A sun-soaked infield greeted the Wild on Monday afternoon when team personnel and a few players got a glimpse of Target Field ahead of the Winter Classic, but that's not how the ballpark will look for the game on New Year's Day.
Puck drop between the Wild and Blues will be at 6 p.m., the first Winter Classic the NHL has scheduled for the evening.
"It's going to be so entirely different," Wild owner Craig Leipold said while tucked into the shade just off home plate. "What we're going to remember on Jan. 1 is that we sat out here [Monday] in the hot sun with sunglasses on. It's probably going to be zero degrees. It's going to be fun. It'll be surreal."
After clamoring to host the NHL's signature event for years, the Wild had to wait a little longer for the spotlight.
The team was originally awarded the 2020 Winter Classic, but the season was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the game ultimately scrapped from the schedule. In June, the league green-lighted a 2021 version and presented it back to the Wild. A weeklong celebration is expected to be part of the festivities, with alumni and youth games a possibility.
"We just sat back and said, 'OK. Let's just keep everything,'" Leipold said. "We had the jerseys ready. We had everything ready. A lot of the work was already complete. This is an easier transition to get to because we had so much done."
Target Field was always the desired backdrop for a Wild-themed Winter Classic, and the rink will cover second base with the end boards stretching toward to each base line. Season-ticket holders from the Wild, Blues and Twins had first dibs at tickets, and the response has been "great," Wild president Matt Majka said; only a limited number of tickets will be available to the public. Seating capacity is pegged at around 40,000, and the game will be televised on TNT.
Tickets go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Wednesday through Ticketmaster.