Twins ballpark dream feels real with moving dirt

Will a Twins slugger one day hit a home run in the new ballpark that smashes against Target Center, a city block beyond the right field wall? Let the games and fantasies begin.

By Paul Levy, Star Tribune

Last update: May 15, 2007 - 9:49 PM

From the spray-painted white bases that Twins officials placed on an asphalt parking lot Tuesday to the pink foul poles with streamers flapping in the wind, everything about this makeshift field of dreams suggested fantasy.

Could slugger Justin Morneau drive a ball from home plate into the parking garage across the street, beyond the right-center fence? Could Harmon Killebrew or Mickey Mantle, in their prime, tattoo Target Center, beyond right field, with one of their mammoth home runs?

It's strange trying to imagine a major-league ballpark where cars now park, where a telephone pole stands just a few feet from second base. But not for long. On Monday, graders will eat into the asphalt of the Rapid Park lot in downtown Minneapolis, starting construction on an open-air stadium expected to be ready for the Twins' 2010 season.

The official groundbreaking won't take place until August, said Jerry Bell, the Twins official who spent 10 years negotiating for a Twins ballpark. A year ago, Bell was at the State Capitol, making last-minute arguments that the Legislature approved at sunrise on May 20 after an extra-inning session that lasted all night.

"Quite honestly, I can't believe we're here," Bell said Tuesday, staring at a home plate, bases and pitching rubber placed precisely where they will be in three years.

Long before the stadium opens, 130,000 cubic yards of earth must be moved, said Dan Mehls, project coordinator for M.A. Mortenson Construction. Third Av. N., between 6th and 7th streets, will soon be closed, then eliminated. The Cedar Lake walking and biking trail will be closed briefly, then rerouted. Two 5th Street bridges will be demolished. The Burlington Northern track will be moved away from the ballpark site.

"For the next years, there will be noise, equipment, dust here," Mehls said.

He was one of several officials from M.A. Mortenson, the Twins, Hennepin County and Minnesota Ballpark Authority wearing hard hats. But Twins spokesperson Kevin Smith could have worn a batting helmet. He clearly was the event's MVP.

It was Smith who requested a pitching rubber, home plate and bases -- but not the major-league bases that fasten into the ground or turf with thick pegs. The flat bases he received were filthy, more brown than white.

So Smith scrambled Monday night, spray-painting the bases white in his driveway.

There was no chance that Rod Carew or anyone else would steal home plate. Smith removed the bases from the asphalt after the news conference. But the pink foul poles and fantasies remained.

Paul Levy • 612-673-4419 For ballpark information, go to www.twinsbaseball.com/newballpark. • plevy@startribune.com

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