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Why the Twins need a new ballpark


The Twins deserve a new stadium. They have won two World Series titles in the past 15 years. Not even the Atlanta Braves can say that! Plus the Twins are considered a very small market team, which makes winning the World Series even more difficult.

The Twins are losing a ton of money in the Metrodome. One Senator said the Twins have been losing money because they have given in to rising players' salaries. Let's examine this shall we? 

The Twins have not "given in" to rising player salaries. The Twins (out of 30 major league teams) rank LAST in MLB in player salaries with a total payroll of only $25 million. The Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers spend over $100 million on their payrolls each.

A few years back the North Stars left. Now Minnesota is scheduled to get a expansion hockey team. Why let the Twins go when the state will be pleading for an expansion team in a few years. Keep the team you already have, keep the Twins.

I'm really tired of the "The Twins can't fill the stadium they have now! Why do they need a new one?" argument. That is ludicrous. Of course the Twins can t fill the Dome, they aren't very good. How can they be? They can't afford a good team. They only make 1/4 of the money other teams do. If the new park is built, it means more money for players, a better team, more people in the seats and more world championships in Minnesota!

Let's look at some problems with the Metrodome.

Poor Sightlines: The Metrodome is rectangular in shape with ideal sightlines for football, but poor for baseball. All of the seats in the Metrodome are oriented towards the 50 yard line, which makes the Metrodome a great place to watch football. However, the ideal focal point for baseball is the pitcher's mound, which makes the Metrodome a poor place to watch a baseball game.

Lack of Quality Seating:Most Major League Baseball stadiums have an average of 25,000 seats that can be sold as season tickets. Because of the Metrodome's rectangular shape, the Twins only have 6,000 "quality" seats considered good enough to be sold as season tickets.

Lack of Advertising Revenue:The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission controls the majority of in-stadium advertising in the Metrodome. In addition, the Metrodome does not have a naming rights contract, which has proven to be an effective revenue source for teams.

Lack of Suite Revenue:The Minnesota Vikings own all of the Metrodome's private suites and therefore collect all of the revenue they generate.

Lack of Parking Revenue: The Twins do not receive any parking revenue from the Metrodome.