The Twins' number of tickets sold per game has fallen by 30 percent since Target Field opened in 2010. And, unless our eyes are lyin', the number of people actually occupying seats has fallen by a larger percentage.
A bigger hit is on the way for 2015, particularly in the tickets-sold category. The incentive of being able to acquire All-Star tickets allowed the Twins to stay around 17,000 season tickets in 2014. I'm guessing even with the pleading phone calls they won't top 12,000 in season tickets next season.
Take away 5,000 season tickets per game and the Twins in Year 6 of the new ballpark would be at 1.85 million in official attendance — their lowest total since 2001 in the Metrodome.
As for sponsorships, I'm told a number of important corporate customers signed for five years when Target Field opened, which means they would now be expired and targets for the Wild (popular), the Vikings (new stadium on the way) and the Timberwolves (perhaps revitalized) to try to steal away.
And the Twins' marketing approach to this looming business disaster in Target Field? It was basically to announce last week, through the Star Tribune and baseball reporter Phil Miller, that the plan for 2015 is to spend nothing, do nothing, and hope for a miracle.
Jim Pohlad is about the last CEO in baseball still reciting the Bud Selig mantra from a decade ago, about teams trying to stick to 50 percent of revenues for payroll. The Twins dragged that out again as an excuse to stay at $86 million in 2015, which would once again put them in the bottom fifth in MLB in payroll.
There was also the tired assurance from General Manager Terry Ryan that payroll isn't an obstacle to winning.
That doesn't work as logic, Mr. Ryan, not when 47 percent ($40.5 million) of that $86 million is set aside for three players — Joe Mauer, Ricky Nolasco and Mike Pelfrey — coming off miserable or nonexistent seasons.
