Target Field, Minnesota Twins agree on biggest maintenance expense: new scoreboard and control room

Target Field and the Minnesota Twins agreed Thursday to split the cost of the biggest maintenance project yet at the ballpark, now playing host to its 12th season.

The Minnesota Ballpark Authority (MBA), the public body that owns and operates the ballpark, will tap its capital improvement fund for $7.6 million for the first phase of the project: tearing apart and replacing the production control room.

The second part of the project will replace the giant left-field scoreboard, which is run from the production room. The entire project is projected to cost nearly $33 million, a sum expected to be evenly split between the team and the MBA.

"We have not used the capital expenditure fund very much in the first 12 years of the stadium," MBA Chairwoman Margaret Anderson Kelliher said before the vote, adding that the Pohlad family, owners of the Twins, have funded most of the improvements.

If the $33 million cost holds, the MBA will have spent just over $23 million from its reserve account, according to executive director Dan Kenney. The Twins' total spending on capital projects since the building opened in 2010 will be about $58 million.

The Twins and Hennepin County, which covered nearly two-thirds of the stadium's construction cost, make annual contributions to the MBA's reserve account for the ballpark's maintenance. The fund, intended for projects that benefit both the public and the team, receives roughly $2.5 million annually — about $1 million from the team and the remainder from the county. Past improvements include LED field lighting and reconfiguration of a concourse.

When the scoreboard and control room project is complete in November 2022, the MBA capital reserve fund should have about $6 million on hand with no major projects imminent, Kenney said.

The Twins themselves will foot the bill for another offseason project: replacing the turf. Like the scoreboard and control room, the turf hasn't been touched since the building opened. Twins vice president Matt Hoy estimated the cost of that project at about $250,000.

While the turf is due to be replaced, Hoy said that placing an ice rink on Target Field's infield for the 2022 NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 1 will destroy the field and make a new one necessary.

Meanwhile, work already is underway off-site on the new control room. Alpha Video in Eden Prairie has begun building the components at its headquarters.

The control room, actually a series of rooms with windows overlooking the field on the upper deck above the first-base line, will be ripped out after the hockey game. The old scoreboard will remain in place through the 2022 season, Hoy said.

MBA member James Campbell asked about the appearance of the new scoreboard, saying he was impressed this week with the one at Coors Field during the All-Star Game in Denver. "It sure looked a lot better than what we have now," Campbell said.

Anderson Kelliher said the current Target Field system "does show some wear, certainly the video board does."

Hoy said the team hasn't yet determined the specifications of the new board, but for fans in the ballpark the images will be noticeably crisper — especially significant when showing replays of action on the field.

In other updates, Hoy said the Twins welcome the return of fans to the ballpark after restrictions due to COVID-19.

The season started with crowd size limited under state order to 10,500. As of July 1, there are no capacity restrictions. Hoy said the Twins have hosted 620,000 fans through 48 games this season.

"We are honored and proud to be part of the reanimation and opening of downtown," he said. The transition has been mostly smooth, he noted, with minimal incidents or public safety concerns.

There remains difficulty staffing the concession stands. Hoy said that Delaware North, the ballpark's concessions operator, has been busing workers from Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Louis for Twins' homestands. The concessionaire has been holding job fairs, offering $500 signing bonuses and benefits to try to entice workers.

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747

Twitter: @rochelleolson