Lore, A-Rod Targeting Farmers Market Location for New Timberwolves Arena

Things couldn’t be more murky at this point, but there is no denying a new arena must be in the works. As the 29th oldest arena in the league, renovations continue to cost the franchise more than the building is worth, and banking in on public support is a surefire way to avoid backlash.

Space Must Be Made for Timberwolves

Similar to Target Field, Target Center was built on a very small footprint. While Minneapolis is a thriving city, it is a small downtown area in relation to other large locales.

When being utilized for events outside of basketball, the arena often directs support traffic to parking locations across from the Salvation Army under Interstate-394. The space around the arena leaves little room from operating procedures, and the parking situation can become tumultuous.

This isn’t the first time that land near the farmers market area has become a hot commodity. Shama says, “The United soccer club wanted to buy land in the area and build a stadium.  In the 1990s the Twins, looking to escape indoor baseball at the Metrodome, had the area on its list of possible sites for a stadium.”

How new ownership would go about funding the stadium remains unclear, but without a doubt, Lore and A-Rod would want public funding for this project. The problem with doing that in Minneapolis, according to Shama’s reporting, is the Minneapolis City Council, just as Uber and Lyft, which were nearly forced to vacate the city too.

It’s known the city has limited financial resources to keep up with Target Center improvements and probably limited intent to help with a new arena.  Members of the council are viewed by many Minnesotans as having anti-business positions and for taking controversial stances such as their spring ordinance for higher pay for Uber and Lyft drivers that almost ended badly needed service in the city for everyone from bar patrons to people with disabilities needing transportation for medical appointments.

“That city council is kind of crazy,” said the former NBA insider.

A former city insider said council members “don’t get it” as to where money comes from to run the state’s largest municipality.  She cited a lack of awareness about how important city sports and entertainment venues are to tax revenues. During and after the pandemic and George Floyd phenomenon, the number of downtown workers and visitors dropped dramatically. A saving grace for city coffers, she said, are the ticket tax revenues generated by patrons at Target Center, Target Field and U.S. Bank Stadium.

David Shama – Shama Sports Headliners

But even if the aging, rich man in Minnesota Glen Taylor stays in charge, Target Center has to go. Outside of winning a title, no time has presented itself as a better option to spark those discussions than now. The future is bright for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and they need an arena that befits that hope.