twins/mlb

The "O" word was uttered for the first time at a Metropolitan Sports
Facilities Commission meeting Wednesday.

Outdoor baseball.

In the wake of the public buyout of Target Center, with the Twins' Metrodome lease potentially open in 1997 and with the Vikings seeking to improve their revenues, the commission yesterday put on hold 18 months of planning and a roomful of architects' drawings aimed at massive Metrodome improvements.

Why?

Ostensibly, to be certain that the plans - which include an outdoor plaza, new elite seating, improved concession stands and more women's restrooms - reflect the financial needs of the Dome's prime tenants, the Vikings and Twins.

Why? Really why? Outdoor baseball.

"We need to finally, once and for all, and in the public forum, discuss the question of whether there should be a second and outdoor stadium and, if so, how it would be paid for," said commissioner Paul Thatcher.

Twins President Jerry Bell said later in the day that any talk of an outdoor ballpark is premature. Asked if the Twins want an outdoor stadium, Bell said, "Not necessarily."

Sports Commission Chairman Henry Savelkoul said he and Bell talked about an outdoor stadium Tuesday as part of a discussion "about options" in remodeling the Dome. Of an outdoor stadium that would cost upwards of $100 million, Savelkoul said: "I don't think there's political support for it."

The timeout in the ambitious Dome remodeling effort came as both the Twins and Vikings are seeking larger takes from stadium revenues and are expressing displeasure with what's on the drawing board. Costs concern both teams: $17 million was to be spent over the next four years to remodel the 13-year-old Metrodome. The teams, along with (sometimes) the University of Minnesota men's athletic department, have been included during the planning stages.

But Bell said: "The architects came in with plans that involved concourses and greenways to downtown. They ignored the seating areas."

In a memo that Bell gave to Dome executive director Bill Lester on Tuesday, he noted that the Twins' long-term financial health depends on new revenue from the Dome.

Bell wrote that the Twins have the fewest number of lower-level infield seats in the major leagues. He also wrote that the Dome's upper deck area outside the infield - generally considered the worst seats in a stadium - takes up 45 percent of the Twins' ticket pool. Besides, Bell wrote, five sections in the lower level have seats that face toward center field, not home plate.

The Dome's remodeling plans take into account some needs for the Twins to add prime seats, but commission staff members acknowledged that no manufacturers have developed stadium chairs that could move back and forth to accommodate the different sight lines for football and baseball. Since its opening in 1982, the Dome always has been considered more of a football stadium than a baseball park.

The Twins have been sending mixed signals, commission members said. On one hand, Bell delivered that four-page memo to Lester detailing the Twins' needs in the Dome for revenue sources such as luxury suites, advertising signs and more concession opportunities.

Bell and other Twins executives always cite Minnesota's unpredictable weather and the convenience of the Dome when it comes to the certainty that games will be played.

On the other hand, Bell's memo discusses extensively the "customer-friendly" aspects of a new generation of stadiums that "are a renaissance version for the game and its roots. Baltimore's Camden Yards has become the standard for baseball stadiums, not only for its amenities but for its ability to provide high-quality seating throughout the facility."

Asked if the Dome could be remodeled to be the best football and baseball facility in the country, Bell said, "That would be very difficult."