Target Center Renovation

[talindsay]

Thanks for that article. A clip that surprised me:

Unsurprisingly, ESPN says the majority of the WNBA’s audience continues to be made up of men, as it has for years, not women: 66 percent of ESPN’s WNBA audience is male, and nearly half is African-American.

I'll note that when we went to finals game 1 the crowd around us were black men who were enthusiastically cheering and following the entire game, so WNBA appears to have lost the image (stigma?) it had in the early 2000s as safe, wholesome middle-class white girls' family entertainment - something less than a real professional basketball experience. It seems to be marketed now as good basketball in its own right, and certainly the quality of play has improved tremendously such that this claim is justifiable. Still, I'm surprised to see how male and black the national viewership is, and more surprised that the writer qualifies this statement as "unsurprising(ly)". I guess I haven't paid enough attention to notice that this shift perhaps happened a while back; to me the acquisition of Lindsay Whalen seemed still to be pointing to WNBA's prior strategy of positioning itself to middle-class families as role models, but maybe that's wrong.

[Didier]

I went to a WNBA Finals game the first time the Lynx made it, and the atmosphere was great and the game was as entertaining as any NBA game. I don't regularly watch any regular-season basketball of any kind, though.

While the Lynx aren't a big deal here, they've definitely crept into the mainstream consciousness in the last couple years. Of course they are historically good right now and have one of the best players in the world, so that helps.

I'm always kind of surprised by the nature of Twin Cities sports fandom. We have a great culture of participation in sports of all kinds, but a lot of the niche professional sporting events are really niche. All that's ever talked about are our big four teams and occasionally the Gophers big three. Other events that seem like they should get a lot of support — like the Nature Valley Grand Prix, the Lifetime Triathlon, the TC 1 Mile race down Nicollet Mall, and even sports like Gophers volleyball — are basically non-existent in our mainstream sports culture. The Lynx seem to finally be breaking through.

[go4guy]

You would be surprised at Gopher Volleyball. I was there on Sunday, and the place was packed to the rafters. When I was at the U from 01-05, it was like that as well. They draw very well. The Sports Pavilion holds 5,700. I think that is REALLY good for college volleyball.

[Jfuss]

Presentation on the Target Center Renovation courtesy of the2020partners.com. It mainly outlines the budget of the renovation along with other general information.

http://the2020partners.com/wordpress/wp ... -19-13.pdf

Scope of renovations includes...
Building operations and back of house – stage relocation and energy conservation measures
Fan and public space, resulting in a completely different look on every level – box office/lobby, concourses, new skyway connection, renovating/adding bathrooms, food courts and concessions, and reconfiguring bowl seating
Premium spaces and suites – new club spaces on levels 1 and 2, club space improvements on levels 4 and 5
Team locker rooms and facilities
Outside building shell – media mesh and signage, creating a 360 degree experience with Target Field and the entertainment district
Technology – sound, acoustics, equipment upgrades, new scoreboard and ribbon board

Next steps will be to finalize formal agreements with the Team and AEG based on approval of the term sheets, hire an owners representative, and initiate the process to select an architect and construction manager; RFPs are expected to be issued by the end of 2013 or early in 2014. The Implementation Committee will be reconvened for three-six months of design work; their next meeting is scheduled for December 9. Construction will begin in mid-2014.

[Jfuss]

Updates on Life Time Fitness Target Center

From the2020patners.com
Will Lifetime Fitness remodeling its space?
A: Yes. The City reached an agreement with them in March. They will spend $5-6 Million to renovate their space, using their own money. The resulting club will go up many levels in Lifetime’s scale. There is a possibility that the Team will be moving its practice facility from Target Center, possibly to Block E, and that would free up more space for Lifetime.

Here are the details regarding the renovation of Life Time Fitness Target Center. Renovations supposedly started on January 20th according to their website. Here is the break down.

From Life Time Fitness...
Life Time Fitness Target Center is upgrading your experience. A multi-million dollar renovation will take place requiring two phases of renovations.

