Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Year round entertainment can be found at the Target Center Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The center is owned by City of Minneapolis with the Midwest Entertainment Group operating it. The Target Corporation has paid handsomely for the naming rights of the building. The arena first opened in 1990 as the home of the National Basketball Association's Minnesota Timberwolves. The Women's NBA team the Minnesota Lynx also call the facility home. The Minnesota Fighting Pike AFL and Minnesota Arctic Blast RHI teams used to play at the Target Center for their home games. However, both teams are no longer there.

Target Center Arena did change management over the years from 1990 to 2004. The current operators took over in 2004 when a major renovation began. The renovation worked to replace the 19,006 seats and added an additional 1,500 seats. The lower bowl was reconfigured to allow for more seats and to be more fan friendly. As a result of the renovations for basketball there are 20,500 seats, ice hockey 19,500 seats, end stage concerts can hold 13,000 to 19,000 seats, and wrestling ranges from 9,500 to 12,500 seats. Another addition during the renovation was a 9x16 feet video screen with LED signage. The center also worked to improve their handicapped arrangements to make it more accessible.

Events at the Target Center Arena have been the WWE Judgment Day 2005, WWE event for 2010, UFC Championship, Taylor Swift Tour, and the Metallica World Tour. Both the Taylor Swift and Metallica concerts were sold out. In 2009 one more renovation of the facility was unveiled, a green roof.

At certain times of the year the Target Center Arena will become the US Bank Theater. There is a moveable floor to ceiling curtain setup that provides enough change to become a theater. The number of seats for the theater will range from 2,500 to 7,500 seats.

During the year a variety of different events are hosted at the Target Center. Coming in 2009/ 2010 season will be entertainers like Kiss, Trans- Siberian Orchestra, Miley Cyrus, Imagination Movers, Fight Night, Harlem Globetrotters, and 1-2-3 Imagine Elmo and Friends. Each year the Target Center tries to have the more popular performers.

The Target Center is located strategically in the downtown center within the Warehouse and Entertainment District. This means clubs, restaurants, bars, shopping, hotels, nightlife, and theaters are all within walking distance of the arena. For such a great spot, the arena has a number of available parking places. The parking will open a few hours before the event. There are VIP parking options, a couple of garages, and some economy lots. The parking prices will differ based on the event. The center will not open until one hour prior to any event.

Concessions are available inside the arena. These places will open before the event and close after the last halftime or intermission of a show. Concession items include popcorn, pizza, nachos, hot dogs, beer, cotton candy, soda, lemonade and other event favorites.