MINNEAPOLIS — Major League Baseball turned down the Minnesota Twins' request to play an outdoor series against the Texas Rangers in September.
The Twins had sought permission to play a three-game series with Texas from Sept. 18-20 at a temporary, 25,000-seat stadium in Bloomington, Minn. The games would have been moved from the Twins' indoor home at the Metrodome.
The Twins came up with the proposal, in part, as a means of generating support for a new outdoor ballpark. They played their first game at the Metrodome in 1982 and haven't surpassed 2 million in attendance since 1993.
Baseball suggested the Twins consider applying for approval to play a series of outdoor games during the 2001 preseason.
"As we stated all along, this proposal has always been a long shot," said Chris Clouser, Twins chief executive. "We believe that a return to outdoor baseball, after years in the Metrodome, would have been a wonderful experience for Twins fans."
The Twins said MLB withheld its approval because of the need to inspect the temporary field well in advance, and because no regular-season game has ever been played at a temporary site.