The Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx today announced a series of tours open to the public to get a behind the scenes look at Target Center as it undergoes renovation. The arena renovations will be complete in time for the 2017-18 Timberwolves season.
Tours will be offered every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in August and September, with the exception that no tours will be offered on Saturday, September 2. The tours will happen in one-hour increments, which go from 4-7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 10 a.m.-2 p.m .on Saturdays.
To sign up, fans can visit www.timberwolves.com/NewDigs and select a date and time. The team says space is limited.
Ted Johnson, the Timberwolves and Lynx chief strategy officer, led the media on a tour of the facility today.
We began by entering through the skyway entrance. Immediately it’s clear that the arena concourses have been opened up and the bars and concession stands have been re-done.
The Target Center floors are being re-done, with a new ice surface added so that the Target Center can host events like the NCHC Championship tournament as well as Disney On Ice and similar shows.
New seating is being installed, with more premium seating behind the basket and larger, updated luxury boxes above the lower bowl.
The concourses are opened up to the extent they can be, and better lighting, brick and wood finish make them more warm. The space Johnson is standing near is the new retail area, which will include uniforms with the new logo for their new era.
This is also the area where the SixOneTwo Lounge will be.
TCL SixOneTwo Lounge, a premium space for concert goers and select season ticket members, is located on the arena’s skyway level across from the arena gates. Target Center guests will enjoy direct, private access to the concourse through the skyway.
The space will offer a menu curated by local chef and Timberwolves & Lynx food and beverage consultant David Fhima, which will feature stadium and local favorites along with a variety of specialty beers and cocktails. The food and beverage items will be available a la carte.
The almighty trough has been removed, Johnson said. You can see the renovated bathrooms behind him in this video.
Not only are the concourses more open, but they also will be less claustrophobic. Not only will there be more natural light, but patrons will also get views of the surrounding downtown area.
The biggest addition to the Target Center, however, is the atrium. It will not only allow for great views of downtown and a place for people to socialize before games, but it also allows people to see what is going on at the arena that day, whether it’s a Timberwolves game, a concert or another event.
The locker rooms have been expanded. The Wolves will have their own locker room, while the Lynx will use the visitor’s facility for their home games. The locker rooms were incredibly cramped before, especially for athletes the size of NBA players. Now they are a more standard size.
The showers have been redone, and in between both locker rooms are training rooms and other player amenities.
And finally the main entrance has been designed similarly to the atrium, with plenty of windows and open space. The George Mikan statue has been placed here.
The entire project was expected to cost $140 to $142 million, with the city picking up $74 million of that amount. According to their website, 75 percent of all events at Target Center are something other than Timberwolves games. The team lease runs through 2035.
