What Is It Like to See a Concert at Target Center?
The downtown Minneapolis arena where you can park, ride the skyway, and reach your seat without stepping outside in January, set one block from the First Avenue club that built Prince's legend.
What to Know Before You Go
- 1The main gate is up on the skyway level, not the street.
First-timers walk up to the 1st Avenue doors expecting the main entrance and end up backtracking. Follow signs to the Main Skyway entrance.
- 2Floor tickets use a different door.
If you have a GA floor or reserved floor ticket, you enter through the street-level Life Time Lobby on 1st Avenue, not the skyway gate. Plan your arrival around that door if you want a good rail spot.
- 3Park the ABC ramps to stay warm, but know the trade.
Ramps A, B, and C sit across the street and connect by skyway, so you never go outside. They also empty slowly after a show. A ramp two or three blocks out gets you onto the road faster.
- 4Book parking ahead on SpotHero.
Target Center points fans to SpotHero, where rates can run up to 50 percent off the drive-up price. Downtown has roughly 38 ramps and lots, so you have options.
- 5Bags must be tiny: 5 by 9 inches, and there is no bag check.
This is stricter than most arenas. Anything bigger gets turned away at the door with no storage, so it has to go back to your vehicle.
- 6Everything inside is cashless, even the box office.
Concessions, merch, and tickets take cards and mobile pay. The box office itself takes cards only, not Apple or Google Pay and not cash.
- 7There is no re-entry.
Once you leave the building you cannot get back in for any reason. Combined with the bag rule, plan what you carry before you walk in.
- 8Eat local at the stands.
Skip generic arena food for the totchos (tater-tot nachos) or a Lord Fletcher's walleye sandwich, and hit the beer garden for Surly, Summit, or Lift Bridge.
- 9Avoid Section 228 for concerts.
It is angled for basketball and sits off to the side for an end-stage show. If you are stuck there, only rows A through H are worth keeping.
- 10Take the light rail in winter.
Both the Blue and Green lines stop at Warehouse District/Hennepin Avenue, a short walk, and the arena's skyway link means you can stay indoors most of the way.
At a Glance
- Capacity
- 18,978
- Venue Type
- Arena
- Year Opened
- 1990
- Seating
- Reserved + GA Floor
- Cashless
- Yes
- Cell Service
- Workable in the bowl, variable on upper concourse
- Climate
- Indoor, climate controlled
- Parking
- ABC ramps + downtown ramps ($9-25)
- Transit
- METRO Blue/Green Line, Warehouse District/Hennepin Ave
Older than most of the 59 arenas we have documented.
What It's Actually Like
The Walk In Is the Whole Point in Winter
The thing that sets a Target Center show apart from a generic arena night is the approach. Because the ABC ramps and several downtown hotels connect to the arena by skyway, you can go from your car seat to your concert seat without ever opening your coat. For a January show in Minneapolis, that is not a small thing. The main gate is actually on the skyway level, which is the detail that trips up everyone on their first visit, because they walk up to the 1st Avenue street doors and find the wrong entrance.
The Sound Depends on Your Act and Your Seat
Be honest with yourself about where you are sitting and what you came to hear. The lower bowl and the front of the 200 level sound clean and full. Fans came out of a 2Cellos show raving about the audio, and walked out of a blink-182 show frustrated that the guitars and vocals came through thin. The recurring complaint is the back of the upper deck, where quieter, more dynamic songs pick up an echo and a slightly hollow quality. A bass-forward pop or hip-hop show holds up fine up high. An acoustic or vocal-driven set is where the echo shows itself.
“Sound quality can be wonky in the upper levels, mainly noticed on quieter songs, with some echoing.”
It Feels Like a Real Downtown Arena
The crowd here skews local and music-literate, which fits a city that takes its own music history seriously. Energy pools on the floor and in the lower bowl. On a half-full night for a softer draw, the upper deck can feel a little removed, because the building is genuinely large and empty seats up top are visible. Staff and security get mostly good marks from concert-goers, with multiple reviewers describing courteous staff and a comfortable room across separate shows.
