Target Field wins anti-terrorism safety designation that includes reduced liability

Target Field is the 12th Major League Baseball stadium in the U.S. to earn a federal designation that the ballpark provides enhanced protection from terrorist attacks.

The Twins and the Minnesota Ballpark Authority, which owns Target Field, said Wednesday that they received the designation under the Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (SAFETY) Act, a program approved by Congress in 2002 and administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The recognition means the ballpark has a federally recognized combination of infrastructure, security technology, staff training and other measures in place to deter and defend against a terrorist attack.

In a statement, Matt Hoy, Twins senior vice president of ballpark operations, said: “Our paramount focus is, and always will be, on the safety, comfort and well-being of every individual that enters Target Field, whether that be for a game, a concert, another major event or our day-to-day operations.”

The DHS designation was created after 9/11 to encourage innovations in security technology and comes with benefits. The Twins and Target Field will have limited liability if an attack takes place because the ballpark’s security measures were vetted by the federal government.

The Vikings and U.S. Bank Stadium first received a SAFETY Act designation in 2020. The designations typically last five years and can be renewed.

A Twins spokesman said the team couldn’t put an exact price tag on the cost of achieving the SAFETY Act designation because it includes physical improvements, staff training and policies.

Prior to applying for the designation, the team and the ballpark hired a consultant in 2019 to do a threat assessment and identified about $3.2 million worth of upgrades to the security perimeter that was split between the Twins and the ballpark authority’s capital project fund.

Dan Kenney, executive director of the ballpark authority, noted that the Twins are responsible for all stadium operating costs, including security. The annual cost of Target Field security has climbed from about $1.5 million when the ballpark opened in 2010 to $5 million last year.

Target Field and the surrounding infrastructure cost $555 million to build, with about $355 million coming from Hennepin County taxpayers and the rest from the Twins.