An Inside Look At The Minnesota Timberwolves Newly Renovated Arena (Photos)
With the NBA season tipping off this week, a few weeks earlier than normal to allow for less back-to-backs amid the rigorous 82-game regular season schedule, one of the craziest off-seasons in sports history has now officially come to a conclusion.
Without question, the Timberwolves acquiring of former Bull Jimmy Butler absolutely represented one of the biggest splashes of the league’s historic summer.
Perhaps lost in the shuffle of all the big Timberwolves transactions was the recent completion of a two-year renovation of Target Center, Minnesota’s home arena since 1990. The $145 million project occurred in phases, with the final phase involving the closing of the building from mid April until last week.
This past week, iFolloSports.com was back at Target Center for a guided tour of the now fully completed makeover. Below are a series of original photos showcasing the new look downtown Minneapolis venue.
The now one-year-old high definition video board, equipped with several large video screens. The setting also has four smaller video boards in the top corners of the upper deck.
The brand new playing floor, with the team's new logo and colors.
A view of the seating bowl, which includes new blue seats and an updated suite level.
The newly opened Lexus Courtside Club, which sits underneath the sideline stands and is accessible from both an outside entrance and the courtside seating area.
The new beer garden, located atop the lower deck seating, behind a basket. The area is open to all ticket holders.
The new main ticket lobby and lower part of the new state-of-the- art entrance atrium.
The upper part of the glass atrium, equipped with a city view and art.
An exterior shot of the entrance atrium, including a new video board to promote events (also pictured upper right).
An exterior look at the arena’s new brown paneling, with a view of the Lexus Courtside Club's outdoor entrance door.
More new signage built on the opposite side of the building.
Needless to say, the once outdated arena suddenly looks like a high quality modern venue. This transition could not have come at a better time, as the Timberwolves franchise hopes to take the next step and finally end their 13-year playoff drought.