You Are Standing Inside Prince's Minneapolis
Target Center sits one block from First Avenue, the club where Purple Rain was filmed and where Prince built his myth, and Prince himself played the arena. For local fans, the arena and the surrounding Warehouse District read as one continuous piece of music geography rather than an isolated sports box. You can see a stadium-scale show and then walk to the club that started it all. If you want the small-room companion to this arena, the First Avenue guide covers the venue down the street.
Section-by-Section Guide
Floor / GA
For shows with a general-admission floor, tickets sell as GA Floor or, when there is a barricaded pit up front, GA Pit. GA floor has no seats and no marked standing spots, so position is first-come once doors open. The operational catch that matters most: floor-ticket holders do not use the skyway main gate. You are routed through the street-level Life Time Lobby on 1st Avenue, the floor-only entrance. If a rail spot matters to you, get to that specific door early rather than the skyway. For reserved-seat floor shows, the floor sits within roughly 40 rows of the stage with a straight-on view, and fans report it is easy to find your way around the floor once you are inside.
Lower Bowl (100 Level)
The 100 level is the safest buy for a concert. Sightlines are angled but generally clear, and the center sections look straight down the room toward the stage. Sections 103 through 107 get singled out by fans and seating guides as the balance pick: close enough for proximity, high and centered enough for a full view of the stage and any video wall. If you want front-and-center without paying for the floor, the early lettered rows of 104 to 106 are the target, because they look straight down the room and clear the floor crowd's heads. Be careful with the 100-level ends. The sections beside the stage (the 116 to 126 range and the 106 to 110 corners) can have a sharp side angle, and for some shows the deepest behind-stage 100s are removed or curtained off entirely. Lower-bowl center rows run roughly 1 to 4 and then A onward, so the early lettered rows are the genuine close seats. One value move for an end-stage show: a corner 100 like 109, 110, 112, or 113 often costs less than dead-center and still gives a solid angle.
Upper Bowl (200 Level)
Do not write off the 200 level, but be strategic about exactly where you land. The value play is the front of the 200s, specifically sections 209 to 213 on one side and 229 to 233 on the other, in row A and a few rows back. Those seats sit only about 10 feet above the last row of the lower bowl, so you get a 200-level price with close to a lower-bowl view. The trade-off up high is sound, since the back rows of the upper deck catch that echo on quieter songs, a pattern fans report across multiple shows. A centered 200 like 219 to 223 facing the stage beats a closer-but-angled corner 200 for an end-stage concert. The deep corner 200s nearest the stage are the upper-deck version of the same side-angle problem the 100s have. Row A of a centered low-210s or low-230s section is the single best-value seat in the building.
The section to actively avoid for a concert is 228. It is angled for the basketball court, so at an end-stage show it sits off to one side with a compromised look at the stage. If you somehow end up there, rows A through H are the only ones worth keeping, both for the least-bad angle and for quick access to the upper concourse. The general rule up top: prioritize being low and toward center over being high anywhere.
Club / Premium / Suites
The 2017 renovation added and upgraded the premium spaces, suites, and club lounges. For a concert, premium is worth it mainly if you value indoor club access, shorter concourse lines, and easy in-and-out comfort, rather than a dramatically better stage view. A front-of-100s reserved seat usually beats a club seat for pure sightline, so do not pay the premium expecting to be closer to the stage. Where premium earns its price is the night you do not want to fight the concourse: faster bars, your own restrooms, and a seat you can leave and return to without a scrum. Premium guests can add valet to their tickets, which pairs well with the no-coat-outside skyway logic on a cold night.
Accessibility Seating
Accessible and companion seating is available on multiple levels, and the skyway path from the ABC ramps gives a step-free route from car to concourse, which is one of the better accessible approaches among arenas. Elevators reach the upper concourse for 200-level accessible seats. The one caveat fans raise is post-show elevator congestion, so if you are using the elevators, budget extra time leaving rather than joining the immediate rush out.
Going to a Show?
Heading to Target Center? Add the show to Concerts Remembered before you go and it's on your phone whether or not you have signal inside. Afterward you'll have the setlist, your seat, and what you thought of it.