The first phase will begin this Monday, January 20 and will conclude in March 2014. Upgrades include:

Cycle studio remodel will take place January 20 – March 2014. All cycle classes will be temporarily held in Racquetball Court #1.
Pilates studio remodel will take place January 20 – March 2014. All Pilates classes will temporarily be held in Yoga Studio 2.
We are adding $1.3M in fitness equipment, including cardio TV. There will be limited access to cardio and resistance equipment from January 27 – March 2014.
The free weight area will undergo a remodel and therefore will have no access from March 3 – May 2014.
There will be no access to the track from March 31 – June 2014 as we remodel the track.
There will be no access to the pool from March 31 – June 2014 as we remodel the pool.
There will be no access to squash courts 1 & 2 from March 3 – May 2014 as we remodel the courts into a Pilates Studio and Boxing Studio.

Phase 2 will begin in April and conclude in Fall 2014. Upgrades include:
Upgraded locker rooms
New LifeSpa and Salon
New MediSpa
New LifeClinic
New LifeCafe and Bar
Group Fitness Studio #2 renovations

[crizmois]

As a member I can confirm that the Lifetime in Target Center has begun renovations along the schedule posted above. Most of the back office, store, many studios, and most of the cardio area is closed off. They are doing their best to relocate classes and equipment for this phased renovation. As this renovation has been promised since I became a member there in 2006, it is well worth putting up with these hassles. In the temporary lobby there are great schematics of what the two-level gym will look like once the project is complete.

[go4guy]

Why would they waste money on a new scoreboard? Didnt they just get a new one a few years ago?

[Rich]

I think the “new” scoreboard is about 10 years old actually. So in terms of video technology, it’s a relic from the stone ages.

[go4guy]

Wow. Time sure does fly. And now that I think of it, didnt they just add to the old scoreboard?

[twinkess]

I really hope they keep vertical circulation between street and skyway on the corner of 1st ave and 6th st. That stairway gets a lot of use.

[seanrichardryan]

Perhaps they will even make it a pleasant experience to use it. It feels like you're sneaking through a fire exit.

[John21]

http://www.twincities.com/timberwolves/ ... ost_viewed

Look for an announcement, perhaps as soon as this week, that Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic will have a significant presence as part of the redesigned Target Center.

Included in the $97 million renovation of the downtown Minneapolis arena will be a Mayo Clinic sports medicine clinic as part of a comprehensive Timberwolves practice facility.

Target Center redesign meetings are ongoing, and it's unclear exactly when the renovation project will begin or end. Also among plans is to add a skyway to the east side of the arena, which has a skyway on the west side. The new skyway would be to allow better traffic circulation for spectators.

[ECtransplant]

So when the Mayor said the city was done building skyways, that didn't include for sports facilities?

[Silophant]

Well, that article is confusing. It implies that there's currently only a skyway on the west side of the building, but there already is a skyway on the east side of the Target Center, leading to Block E.
So no new skyways, unless they build a diagonal one to First Ave.

[twincitizen]

PiPress got it wrong. The 2020 Partners document states it is a SW connection. Unless they're planning a long, expensive connection directly into the A-ramp, I'd imagine it's just a redundant link into the skyway that parallels 2nd Ave N, between A-Ramp and B-Ramp.

[TommyT]

Looks like Mayo is teaming up with Target Center

http://www.twincities.com/timberwolves/ ... tion-works

[bubzki2]

Looks like Mayo is teaming up with Target Center

http://www.twincities.com/timberwolves/ ... tion-works

Might want to check the above posts before posting... (this was already posted above)

[TommyT]

Looks like Mayo is teaming up with Target Center

http://www.twincities.com/timberwolves/ ... tion-works

Might want to check the above posts before posting... (this was already posted above)

Ah, I see that now... this isn't one that I really stay on top of. Was just reading some articles online and noticed this so thought I'd post it. Oops!

[at40man]

Glad to hear that Lifetime will be getting some love - that place was in desperate need of a renovation. It was the worst LTF I have ever been in - everything from the metal brown lockers, to neon pink and teal ceilings, to unscrupulous locker room activities.

[mplsjaromir]

Glad to hear that Lifetime will be getting some love - that place was in desperate need of a renovation. It was the worst LTF I have ever been in - everything from the metal brown lockers, to neon pink and teal ceilings, to unscrupulous locker room activities.

What on earth are you talking about? I went to that place for years and never saw anything that could be described as "unscrupulous". It is a good facility, the lockers are old, but everything seemed to good shape otherwise.