You haven’t lived if you haven’t watched a basketball game in the Twin Cities. From their days rooting for the Minneapolis (now Los Angeles) Lakers, the city has been closely tied to this beautiful sport.
Basketball is more than just a game in Minnesota. And as such, Target Center is more than just a regular arena. This beautiful venue has seen the city go through a lot. Sadly, most of the stories the home teams can tell about this facility have been far from happy, given the losing nature of the franchise.
Even so, basketball enthusiasts from all over town hit the street night in and out and still attend this arena to watch their beloved Timberwolves play.
That’s why in the following paragraphs, we’re going to let you absolutely everything there is to know about this iconic arena, such as its history, renovations, dimensions, and how have the Minnesota Timberwolves fared there.
Where is the Minnesota Timberwolves Stadium?
The Minnesota Timberwolves arena, actually called Target Center, has its main entrance located at 600 First Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55403, United States right in the middle of downtown Minneapolis’ entertainment and sports district. This venue is also just around the corner of Target Field, where the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball play every home game.
How old is the Target Center?
Target Center is one of the oldest venues in the league at 33 years old. It wasn’t the first arena where the Minnesota Timberwolves played but it’s been their home since 1990. They also share the arena with the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA. In the past, this venue was also home to the Minnesota Arctic Blast of the RHL, Minnesota Moose of the IHL, Minnesota Fighting Pike of the AFL, and Minnesota Valkyrie of the LFL.
With a project led by former Timberwolves owners Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner, the construction broke ground in 1988 but it wasn’t until two years later that the arena opened its doors. Marv sold the arena to the city of Minneapolis and the rest is history.
How big is the Target Center in Downtown Minneapolis?
Let’s just put it this way: you can’t miss it. Like most sports venues, Target Center is huge. The facility is 831,533 square feet and it’s within three blocks of more than 12,000 parking spots. That’s why this arena is perfectly suited to host private events, major family shows, and top-notch sporting events all year round.
Among all seating areas, this venue boasts a capacity of 20,000 for concerts with 68 suites and 720 club seats.
Unfortunately, in the wake of the league’s newly-enforced health and safety protocols, Target Center features a strict no bag policy even for events other than Minnesota Timberwolves or Minnesota Lynx games. Most NBA arenas are implementing these guidances and also enforcing 100% cashless payments.
Midwest Entertainment Group: Who Owns Target Center In Minneapolis?
The arena’s history is quite long and dull, as Target Center underwent many changes throughout the years. The Minneapolis City Council agreed on terms for a management contract of this new arena in 1995, allowing Ogden Entertainment to manage the venue until SFX (later called Clear Channel Entertainment) reached a deal in 2000. Then, in 2004, a joint venture between the Timberwolves and Nederlander concerts called Clear Channel to Midwest Entertainment Group took over. AEG Facilities, which is also owned by the city, took over the contract in 2007 up to this day.
As for the name, it’s been known as Target Center since 1990, and the naming rights deal has been renewed every 5 years.
Minnesota Timberwolves: A Long History Of Struggles
In reality, the Timberwolves haven’t exactly been good throughout their history. They’ve only had 10 winning seasons and have never won more than 58 games. They’re one of the few teams in the National Basketball Association that has never even made it to the Finals.
They recently snapped a 13-year playoff drought and haven’t made it back to the postseason since 2018. Moreover, they’ve never gotten past the Western Conference Finals. The city of Minneapolis hasn’t seen an NBA team go past the first round of the playoffs since 2004.
Kevin Garnett has one of the best players in the world during his time with the Minnesota Timberwolves, carrying them on both ends of the floor but as you may know by now, no one can play alone.
Timberwolves’ owners broke NBA rules by signing Joe Smith to an illegal contract. They were fined and forced to forfeit their first-round picks for 5 years, so the Minnesota Timberwolves organization struggled to surround Garnett with the talent he needed to take them to the Finals. This is perhaps the most infamous event in team history.
Now, they went through a major renovation and have a young and promising core with D’Angelo Russell, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Anthony Edwards, but it still seems like it’ll be some time before they fulfill their potential.
The Minnesota Timberwolves made a lot of noise when they first entered the league. Having an NBA team in the Twin Cities area was huge and it didn’t take long before Downtown Minneapolis was stacked with kids donning their jerseys.
As a matter of fact, the Minnesota Timberwolves organization can take pride in having two of the largest attendance basketball games in history, taking 49,551 people to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in 1990 despite having a 25-57 record at the time. Sadly, they still lost that game.
Why are they called Timberwolves?
The Minnesota Timberwolves haven’t been around the NBA for that long. The team joined the league as an expansion team in 1989. And, as it usually happens when it comes to naming franchises, the fans were actually the ones to decide.
Fans submitted 1,284 different nicknames, with Timberwolves and Polars as the finalists. People submitted the name “Minnesota Timberwolves” 17 times, which doesn’t come as a surprise considering that Minnesota is home to the largest population of this animal in the lower 48 states. Notably, the Minnesota Timberwolves first logo was selected in the same way and thus, an expansion team was born.
Are they going to move the Timberwolves?
For years and given their historical struggles, plenty of people have wondered whether the Timberwolves will continue to be located in Minnesota or whether they’re going to move like the Rams or Raiders of the NFL. Some even believe that the Timberwolves would’ve been better off by moving to Seattle to bring back the Seattle Supersonics.
Nonetheless, new management led by a joint venture between Alex Rodríguez and Marc Lore has repeatedly stated that they have no intention whatsoever of taking the NBA or WNBA teams out of town. The new owners also vowed to take the team to the highest of levels and put an end to their struggles, as they want to play toe-to-toe with the best basketball teams in the world:
“Our plan is to be right here and do really, really exciting things and bring a world championship to this city,” Lore told the media, per the BizJournal.
Apparently, former owner Glen Taylor only agreed to sell the team if the management agreed to keep it in Seattle, so it seems like those diehard fans who still attend the arena have nothing to worry about. The Timberwolves will stay in Minneapolis, at least for now. Also, there aren’t plans for a new arena as of now.
The Timberwolves may not be the best basketball team to set foot on an NBA court right now. But they play with a lot of heart and basketball continues to gain more ground in the city as the years go by. So, if you’re an NBA fan looking to spend a fun night and visit a top-notch arena, then you should definitely pay Target Center a visit. Check out its website for more information, schedule, parking, and seating details, and more.
