Gopher football stadium bill approved

Both the state House of Representatives and Senate voted their overwhelming approval of the state’s contribution to the new on-campus football stadium. The House approved the bill by a 96-37 margin and the Senate voted for it by a 44-23 margin. The state will contribute $10.25 million a year for the next 25 years. That amount is actually $1 million more that the University asked for this year and $3 million more than they asked for last year. In exchange for the added state funding the U will be deeding some land in Dakota County, near Rosemount, to the state and will cap the student fees for the stadium at $25 a year, which is much lower the original $100 amount proposed.

This puts an end to a long multi-year effort to getting state funding for the stadium. All that stands in the way of breaking ground is the raising of private funding which will come to about $110 million. It widely is estimated that about 50% of that amount has been raised. Considering no formal fundraising campaign has started, as well as popularity of the stadium plan, I think it will take a matter of a few short months to get enough money to go ahead with the building and keep on track for a 2009 opening.

Yes, in three short years the Gopher football team will end their 27-year off-campus experience. The Metrodome hasn’t been a good venue from an attendance standpoint or a win/loss standpoint. For example, the Gophers have yet to beat Michigan or Ohio State in the Dome. They will get their next shot at the Wolverines on primetime TV on September 30. Minnesota will have one last chance to beat the Buckeyes in their home-away-from-home in 2007.

Regarding the schedule for the new stadium, right now UNLV would be the opener in 2009. California is another home game scheduled two weeks later. The first Big Ten opponent to play in the new stadium will be Wisconsin. Oddly enough, the last game played in Memorial Stadium was against the Badgers.

All Gopher supporters should be commended for their efforts to get this done. The hounding of our legislators with letters, e-mails and phone calls had an impact. The endless committee meetings supporters attended and even testified at made a difference. 30 years ago there was a great deal of apathy toward Gopher football. The Vikings were toast of the town as regular Super Bowl contenders. The Gophers got dragged into the Metrodome thanks to this public attitude and a penny-pitching U administration that refused to put money into the football program. The same atmosphere persisted into the 1980s making the U resistant to putting a mere $20 million into renovating the abandoned Memorial Stadium.

Had this fan apathy and administration stance on football continued to the present I am convinced the same wrongheaded moves would have been made. The football Gophers would have hitched their wagon to the Vikings’ effort to build a stadium in Blaine, and Vikings would have been more than happy to use them as a bargaining chip for their campaign. Having the Gophers play in a mostly empty 80,000 capacity pro stadium way off campus would have been a complete travesty.

Fortunately, Gopher fans have said enough is enough and we can be proud of our efforts. The new stadium will not guarantee a new golden age of Gopher football but it is by far the biggest step in that direction which could realistically be made at this point in time.