[SBG] I would like to point out that at no time did we ever say that the Twins had an agreement with LOL or that the stadium would be named LOL Park or LOL Field. In fact, we explicitly stated that all of this was pure speculation on our part. I found it quite curious that the Twins had registered these domains, but again, we were engaging in speculation of the type that is interesting for Twins fans. Obviously, this is a subject of great interest, as FOX9 television looked into things further after this article was posted, and is reporting that the Twins have at least 48 domain names registered that might be used for a website publicizing the park. Alas, CH's original find, which set off a flurry of interest, seems to be only one part of the puzzle. What follows is CH's account of his attempts to find out further information from the Twins. We discussed his conversations and I was left with the impression that the Twins were incredibly gracious and open with him. So, kudos to the Twins organization. [/SBG]

I hadn't intended to follow-up my post with a request to speak with the Twins' front office, but Charley Walters' column in Thursday's Pioneer Press left me feeling unsatisfied. In case you missed Shooter's column, or don't want to click the link, here's what he had to say:

An Internet rights domain for "landolakespark.com" has been purchased by the Twins, as pointed out by SBG Nation online magazine, but the Twins say they have registered dozens of domains and that there is no front-runner for corporate naming rights for their new ballpark. The Twins say their naming rights proposal hasn't even been completed.

By the way, http://www.wheatiesfield.com, http://www.3mpark.com and http://www.bestbuypark.com also are not available for purchase. However, http://www.wal-martpark.com is available.

As SBG noted in Thursday's Cup of Coffee, the phrase "are not available for purchase" tacked on at the end of the column is a neat bit of journalistic obfuscation. The Twins may own "dozens of domains," but they do not own the ones specifically cited as examples in the column, and this distracts readers from the fact that the Twins do own both the www.landolakespark.com and www.landolakesfield.com domains. Of three domains cited by Shooter in his column, 3mpark.com is registered to 3M Company of St. Paul, while the other two are apparently owned by an individual from Blaine, MN. Interestingly, this individual also apparently owns several other domains using trademarked corporate names, including the the top-level domain www.3mfield.com.

After reading Shooter's column, I decided to pursue the issue further. I called the Twins' front office, and they granted me a short interview by telephone. I'd like to point out that the Twins in no way were obligated to return my phone call, and the fact that they did return the call of an interested fan is to their great credit as an organization.

The substance of the interview probably won't come as a surprise to anyone. The Twins naturally denied any significance to the story and wouldn't comment on any negotiations that may or may not be taking place with potential corporate sponsors, as anyone might expect. Judging by what FOX9 has turned up, the answer that they've given, while not unexpected, also has some ring of truth to it. Obviously, the Twins have had concerns about securing internet domain name rights in the past, like a lot of other companies, and that was borne out in our conversation. They went on to say that many of the domain names the club would have registered in the past are unavailable because of individuals who have anticipated the naming rights issue. Furthermore, the club official stated that the Twins do not even own the naming rights to www.twins.com, though they have apparently sought the rights to that domain for over a decade.

As far as a decision or announcement on the naming rights issue, the Twins stated that they are "nowhere close" to finalizing any deal. Instead, I was told there are "ongoing discussions with a multitude of companies who all have great interest in being a part of this ballpark." I specifically brought up comments made by Laura Day (Twins Vice President of Business Relations) to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal. The Biz-Journal reported that Day "believes she is already in talks with the company that will be the team's naming-rights partner, though she won't disclose any company names." The club official I spoke with didn't contradict this, but would only say that "of the multitude of companies we're talking to, we'll eventually resolve a partnership."

I'd like to state again that I really appreciate the openness of the Twins' front office and the club's decision to address this subject, one which seems to have captured the interest of quite a few fans and generated some pretty positive comments about the club and on the potential the new ballpark represents. It seems there's a good deal of good will and curiosity surrounding any new developments with the park, and our original post was intended to bring what was (at the time) some freely available, public domain information to the fore and see what other Twins fans made of it, and if the information I put together held any water. I'd like to reiterate that the people that I spoke with have stated that the Twins are unable to comment on the status of any talks which may or may not be underway, and that it was stressed to me that either a decision or an announcement was not on the horizon.