Couples Opting to Get Married at Home Plate

(MYFOX NATIONAL) – Target Field, the new home of the Minnesota Twins, holds 81 home games in a season for the baseball team. The $545 million spent to construct and sustain it, however, is already taking its toll.

According to an article by St. Paul Pioneer Press , baseball is simply not enough to cover the cost. Now, private events like weddings are being held on the premises, and revenue is increasing by over 20 percent.

"We want people to come here and enjoy Target Field year-round. It's a tremendous community asset," said Laura Day, senior vice president of business development for the Twins.

Clearly, Target Field was built for more than just baseball. The building itself contains 25 different spaces for off-field gatherings, with lavish banquet halls, lounges, suites and restaurants. Considering up to 800 people can be seated at once, it’s the perfect place for a beautiful yet expensive wedding.

Target Field has so-far exceeded expectations in its beauty and complexity. With many people already expressing interest in holding their wedding there, it’s setting itself up to be a much larger money-maker for Minneapolis than the Metrodome, Minnesota’s former Twins field.

Howard Sinker and Julie Townsend will be the first couple to get hitched at Target Field come April 24.

“When we were looking at places where we could possibly get married that would be meaningful and fun, this was at the top of the list," said Sinker, a Web sports coordinator for StarTribune.com who reported on the Twins in the 1980s, reported the Pioneer Press.

Aaron Gleeman, writer for NBC Sports , knows the couple personally. According to him, a wedding at home plate – the ultimate for engaged baseball fans – costs roughly $3,500. But for the wedding of a lifetime, the price seems beyond reasonable.