The Twins’ April Downgrade
Teams have been known to close their stadiums’ upper decks to reduce costs when they simply can’t attract fans. The fan-challenged Oakland A’s and Tampa Bay Rays are obvious examples. The Twins are joining that group, temporarily, in April, but for a somewhat different purpose.
April is baseball’s cruelest month, after October. Target Field, seating north of 38,000, could not accommodate mid-season levels of demand using only the lower deck (unlike the A’s or Rays), which holds roughly 26,000. But April is the team’s lowest-demand month, and many nights there are only a couple thousand souls up top, fewer if it’s cold or wet. They put up with icy winds, weak hitting, and closed concession stands.
Closing the upper bowl tactically had never been tried, but then last season the team hosted after-game concerts and invited upper deck fans down to the lower bowl for the show. The consensus was it made the atmosphere more energized and fun, says vice president of ticket sales and strategy Eddie Eixenberger: “The environment was dramatically improved.”
Though the team will inevitably save some money not staffing the upper deck and several concession stands, Eixenberger insists the motivation is improving season ticket holder benefits. The Twins have roughly 1,000 (of 12,000) season ticket holders (STH) up top, and Eixenberger’s group decided to upgrade them down for all but the Cleveland series in April. (It includes opening day / weekend, which should be well-patronized, though Sunday’s weather forecast may indicate otherwise).
To prepare, the team did not offer upper deck tickets for sale (except the outfield stands, which remain open) during April, meaning only STH are affected. They will be relocated on the fly when they arrive at the ballpark to thinly sold sections down the first and third base lines. They won’t be seated next to fans in pricey sections behind the plate, Eixenberger says. Early arrivers will get somewhat better seats, he adds.
The experiment will be a success if surveys deem the STH reaction as favorable. Target Field’s lower deck has more food options and better shielding from rain, but fans may not necessarily prefer the new seat with different sightlines. But if they’re mostly content, the team might consider expanding the downgrade to lower-demand series next April and May, Eixenberger says.
Of course, if the Twins get to the World Series and double their season ticket base, such a move would likely never be feasible, which is the outcome Twins executives and fans probably like best.
