Not quite sure what Target's naming-rights deal for the new Twins stadium in Minneapolis means for the Target Center and the Timberwolves. Will Target continue both naming rights deals in the same market, literally two blocks from each other or is this a transition to get out of the Target Center and roll into Target Field in 2010?
It's unusual for a brand to have two naming rights deals in the same market.
Also, the Twins have a highest reach in the Twins Cities among the market's other pro teams (Vikings, Wild and Wolves) and that's playing indoors at the (sagging) Metrodome for many years. I'm sure Twins fans -- and, perhaps more importantly, non-fans -- will be excited to experience Major League Baseball outdoors for a change.
Clearly, Target is aligning its brand with this new experience. In the upper-Midwest there are only a few months of the year when you can enjoy the outdoors and heading out to a first-class ballpark is a nice way to do so.
For Target, this deal will deliver prominent exposure for the brand in a top 15 Market. Further, it's likely MLB will award an upcoming All-Star game to the new stadiums, so Target can expect to reap the benefits of the new field on a national level as well. -- Liz Panich
