Daily Herald editorial

Here’s hoping that the Minnesota Twins can fulfill their hopes of landing an All-Star Game for Target Field. Getting the game would be a great showcase for Minnesota’s beautiful ballpark and perhaps a boost for the Twins organization.

The Twins are among a sizeable group of Major League Baseball franchises that are lobbying to host an All-Star Game. The games are particularly desirable because they can be used to reward season ticket holders and thereby boost attendance at regular games all year. For Minnesotan in general, however, where there is a strong sense that having major league franchises in all the leading sports is a big deal for the state’s image, hosting an All-Star Game would be a chance to polish that image a bit.

Now in its second year of operation, Target Field may be in line to host the 2014 All-Star Game, although it is not clear that Major League Baseball is even close to announcing where the game will be played. What is known is that the commissioner tends to rotate game between National League and American League cities and with this year’s game in Kansas City 2014 ought to again be an American League year.

For Minnesotans, landing an All-Star Game is likely to be near the pinnacle of sports attention; the roofless Vikings stadium will certainly never host a Super Bowl. The new field and its prominent and convenient location in the Minneapolis downtown should make Target Field an ideal place for an All-Star Game. Let’s hope Major League Baseball agrees.