The Minnesota Twins are dragging through the 2026 season with the concern they may not play next summer. With players and owners hacking out a new collective bargaining agreement, the threat of a strike is real and could be the longest one since the second half of the season and World Series was canceled back in 1994.
While the Twins may be preparing for that possibility, they may have a new strike to worry about. According to KARE 11’s Samie Solina, more than 500 concession workers at Target Field announced that they plan to strike on June 22 amid contract negotiations with their employer, Delaware North Company. The workers are calling for higher wages, access to health insurance and stronger job protections and could be the first strike ever at a major league stadium in Minnesota.
“If you’re a fan and you’re intent on coming to the game, you should bring your own food because there will not be food available for you to purchase,” Sheigh Freeberg, a secretary-treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 17 told reporters on Thursday.
With the strike representing “workers in every corner of the stadium’s food and beverage operations – from cooks and stand workers to bartenders and suite staff,” it’s another tough draw for the Twins to get fans to come to Target Field and continue their dwindling home-field advantage.
Concession workers strike could give Twins even smaller advantage at Target Field
The Twins haven’t mastered public relations since they advanced to the American League Divisional Series in 2023 and their attendance has suffered as a result. According to Baseball-Reference, the Twins ranked 26th in average attendance with 19,180 fans per game entering Friday’s series opener with the St. Louis Cardinals and the actual figure may be lower with season ticket holders deciding to watch the game at home.
There have been attempts to win fans back including a $2 beer promotion before Friday and Saturday home games and the extension of it through their rewards program. They’ve also gotten creative with their promotions with a concert featuring Ludacris and an All Elite Wrestling event featured as postgame attractions, but the Twins’ play on the field has also turned it into the Twin Cities’ top outdoor bar as opposed to a vibrant ballpark.
Minnesota has lost six of its past eight games and 12 of its past 17 games to enter Friday with a 31-39 record. Their most recent loss came on Thursday as they were blasted by the Detroit Tigers in an 11-0 loss, quieting any buzz of the team returning to town.
Demotions of notable players such as Matt Wallner and Royce Lewis haven’t helped matters and the looming threat of trades involving Joe Ryan and Ryan Jeffers are creating a sense of apathy as they head into the summer.
Through all of that, Target Field is still a nice place to watch a ballgame. But if Delaware North and the union workers can’t reach a deal, there may be another reason to stay home unless they want to test the team’s spaghetti policy. While it won’t affect this weekend’s series with the Cardinals, it could make the Twins’ home crowd even smaller as they plan to open a three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 22.
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