Heat Turned on at Target Field

MINNEAPOLIS - The first games at the Target Field are still several weeks away, but work is starting now to make sure the team's new home is ready to go just Tuesday morning. The heaters in the field were turned on to melt all the snow.

Gary Glawe is the Building Director of Ballpark Systems. Tuesday at 10am he turned the heat on under Target Field for the first time. The snow covered baseball diamond currently sits at a comfortable 40 degrees.

“It’s extremely exciting. I’ve operated buildings in the past but this is like no other it’s the chance of a lifetime,” says Glawe. “We bumped it up about 5 degrees from where it was at. It’s been kind of stuck at 35 degrees all winter long with the heavy snow we’ve had was a good insulator. We do it gradually so we don’t shock the system with a bunch of cold water. We try to do it gradually so it’s a nice slow gradually process.”

While Glawe watches the snow melt other Twin employees are testing, practicing, and training on new equipment. Everything from the scoreboard to the suites to the stadium’s nerve center must are being finalized.

“What we’ve built here is a high def television studio essentially we have a producer we have a director we have operators camera people and they will produce the game internally,” says Kevin Smith, executive director of public relations.

Twins Field must be ready to play on by March 27. The Gophers will be the first team to play on the field in a game against Louisiana.