The Winter 2010 issue of
Next American City magazine says that downtown Minneapolis's Target Field has had a "transformative effect" on its surroundings.
With a record-setting 3 million-plus attendees in the first year, "the park is perhaps the first example of a publicly financed sports stadium done right," even beyond sports, it states.
Target Field, it boasts, is the country's second LEED-certified major league ballpark, with numerous green features, plus easy access to light rail, buses, the popular Nice Ride bike-sharing program, and other transit-oriented developments. The stadium has brought a neighborhood feel to an otherwise business-y district, it goes on.
The story quotes Andrew Dahl who works for the city's economic development office. Noting a dramatic increase in the use of public transportation, biking, and walking, along with more foot traffic to nearby restaurants and bars plus the emergence of pedicabs and street food vendors, Dahl states, "I think when we look back 10 or 20 years from now at what Minneapolis has become, this stadium will really be the definitive turning point."