't be released until the fall, Twins President Dave St. Peter said. He did say pricing is expected to be comparable to what was charged in Kansas City in 2012.

Tickets are sold only in strips, per MLB policy, and a strip includes: one official game program, two tickets to All-Star Fan Fest and one ticket each to the All-Star Sunday events (including Futures Game), Home Run Derby and the game itself. The Kansas City Star reported that a strip there in 2012 ranged from $377-$1,077.

In other words: more for one strip than we used to spend on two tickets to 13 regular-season games in the same ballpark. The Twins should have no problem selling out the three-day event. It's a wonderful spectacle, with memories sure to last a lifetime.

Attending it all, though, will be a privilege for those who choose it far more than it will be a right.