Target Center · what fans report
Everything fans report about Target Center is normal for an arena
Measured against 59 arenas we have documented. Every fault below is carried by most arenas, so none of them single this room out.
Normal for an arena
- Sound falls apart at the back51% of arenas
The recurring complaint is the back of the upper deck, where quieter, more dynamic songs pick up an echo and a slightly hollow quality.
- Getting out is punishing61% of arenas
If you drove, the fastest exit is a ramp a few blocks out rather than the attached ABC ramps, which crawl as everyone funnels through the same exits at once.
Common for arenas, not reported here
- Sightlines go when it fills73% of arenas
Concerts Remembered Venue Index · 59 arenas tagged against a closed seven-category taxonomy · every row cites this guide · reviewed June 2026
Getting There
Driving + Parking
The signature option is the ABC ramps. Ramps A, B, and C, run by the city, sit directly across the street and connect to Target Center by skyway, so you park and walk to your seat without going outside. Event pricing in the ABC ramps runs roughly $9 to $25 depending on the event, with Ramp C posting event rates around $25. Ramps A and B both have skyway access to the arena, and Mayo Clinic Square ramp is another skyway-connected option.
Downtown Minneapolis has roughly 38 ramps and lots within walking or short-transit distance, so the money move is to book a slightly farther ramp through SpotHero in advance, where rates can run up to 50 percent off drive-up, then walk or skyway in. The post-show reality is the real decision point. The ABC ramps empty slowly because everyone leaves at once through the same few exits, so you are trading an easy walk in for a slow crawl out. A cheaper ramp two or three blocks away often gets you onto the road faster after the show. A modern Midwest comparison: the convenience-versus-egress math here is similar to the attached-ramp trade at Chicago's United Center.
Transit
Both the METRO Blue Line and Green Line light rail serve the Warehouse District/Hennepin Avenue station, a short walk from the arena, and Target Field Station (the northern terminus and transfer hub for both lines) is also close. Since the arena's main gate is on skyway level and the building is skyway-connected through downtown, the cold-weather plan is to ride the train, enter the skyway, and walk in indoors. After the show, expect a crowded platform as a full arena empties toward the same station, and you may wait through a train cycle or two right after the encore.
Rideshare
Designated rideshare zones run along 1st Avenue North and 6th Street near the entrances. Surge is the usual post-show story downtown, with both wait times and prices climbing the moment a show ends. The workaround downtown regulars use is to walk a few blocks away from the immediate arena zone, deeper into downtown or toward the North Loop, before requesting. That drops you out of the densest pickup scrum and often out of the worst surge.
Food, Drink, and Merch
Worth Getting
The food program is a genuine bright spot since Chef Fhima and Levy Restaurants took it over, leaning on local and BIPOC chefs and local sourcing. Look for the local-restaurant stands: Parlour (the burger that has a real reputation in town), SotaRol (sushi and Asian rice bowls), and Lord Fletcher's (a walleye fish sandwich, a Minnesota staple). The signature arena-twist item is the totchos, tater-tot nachos, which fans single out as the move over generic nachos.
Skip It
Plain bottled water and standard nachos. Water runs about $7, so it is one of the worse values in the building. If you are going to spend on concessions, spend it on the local stands, not the generic ones.
The Strategy
The main concourse has both a bar and a beer garden pouring regional craft, with Surly, Summit, and Lift Bridge among the Minnesota breweries on tap, a real step up from generic domestic taps. Beer runs roughly $9 to $14. Everything is cashless, so the bar takes cards and mobile pay but no cash. Have your card or phone ready before you hit a crowded concourse where signal can dip.
Merch
Merch booths sit on the main concourse near the entrances and, like everything else, are cashless. Lines are worst right at doors and right after the show, so the quieter window is mid-set if you are willing to miss a few songs. Tour-specific items and prices vary by artist; there is no notable venue-branded concert merch line worth a separate trip.
Venue History
Target Center opened in October 1990 at 600 1st Avenue North in the downtown Warehouse District, built at an original cost of around $104 million. Target Corporation, the Minneapolis-based retailer, held naming rights from day one, making it one of the earliest corporate-named arenas in the country. It was built for the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and later became home to the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, who won multiple championships in the building. The arena is city-owned and operated by ASM Global.
