The Grass is Getting Greener

On Wednesday evening, I went out downtown with some friends for a random weeknight excursion. We parked in the large parking ramp that sits between Target Center and Target Field, and at the end of the night we decided to drive to the very top of the ramp to take a gander at the Twins' developing stadium, which the parking structure overlooks.

We parked our car, climbed up and looked over the railing and had an amazing view of the grounds crew laying sod on the outfield (which was nearly completely covered) and spraying water all about. While it was the middle of the night, huge lighting fixtures brought everything into view and the scene was -- to me -- absolutely surreal. I've stopped by to check out the new stadium at various points during its construction, but this was easily the most complete view I've ever had of its interior, and it was also the first time the building has really and truly looked like a ballpark. Beautiful green grass now spans the outfield, the infield diamond is clearly visible, a giant scoreboard highlights the left field sight-line, and dark green seats populate the stands, which are separated by huge lit-up concourses enclosed in glass. One really must see the inside of the stadium in person to understand just how small and intimate it is, especially when compared to the Metrodome. There is not going to be a single bad seat in this park. My vantage point from the adjacent parking ramp gave me a better view of the field than I've had from Upper GA on Student Nights at the Dome.

Here are a couple photos I snapped with my cell phone. Not the best quality, obviously, but it should give you some idea of how things are starting to look.