Target Center

Target Center opened in downtown Minneapolis in 1990 as a multi-purpose arena anchoring the western edge of the central business district. It is the longtime home of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, and over more than three decades it has drawn some of the largest event audiences the city sees.

A major renovation completed between 2009 and 2011 overhauled the building significantly, most visibly adding an extensive green roof designed to reduce stormwater runoff and moderate the urban heat island effect. That work repositioned the arena as a more environmentally considered facility and coincided with a broader shift in the immediate neighbourhood, which gained Target Field in 2010 when the Minnesota Twins returned to open-air baseball after years at the Metrodome.

In June 2024 the arena hosted the U.S. Olympic Team Gymnastics Trials, held from June 27 through June 30. The trials determined which athletes would represent the United States at the Paris Games, drawing large crowds to the surrounding blocks and prompting the city to brand the downtown core as Gymnastics City USA for the duration of the event.

This instalment in the Minneapolis Places series sits across a span that covers both the settled, post-renovation identity of the building and a moment of national athletic significance that brought the arena unusual prominence. Earlier coverage in the series traces the neighbourhood before Target Field existed; later additions may follow how the arena's role in the district continues to shift.