The defining recent change is the renovation that reopened in October 2017 after a phased project at a cost of roughly $140 million. It added about 10,300 square feet of glass to the exterior, the prominent 1st Avenue glass facade, expanded and brightened the concourses with daylight, installed all-new upholstered seats across the roughly 18,978-seat bowl, added premium and suite spaces, hung a new center scoreboard billed as the largest in the Upper Midwest, and upgraded the sound system. Because of that audio upgrade, fan complaints about sound from before 2017 should be read with caution. The upper-deck echo is the part that persisted, which points at the room's geometry rather than the gear.
Culturally, Target Center sits inside Prince's Minneapolis. It is a block from First Avenue, the club where Purple Rain was filmed, and Prince played the arena himself. For local fans, the arena and the Warehouse District around it read as one continuous music neighborhood, which is part of why the crowd here feels so local and so dialed in.
Frequently Asked Questions
The worst concert seat is Section 228, which is angled for the basketball court and sits off to one side for an end-stage show. The deep corner sections nearest the stage on both the 100 and 200 levels also fight a sharp side angle. Most of the lower bowl and the front of the 200 level are solid, so the bad seats are specific and avoidable.
Doors for concerts typically open between 90 minutes and 2 hours before showtime, though it varies by show, so check your event page. If you have a GA floor ticket and want the rail, get to the street-level Life Time Lobby on 1st Avenue early, since that is the floor-only entrance and not the skyway gate everyone else uses.
The bag rule is the strict one: bags can be no larger than 5 by 9 inches, and there is no on-site bag check. That is smaller than the clear-bag allowance at many arenas, and with no storage, an oversized bag has to go back to your car. Security can include metal detectors and searches of jackets and bags at the venue's discretion.
The ABC ramps across the street are worth it for the skyway walk indoors, especially in winter, but they empty slowly after a show. Event rates run about $9 to $25. If getting out fast matters more than staying warm, book a ramp two or three blocks away on SpotHero, where rates can run up to 50 percent off drive-up, and you will often beat the ABC-ramp crawl onto the road.
For a bass-forward pop or hip-hop show, the upper deck holds up well, so the value front rows of the 200 level (sections 209-213 and 229-233, row A) give you a near-lower-bowl view at a 200-level price. For an acoustic or vocal-driven set, stay in the lower bowl or the front of the 200s, because the back of the upper deck catches an echo on quieter songs.
Yes, completely. Concessions, merch, and ticketing are all cashless and take cards and mobile pay. One quirk: the box office itself takes cards only, not Apple or Google Pay and not cash, so bring a physical card if you need to buy or pick up at the window.
No. Once you exit the building, re-entry is not allowed for any reason. Combined with the no-bag-check policy, that means anything you cannot bring through the 5-by-9-inch rule has to stay in your vehicle, not be checked or retrieved later.
If you drove, the fastest exit is a ramp a few blocks out rather than the attached ABC ramps, which crawl as everyone funnels through the same exits at once. If you took the train, expect a packed platform at Warehouse District/Hennepin Avenue and possibly a cycle or two of waiting. For rideshare, walk a few blocks toward the North Loop before requesting to dodge the worst surge and the pickup scrum.
Most ticket holders use the Main Skyway entrance, which is up on skyway level, not at street, and some shows also open the South Skyway entrance near Ramp A. The exception is floor tickets, which must enter through the street-level Life Time Lobby on 1st Avenue. If you are coming from the ABC ramps or the light rail, the skyway gets you to the main gate indoors.
Target Center Links
Already Seen a Show Here?
Been to Target Center? Add it to your concert history in the Concerts Remembered app. Which section were you in, and was it worth it?
This guide is based on fan reports, public records, and community discussion. Claims we can’t source are left out rather than estimated, and the charts render only where the sample is large enough to trust. It is not sponsored by or affiliated with Target Center.
Cite this guide
Concerts Remembered, "Target Center," concertsremembered.app/venues/target-center, updated June 2026.