Gary Fasching and Glenn Caruso sported Minnesota Twins caps decked out in St. John's red and St. Thomas purple. Photo by Pat Coleman, D3sports.com

The 2017 Saint John's-St. Thomas football game, scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sept. 23, will be held at Target Field in Minneapolis, home of Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins. 

The club made the announcement Monday, Oct. 17.

"The Saint John's-St. Thomas rivalry is one of the best in all of college football," Fasching said. "Our players, coaches and fans are excited that Target Field will be the site of the next chapter in this storied rivalry."

Plans call for all seating to be reserved in the venue. Tickets for the game will go on sale to the general public beginning Dec. 13 with a special presale opportunity for Saint John's, St. Thomas and Minnesota Twins stakeholders Dec. 6. All ticket purchases will be handled through the Twins box office.

Ticket prices will range from $15-$35 depending on seats. Gates will open at 11 a.m. for the 1 p.m. kickoff. Approximately 2,000 student-section tickets will be held for each school and made available during summer 2017 at a cost of $10 per student.

"Target Field is a spectacular venue, said University of St. Thomas athletic director Steve Fritz. “The opportunity to hold our 2017 game against Saint John’s there will add another fun chapter to what's one of the country's best college football rivalries."

“We're excited for many reasons,” added Tommies coach Glenn Caruso. “What a great opportunity to play the nation's biggest Division III rivalry game in a venue such as Target Field. It not only allows us to highlight both proud institutions and our tremendous history, but it also lets us bring the game to a much larger game-day audience.”

"We are excited to see this great rivalry brought to one of the greatest athletic facilities anywhere," St. John's athletic director Bob Alpers said. "What a treat this will be for the student-athletes, coaches and fans."

Since the game was originally scheduled to be held at UST's O'Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul, the Tommies will be the home team.

The meeting will be the 87th between the two schools and the seventh at a neutral site. The Johnnies lead the all-time series with a 51-34-1 record.

Previous Neutral-Site (Off-Campus) Football Games Between Saint John's and St. Thomas:
Nov. 28, 1901 at Lexington Park in St. Paul (first game of the series)
Nov. 26, 1908 at Lexington Park in St. Paul
Nov. 25, 1909 at Norton Field in St. Paul
Oct. 5, 1945 at Clark Field in St. Cloud
Nov. 9, 1996 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis
Nov. 7, 1997 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis

The 2015 Johnnie-Tommie game set a then-NCAA Division III high with 17,327 fans in Collegeville. That record was surpassed by UW-Whitewater's mark of 17,535 in its Oct. 8 home game against UW-Oshkosh. The most recent Johnnie-Tommie matchup attracted 16,514 spectators Sept. 24 at Clemens Stadium and is the third-largest Division III crowd on record. 

Target Field opened in March 2010 and currently seats 38,871. The venue hosted the 2014 MLB All-Star Game, concerts and an exhibition soccer match featuring Minnesota United FC and Club León.