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MARK ZDECHLIK: The Minnesota Twins tried to rally support for a new stadium by reaching into their past. The franchise brass opened the curtain on their model of a 42,000-seat, $350 million ballpark. They chose the site of the old Mets Stadium for their unveiling, the Mall of America now. With the push of a button, Twins hero and Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew brought the tiny stadium's retractable roof to life.

SPEAKER: Harmon, would you please come up? And the floor is yours. Go ahead.

HARMON KILLEBREW: There's a lot of power there.

SPEAKER: Thank you very much.

MARK ZDECHLIK: A computer-simulated video showed off the new stadium. It was an emotional appeal for the return of outdoor baseball with a lot of talk about Mets Stadium and what once was. Harmon Killebrew.

HARMON KILLEBREW: It was a magical place to be. It was filled with sounds and the smells of a ballpark that make baseball first in the hearts of so many Americans. That current trend toward outdoor ballparks is really music to my ears.

MARK ZDECHLIK: Current Twins star, Paul Molitor.

PAUL MOLITOR: There was nothing like going out there on an afternoon game and having a chance to be a part of the knothole gang out there and maybe get out there for early and batting practice and hope you might catch one of those Harmon Killebrew home runs.

MARK ZDECHLIK: The MinneapoliS-based architectural firm of Ellerbe Becket designed the ballpark. It's also finishing the new park for the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix. The Twins stadium looks like a large rectangle encasing a ball field. The retractable roof resembles something out of a shipyard. Large steel girders that would roll the length of the rectangular building, peeling back not only the roof, but the top third of the walls as well. Architect Bill Johnson.

BILL JOHNSON: The roof would actually be moved out behind the seating, allowing a completely unobstructed, glorious day out of doors.

MARK ZDECHLIK: Johnson says another key feature of the Twins stadium would be seating angled toward home plate. Johnson says the stadium would be much more than a ballpark.

BILL JOHNSON: So imagine, if you will, walking through a historic tour of the history of the Twins and the history of baseball itself. Imagine microbreweries and interactive video games and places for families to enjoy learning about the sport, learning about baseball.

MARK ZDECHLIK: Twins officials did not try to downplay criticism of using taxpayer money for professional sports. Twins owner Carl Pohlad hoped the unveiling would inject enthusiasm into the stadium campaign.

CARL POHLAD: First of all, I'll ask the question. You've seen it. You've heard it. What do you think of it? Let's either have round of applause or silence. In the World Series, you see whole families. You see mothers. You see babies. And if that doesn't move you as far as baseball and what it means to Minnesota and the Upper Midwest area, nothing will.

We're going to continue to work hard to get it. We're going to have some glitches. We expect that. But by no means have we lost any of our enthusiasm or our desire to keep on with this effort until we can make it successful.

RICKY RASK: I really cannot believe that the people of Minnesota could possibly be duped into believing that this is the answer to our ills. And I think that's how it's starting to get touted in terms of family values and all of these sorts of things.

MARK ZDECHLIK: Ricky Rask is with Fund Kids First, a group opposed to using public money for a stadium. The Twins say they have no plans to feature their stadium mock-up in an ad campaign. Rask suspects otherwise, but she says with polls showing the majority of Minnesotans are against financing a ballpark, the Twins are wasting their time.

RICKY RASK: For them to think that by showing people a glitzy model of a stadium that we don't need before we take care of our kids, to me, it's, I guess I don't know how else to say it, the height of arrogance.

MARK ZDECHLIK: The stadium model will be on display this weekend at the Metrodome as part of Twins Fest. This is Mark Zdechlik, Minnesota Public Radio.