Opinion
Twins deserve to move out of Metrodome
April 20, 2007
There is no doubt in my mind that the Twins deserve their new stadium. Never mind about the team's incredible season last year, which is the stuff Hollywood movies are inspired by, or the fact that the Twins have the best pitcher in baseball in Johan Santana, the American League's batting champ, Joe Mauer and the most valuable player, Justin Morneau. Forget about the fact that the Twins are a team in just about every sense of the word —something pretty rare in professional sports lately and are quite entertaining both on the field and in sports columns in the Star Tribune. The Twins deserve a new stadium because the Metrodome is the biggest shithole on the planet and the fans are suffering for it.
That's a bit of an exaggeration, but when you are watching a game and your hard plastic seat is angled toward the outfield rather than the diamond, the knees of the giant behind you are knocking into your head and your neighbor just spilled beer all over your shoes because the cup holder is at a 45 degree angle, shithole doesn't begin to convey how much that place sucks. The whole building is like one big booby trap for opposing teams, which would be great except for the occasional Twin who gets caught up in the snare. The fact that we can manipulate what happens on the field by opening or closing a door is a testament to the Dome's shoddiness and unprofessionalisticism. Apparently there are not enough words in the English language to convey its suckiness. The Twins are good and the fans are great, but there are even more reasons to build a stadium. Baseball is meant to be played outside, and although many people may not think this is a multi-million dollar reason, it's only because they haven't been to an outdoor game. It's magical.
But baseball fans are not the only ones who will benefit from the new ballpark. A lot of the ballpark money is going right back into Minnesota, with the hiring of construction workers, plumbers, electricians and so on who are in charge of getting the place up and running. Nearby business will almost certainly see a boost in their income as well, with floods of Twins fans killing time before games and celebrating afterwards. Out-of-town fans will certainly be more inclined to pay for a hotel stay with a nice new ballpark to come to instead of the Metrodome. Businesses making more money will need to hire more people to keep up with the demands and more food and merchandise needs to be shipped in; there's a huge economic chain of reactions all inspired by the excitement of a new ball park. Minnesotans have had the Metrodome so long that gratitude for the new place will certainly be years in wearing off.
You may ask yourself, 'if the Metrodome is so bad, then why do the Vikings still have to play there?'Well, the Dome is set up primarily for football, so some of the discomforts of a Twins' game don't apply. But the Dome still is not a great football facility, and in a few years Minnesotans are going to have a new football stadium to worry about. I think it would be in everyone's best interest if we spaced the construction of these sports complexes apart as much as we can. As a sports fan, it's easy for me to agree to any stadium plans, because new buildings are always fun. But even if you don't like sports at all, there still should be some appreciation for the revenue the sports industry brings to a city. Athletes make big money because people pay big money to see them and those people deserve to be accommodated. Nobody wants to eat filet mignon at a McDonald's, and I don't want to see my team in the baseball abyss known as the Metrodome.
Cassie Rodgers is a student at UW-River Falls.