Venue Detail
Minnesota Timberwolves
Revenues From Sports Venues Pro Facilities Report
February, 2012
Minnesota Timberwolves
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600 1st Ave N North Minneapolis, MN 55403-1400 Phone: 612-673-1600 Fax: 612-673-1699 URL: www.nba.com/timberwolves Owner: Glenn Taylor League: National Basketball Association, Western Conference, Northwest
Venue
Target Center, 600 1st Ave N, North Minneapolis, MN 55403-1400 Owner: City of Minneapolis Managed by: AEG Facilities Built: 1990 Capacity: 19,006 Permanent concession stands: 20 Concessionaire: Sportservice Suite caterer: Sportservice Soft drink: Pepsi Cola Beer: MillerCoors
Naming rights
Sold to: Target Stores/Dayton Hudson Price: $1,875,000 Term: 6 years Expires: 2011
Ticket prices
Season tickets range from $430 to $30,100 Single tickets range from $10.00 to $800.00
Attendance
2009 average attendance: 16,845 2010 average attendance: 15,101 2011 average attendance: 15,242
Suites
Quantity: 60 Term: 1 to 5 years Price: $100,000 to $150,000 Seats: 8 to 14 Includes: Tickets to Timberwolves games, one parking pass.
Financing
The $117 million arena was originally built with private money, but was purchased by the city in 1995 and refinanced with $70.8 million in general obligation bonds guaranteed by the city and $12.6 million in tax-exempt bonds issued by the Minneapolis Community Development Agency.
City of Minneapolis leaders hope to link a $150 million renovation of the city-owned Target Center arena downtown to construction of a new Vikings stadium. While city officials would like to do this in conjunction with a new football stadium downtown, they say they will pursue the project even if the stadium lands elsewhere.
“If the football stadium went to Arden Hills, we would still essentially have the same financing plan for Target Center,” Chuck Lutz, deputy director for the city's Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) department said.
While talk of the Target Center upgrade has often taken a back seat amid discussions about a new football stadium, the city would still like to pursue the plan it outlined at the outset of the year to overhaul the 19,000-seat arena. The plan calls for the city to kick in $100 million, with another $50 million coming from the Minnesota Timberwolves organization and Los Angeles-based AEG, which manages the arena. The city has estimated the cost would be about a third of the expense of a new arena.
According to city spokesman Matt Lindstrom, the city's outstanding debt on Target Center stands at $56.1 million and is scheduled to be paid off in 2025.
The city has been making the case at the Legislature for 10 years about the need for Target Center renovations.
Built in 1990 and paid for with tax-exempt city bonds, Target Center is home to the NBA Timberwolves and the WNBA Lynx. The Timberwolves keep 95 percent of Target Center advertising signage revenue, which has increased in recent years and includes a five-year, $1 million a year deal with Pepsi which gives the soft drink maker pouring rights at the Target Center along with commercial tie-ins and other considerations. In addition to the Timberwolves, the Target Center is also home to the Roller Hockey International Minnesota Arctic Blast.
The Lynx offers luxury suite rentals at $250 per game, including 20 tickets.
The building got a new club in 2004. The Cambria Club is an exclusive space for only 148 members. The cost is $2,000 up front, then $6,000 a year. The price includes tickets, dinner and other perks. Eight suites were eliminated to make room for the club. The club is named for a local firm that purchased naming rights for four years. Floor seats are $19,350 per season.
Competition from the new Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul has cut into Minneapolis' earnings from the Target Center. The problem is expected to create a deficit of up to $22 million by 2025 in the city's bond budget.
Agents are more willing to book the new building than to look at the older facility. The newer building has been able to book acts including Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen.
Minneapolis has also been hurt by a reduction in the Target Center's property assessment, cutting back property tax collections. The state also opted not to provide a $1.7 million capital improvement grant that it promised. (Basketball, Facilities, Financial, NBANBA, Professional Sports)