| CITY OVERVIEW
Stay in Minneapolis |
The
Twin Cities have become one of the most popular sporting cities to live
and visit in the USA. Minneapolis-St Paul is located within a region that
seemingly has thousands of lakes. No wonder the 50’s basketball team was
called the Minnesota Lakers (later to become the LA Lakers) Downtown
Minneapolis is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. One of
the features of the downtown area is its modern and clean feel, with a
pedestrian-only mall dominating the centre of the City and the glass built
high rises linked by enclosed overhead walkways known as Skyways. The
place to go at night is the Warehouse District, northwest of downtown. The
cities nicest and trendiest restaurants are housed in old brick warehouses
in the District. Nearby
Dinkytown, a riverfront district that abuts the huge University of
Minneapolis (with a student
enrolment of over 55,000), is like many other university precinct with
lots of bookstores, cafes and small shops that adds to the impressive mix
that exists within Minneapolis. The
fifth most visited museum in the US is not in New York or Chicago but in
Minneapolis. The Walker Art Centre is about 2km south-west of the downtown
area has a huge collection of modern art and photography. The ultra-modern
Sculpture Garden adjoins the Center, making the whole area a celebration
of 20th Century culture. Many
people, however, have no intention of going to Minneapolis for such
cultural inhalation as they have only one thing in mind – shopping! The
Mall of America is probably the most famous shopping and entertainment
mall in the world – if not the largest. What can you say about a mall
with over 500 stores, 70 restaurants, 14 movie screens, a wedding chapel,
an 18-hole mini-golf course, an aquarium and an amusement park. It's
actually the USA's fifth-most visited attraction! The Mall lies in the
suburb of Bloomington, which is not far from downtown Minneapolis and the
airport. |
| GETTING THERE
Fly to Minneapolis Within USA
|
Minneapolis-St
Paul International Airport, a major regional hub of Northwest
Airlines, is located some 15 km south of the downtown area. MCTO Route 7
connects the Mall and the Downtown area to the Airport.
The
Greyhound bus company was 'born' in Minnesota in the 1920s. There are
Greyhound depots in downtown Minneapolis (950 Hawthorne Ave), downtown St
Paul (W 166 University Avenue) and at the airport. The Amtrak station is
stuck inconveniently between the Twin Cities at 730 Transfer Road, St
Paul. Buses connect the downtown areas of St Paul and Minneapolis to this
location. Metropolitan
Council Transit Operations (MCTO) runs local buses in the Twin Cities
metro area. Both downtown areas have limited trolley systems that are
augmented by extensive elevated Skyway walkways between downtown
buildings. |
| NFL
MINNESOTA VIKINGS |
The NFL’s Minnesota Vikings came into being in 1960. They have been a regular playoff contender throughout the years, but never seem to quite get there. Although champions in 1960 and 1961, the Vikings have never won a Superbowl, with a Buffalo-esque record of 4 losing Super bowls in 1969, 1973, 1974 and 1976. The Vikings are looking to move from the Superdome to a new location at the University of Minnesota. |
| NBA
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES |
The NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves joined the NBA for the 1989-90 season as part of a two-phase league expansion that also brought in Orlando, Miami, and Charlotte. But the Timberwolves weren't the first pro basketball franchise in Minneapolis. The Minneapolis Lakers of the early 1950s had been the dominant team of that era (see LA Lakers). The Timberwolves really didn’t become a force until the 1996-1997 season where they went close to their first .500 season. It was the forerunner for winning seasons ever since. |
| MLB
MINNESOTA TWINS |
The original Minnesota Twins MLB franchise was the Washington Senators, which lasted from 1901 to 1960. The Twins have been in existence in Minneapolis since then. In total, the franchise has won 3 World Series, 6 Pennants and 8 playoff appearances. Their last World Series win was as recent as 1991, although they haven’t made the playoffs since then. In fact, rumours have persisted for some time that the Twins franchise is in danger of leaving Minneapolis, although at the time of writing they were still hanging on. |
| NHL
MINNESOTA WILD Ticket information through NHL
|
The Minnesota Wild is another of the NHL teams to start most recently in 2000. The Wild began with a creditable 25 wins in their first season. |
| WNBA
MINNESOTA LYNX |
