The new rail station near Target Field in downtown Minneapolis will open with speeches and festivities Saturday afternoon for several hours leading up to the Twins game.
The grand opening of the station — at 5th Avenue N. and 5th Street N. — begins at 1 p.m., with music and exhibit tents and food you can buy. Activities will continue until the Twins game vs. Seattle starts at 6:10 p.m.
Organizers hope those attending will buy a ticket for the game next door, but say that the baseball action also will be televised on a big video screen in the station.
The new station will be a hub for all kinds of transportation in the North Loop, with trains coming and going on the METRO Blue Line (Hiawatha LRT), METRO Green Line (Central Corridor LRT, when it starts running June 14) and Northstar Commuter Rail, as well as bus trips and miles of bike and walking trails.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony starts at 3 p.m., followed by departure of the first train, and then a host of speeches from:
- U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar
- U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison
- Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin
- Mike Opat, Hennepin County Board Chair
- Jim Pohlad, United Properties and Minnesota Twins
- Dan Griffis, Target vice president
- Derrell Turner, Federal Highway Administration
- MnDOT Commissioner Charlie Zelle
- State Rep. Alice Hausman
- State Sen. Scott Dibble and state Rep. Frank Hornstein
- Metropolitan Council Chair Susan Haigh
- Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges
- Ed Hunter, Director of Interchange Project Office, Red Hawk Consulting
