About
Target Center :-
The Target Center, official home to the Minnesota
Timberwolves and the  Minnesota Lynx, was the first
indoor arena designated to be a completely non-smoking
facility. At a cost of $104 million dollars, the
Target Center first opened its doors on October
13th, 1990, and hosted its first Timberwolves
game on October 16th of that year, in which the
team played the 76ers. Construction took a total
of 27 months, and the facility currently takes
up 1.5 square blocks in downtown Minneapolis.
The total square footage adds up to over 830,000
square feet, and the arena weighs over 4.1 million
pounds. It is capable of holding 19,000 people
at any given time. There are approximately 18,500
permanent, theatre-style seats in the Target Center,
with additional temporary seating possibilities.
 Restrooms are scattered throughout the two concourse
levels of the venue, with over 60% of these designed
for women. Changing levels within the center is
made with ease through the use of the eighteen escalators
and 9 elevators in their floor-to-floor transport
system. There are possibilities for ten different
floor set-ups, and a 2600 foot linear catwalk. The
backstage area of the Target Center can hold up
to five semi trucks unloading at the same time,
and has ten dressing rooms each equipped with its
own shower and restroom for the convenience of any
performer set. Additionally, the downtown location
for the Northwest Athletic Club is located in the
basement of the Target Center, utilizing approximately
160,000 square feet of the arena’s space.
The venue was originally owned by
Mary Wolfenson and Harvey Raftner, and was sold
to the City of Minneapolis in March of 1995. Management
of the arena was turned over to SFX Entertainment
in 2000, which was sold to Clear Channel, owner
of many local radio stations, in 2001. Management
of the Target Center again changed hands in May
of 2004, when the Minnesota Timberwolves and Nederlander
concerts created a joint-venture management company
called Midwest Entertainment. The arena was designed
to fit the needs of all types of entertainment,
and plays host to events ranging from basketball
to concerts, family shows to moto-cross. The Target
Center has hosted a wide range of big name acts,
including U2, Motley Crue, Snoop Dogg, Elton John,
Coldplay, Bon Jovi, Celtic Tiger, Josh Groban,
Green Day, Sting, Jimmy Buffett, Beyonce and Disney
on Ice.
The Target Center boasts ownership
of one of only two movable arena floors in the
country, which can be fully raised or lowered
in 25 minutes. There are over 20 concession stands
located throughout the venue, and if none of these
fit your fancy, the arena is in a central location
to some of the best eateries in the Twin Cities.
The Target Center is connected by skyway to many
of the surrounding parking ramps, ensuring that
its patrons never have to step outside in the
arctic winter conditions.
The front lobby of the Target Center,
located off of First Street in Minneapolis across
from the Graves hotel, is an enormous 11,000 square
feet, and features a state of the art neon lighting
sculpture that dominates the décor. This
piece of art is one of the largest neon sculptures
in the United States, and is a must-see attraction
when visiting this arena.
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