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[INAUDIBLE] LEE AXTELL: The sounds are basically the same, vendors roaming the aisles, hawking programs, peanuts and beer. But the surroundings are brand new, some might say impressive. Baseball at the New Metrodome is insulated from the elements.

That fact is obvious, and stadium officials couldn't have hoped for a better or, depending on how one looks at it, worse weekend for opening the baseball season in Minnesota. Outside the fiberglass roof of the Humphrey Metrodome, the wind was blowing and the snow falling. But inside the 20-acre facility, it was shirtsleeve weather for an appreciative crowd. Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission Executive Director Don Poss says fans aren't having any problems adjusting to the new facility.

DONALD POSS: They're not at all bewildered. I think they appear to be very pleased, almost ecstatic at what they see. Last night, I could hardly take 10 steps down the concourses for the first two hours without being stopped by people that saw my name tag and expressing their absolute delight with the place.

I could hear murmurings as I walked through here last night of people that were absolutely delighted with it. I see smiles on faces. And I think it's going to stay that way because we've instructed our people, our ushers, our attendants, to thank these people for coming to the Metrodome. These people are the kings and queens when they walk in this place, and we're going to keep it that way.

LEE AXTELL: Now, I suppose all you need is a place for tailgating.

DONALD POSS: No, we don't need a place for tailgating. Tailgating is dead, as far as I'm concerned, and good riddance. Tailgating will take place in restaurants and bars and places like that. Tailgating was something that was done at the Met for a variety of reasons, but there won't be tailgating of any significance here. And I don't mind it passing.

LEE AXTELL: The new surroundings didn't seem to help or hinder the Minnesota Twins, who split a pair of exhibition games with the Philadelphia Phillies. But given the choice of playing outside at the Met or inside on the carpet at the dome, Twins infielder Kent Hrbek says he'd choose the dome. And Hrbek is quick to point out that the game is the same wherever it's played.

KENT HRBEK: No, the game ain't no different. It's the same game. The ball might travel a little faster on the turf and stuff like that. But as far as the game, there ain't no difference playing here. I haven't seen it yet anyway.

LEE AXTELL: Everything came up to your expectations, obviously, then?

KENT HRBEK: Well, it wasn't my expectations to go out of the park two times in one night like that, but it made me feel-- it gives you confidence. I mean, it just builds your confidence and stuff. And I'm just hoping in spring training kind of carries right on through the whole year.

LEE AXTELL: Hrbek feelings are echoed by fellow infielder Roy Smalley, who says the dome--

ROY SMALLEY: Surpassed my best expectations. It's a gorgeous, gorgeous place. The playing surface is terrific. The ball carries decent inside.

I was a little concerned about that, but it carries pretty true, which I think is fair. If you hit it, it's going to go out. If you don't hit it, it's not going to. And that's the way it ought to be.

LEE AXTELL: Right field is a little shorter than the Met, isn't it?

ROY SMALLEY: A little bit, although the Met was a real good hitters ballpark. So I don't think it's going to be that much difference. I think the real difference for a hitter is going to be the artificial turf.

There's going to be a lot more base hits through the infield, a lot of balls that would be singles rolling to the wall for doubles and triples, scooting through the gap, and stuff like that. It's going to be more evident, I think, in the less than home run hits.

LEE AXTELL: But it's the fans who pay for tickets to watch baseball, who wind through downtown streets trying to find a parking spot, and who cannot tailgate anymore without risking arrest. It's the fans who will put the new facility on trial. And judging from the majority of people I spoke with over the weekend, the dome is a success.

What do you think of the dome? What do you think about coming out to downtown Minneapolis instead of going out to the Met?

SPEAKER 1: It's a different. We have to start a new tradition, I guess. That's about it.

LEE AXTELL: At the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, I'm Lee Axtell in Minneapolis.

SPEAKER 2: [INAUDIBLE] the catcher, Butch Wynegar.