Another creative reuse for a remnant of the Metrodome: the infamous right-field baggie is now part of a new Duluth Pack line of bags, to be unveiled tomorrow at the 2014 Minnesota State Fair.
As you’ll recall, the blue fabric wall was installed prior to the Metrodome’s second season in 1983 to limit the number of home runs hit to right field, with the baggie covering folded seats moved to allow a baseball configuration. The fabric wall soon became affectionately known as the “Baggie” or the “Hefty Bag” to millions of fans attending baseball games.
Purchased at auction from the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission by St. Paul businessmen Timothy O’Phelan and Jim Cunningham, who also purchased the inner layer of the Metrodome roof, the baggie has been turned into a line of bags by Duluth Pack. “We wanted to keep this project entirely in Minnesota” O’Phelan said. “Each bag is made in Duluth by expert artisans who understand the historical significance of the fabric.” Some of the bags will have the ad graphics on the wall incorporated into the design. Others will be entirely blue. Every bag is trimmed with Duluth Pack’s premium leather.
In all, five styles of bags will be made from the right-field-wall fabric, and prototypes will be on display starting Monday at the Duluth Pack booth located in the Dairy Building at the State Fair. “People can touch and feel the new bags and put their names on a waiting list,” O’Phelan said. “The right-field wall was 16 feet high and 190 feet long, so the number of bags that can be made will be extremely limited.”
This is the second creative reuse of Metrodome materials from Duluth Pack. At the 2013 State Fair Duluth Pack introduced the Domer line of bags and packs made from the inner layer of the Metrodome roof. “The Domers were an instant hit and continue to be our top-selling bags,” said Tom Sega, president of Duluth Pack, “so when the opportunity came along to work with the right field wall fabric we jumped at the chance.”
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