The Minnesota Lynx WNBA team are one of the more disappointing teams in the WNBA since their entry in 1999, sometime threatening but never really making the playoffs – especially in the tough Western Conference. |
| THE TARGET CENTER |
The Target Center hosts the Timberwolves and the Lynx and is located in the Entertainment District of Minneapolis at 600 First Avenue North Minneapolis. The Center is located on the northwest side of downtown on First Avenue North, between 6th and 7th Streets and it is within walking distance of most Downtown hotels. Opened in 1990, the Center has a capacity of 19,000. Interestingly, the Target Center was the first major arena in the USA to be designated non-smoking. By public transit, take any downtown bus to Nicollet Mall & 7th. Walk approximately three blocks West to the Target Center. |
| HUBERT
HUMPHREY METRODOME
|
The Hubert Humphrey Metrodome hosts the Vikings and the Twins and is located in downtown Minneapolis at 34 Kirby Puckett Place, Minneapolis. Opened in 1982, it has a capacity of 56,000 for baseball and 63,000 for football. The Metrodome is covered by more than 10 acres of fibreglass, which makes it is one of the most interesting and different stadiums to visit. It is considered a better football stadium then a baseball stadium. The dome is considered to be a batters paradise, which can prove problematic for fans trying to follow the flight of a ball against the white background of the domed roof. One piece of trivia is that in a match in 1984, the ball was hit through the roof. Interestingly, the hit was not scored a home run but a double. The roof has also been split by several snow and windstorms, causing delays to games whilst the split is repaired. It is the only air-supported dome used in baseball, and fans enter the park through revolving doors that prevent release of the air that keeps the dome upright. The roof requires 250,000 cubic feet of air pressure per minute to remain inflated, and on at least three occasions slight tears caused by heavy snows have caused the roof to deflate. As the Metrodome is in central downtown, most buses go close to walking distance to the Dome. |
| THE XCEL ENERGY CENTER |
The Xcel Energy Center hosts the Wild and is located at 175 West Kellogg Street, St Paul, some 20km east of downtown Minneapolis. Opened in 2000, the Center has a capacity of 19,000. It is located on the site of the old Saint Paul Civic Center Arena in downtown Saint Paul. The Center is well integrated within the downtown area, with direct connection to the Saint Paul River Centre, Convention Center and Roy Wilkins Auditorium. Public transit access to downtown St Paul is provided on Metro Bus Route 94C that runs express between Minneapolis and St Paul. |
| GOLF
Early
August - Champions Tour 3M Championship, TPC of the Twin Cities, Minneapolis. Ticket information to come |
The Twin Cities TPC Course is located at 11444 Tournament Players Parkway in Blaine, some 25km north of downtown Minneapolis. From downtown, you can catch a Metro Bus Route 250 to Lexington and Pheasant Ridge Drive, which is within 3 km of the course and then either walk along 109th Street to the course or hail a taxi. It is clearly not the most transit accessible facility around and there are only services in the AM and PM peak hours (6.00am to 9.00am and 3.00pm to 6.00pm), with no services on weekends. |
| HORSE
RACING
Canterbury
Downs Racetrack, 1100 Canterbury Road, Shakopee, Minnesota (season: mid
May 17 to early September) Tickets available at course |
Canterbury Downs is located some 25km south-west of downtown Minneapolis, just off Highway 169. There is a free racetrack shuttle bus service from the Mall of America Transit Centre. To get to the Mall of America from downtown, catch Metro Bus Route 180 Express. |
| NCAA
SPORTS - DIVISION 1
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA TWIN CITIES |
The UMTC Golden Gophers are primarily located on the ‘East Bank’ between University Av and the Mississippi River, about 2 km east of downtown. The Gophers have teams in most sports, including football and men’s and women’s basketball. The football team’s matches are played out of the Metrodome, which is only about 2km back across the River in downtown Minneapolis. The basketball teams play out of Williams Arena, or ‘the Barn’, which has a capacity of 14,000 and is rated one of the top five college stadiums in the country and is located within the campus on the ‘East Bank’. The campus is quite walkable from downtown – just go down 4th Street, which leads to Washington Av, which goes over the Mississippi and then through the campus. Metro Bus Route 16 goes straight through the University from downtown Minneapolis (and St Paul for that matter). |
