A pretty little package...

 

 

"I think we are running out of lipstick to put on this pig..."

I took some Marketing while at the U of M. Not much, just enough to fill out my distribution. I do remember some of the things that where taught in that class. When designing a product, the way it is presented is vitally important. However, once the package is opened, and if the product is not up to expectations, the "jig is up". It will not matter how pretty the package is - word will get out, and people will not buy the product.

I am one of the few who was never was in favor of Target Field. Yes, I have been there, and it is very nice. However, there are some basic problems:

• The product sucks. During the first year, the team played way beyond their skill level and were competitive. Hot team, shiny new stadium. Life was good, the weather was good, and tickets were hard to come by. In the following years, the weather became more "Minnesota like" and the Twins played more like the minor league team they have devolved into.
• The location stinks. Only central planners with their heads up their ... never mind... would build an expensive stadium next to a garbage burner. Plus parking is in short supply, and what there is cost an arm and a leg. Dumb and dumber. The stadium should have been built where the Guthrie is. The team had their chance, but let that choice real estate escape them.
• The size stinks. Talk about no plans for the future. The stadium is very undersized for professional baseball. If the Twin Cities grow like the central planners desire, there is no way to enlarge the stadium for more seating. It will become a stadium only for the rich or well connected.
• The design stinks. We have had rain outs, snow outs, almost cold outs and blistering hot evenings. Milwaukee had the right idea when they built Miller Park. It looks sharp, has a ton of easy parking, and has a retractable roof.

Now we stand on the precipice of building yet another shiny new package for a lousy team. Again, this stadium, as supported by the central planners, will fall short. First off, it should have a retractable roof. I know it will have a million bird killing windows in it, but most of us remember the good old days of sitting in the autumn sun on a 60 degree day watching some good football. With this expensive boondoggle, it will not happen.

In the very near future, we will have Target Field, a new Vikings stadium, TCF Field, and a refurbished Target Center. Four new or newly remodeled venues. What do they all have in common? They are nice, shiny boxes that contain lousy products. Not one of the teams is up to the privilege of playing in venues as nice as what the taxpayers have bought for them.

I guess it is okay though. The central planners have gotten their wish. Make the Twin Cities look good so we can draw talent from other parts of the country. Maybe if we have enough glare from our pretty boxes, it will blind people to the crime and extreme taxes they will find once they move here.