BleedGopher
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per Shama:
There are a lot of winners gathering under the U.S. Bank Stadium big top, but one major loser is the Gophers. The University of Minnesota’s football program has mostly played second fiddle to the Vikings in this market for more than 50 years. The opening of U.S. Bank Stadium only widens the gap between the two entities that compete for the love and financial support of this state’s football fans.
The opinion here is the Gophers are always best positioned to market their product when playing their home games in the same facility as used by the Vikings. The Gophers broke their co-occupancy of the Metrodome with the Vikings awhile ago with the decision to build TCF Bank Stadium. At one time there had been discussion of the Gophers and Vikings sharing a stadium on the University’s Minneapolis campus, but U leaders didn’t want the mega-size required of an NFL facility and the busy traffic brought to campus.
TCF Bank Stadium opened in 2009. It’s a nice stadium, and the facility certainly trumps most of the dinosaur-aged football homes on other college campuses. But the facility is also problematic for the Gophers. Let’s count the ways.
U.S. Bank Stadium is going to be praised for some time as one of the most luxurious and fan-friendly stadiums in the world. TCF Bank Stadium can’t compete with that reality and image. Too bad because word is Gophers’ ticket sales are lagging after last year’s 6-7 season (2-6 in Big Ten games), and the loss of head coach Jerry Kill—the face of the program to Minnesota football fans.
There’s such a buzz about the new stadium it’s likely the Gophers could sell out multiple games this season if playing in that building. It’s probably fair to say every game on the schedule would attract more paying customers downtown than will show up at TCF Bank Stadium.
But it’s not just this fall and the next couple seasons where the Gophers and their fans will lose out for not signing on with the Vikings in a shared stadium. That facility has about 13,000 more seats for football than TCF Bank Stadium. Every game the Gophers play in the future that has high ticket demand will be a reminder of how many more fans could have been accommodated and U Athletic Department revenues generated by making U.S. Bank Stadium home.
Another problem is TCF Bank Stadium is an open-air facility, while U.S. Bank Stadium has a roof. Watching games outdoors is appealing to most fans in September, a little less so in October and then problematic for many ticket buyers and holders in November and beyond. The cold and snow didn’t keep Vikings fans away for late season games when the NFL team played at the Bank while their new palace was being built, but the Gophers don’t command that kind of passion and loyalty.
Look, for example, what happened in November of 2014 when eventual national champion Ohio State came to the Bank. It was a bitterly cold day on November 15, and despite the Ohio State brand name and the Gophers still being in the hunt for the Big Ten’s West Division championship, attendance was 45,778—about 7,000 under stadium capacity. The weather kept a lot of customers away, but in a covered facility the game likely would have attracted 55,000 to 60,000 fans.
Returning football to campus was promoted as a move to boost interest in the program. The results have been mixed. The Gophers didn’t sell out a single game in 2014, but last year—with the promise of Kill having his best team and playing a glitzy home schedule—Minnesota sold out multiple games and averaged a TCF Bank Stadium season-best ever 52,354 fans.
http://shamasportsheadliners.com/
Go Gophers!!
There are a lot of winners gathering under the U.S. Bank Stadium big top, but one major loser is the Gophers. The University of Minnesota’s football program has mostly played second fiddle to the Vikings in this market for more than 50 years. The opening of U.S. Bank Stadium only widens the gap between the two entities that compete for the love and financial support of this state’s football fans.
The opinion here is the Gophers are always best positioned to market their product when playing their home games in the same facility as used by the Vikings. The Gophers broke their co-occupancy of the Metrodome with the Vikings awhile ago with the decision to build TCF Bank Stadium. At one time there had been discussion of the Gophers and Vikings sharing a stadium on the University’s Minneapolis campus, but U leaders didn’t want the mega-size required of an NFL facility and the busy traffic brought to campus.
TCF Bank Stadium opened in 2009. It’s a nice stadium, and the facility certainly trumps most of the dinosaur-aged football homes on other college campuses. But the facility is also problematic for the Gophers. Let’s count the ways.
U.S. Bank Stadium is going to be praised for some time as one of the most luxurious and fan-friendly stadiums in the world. TCF Bank Stadium can’t compete with that reality and image. Too bad because word is Gophers’ ticket sales are lagging after last year’s 6-7 season (2-6 in Big Ten games), and the loss of head coach Jerry Kill—the face of the program to Minnesota football fans.
There’s such a buzz about the new stadium it’s likely the Gophers could sell out multiple games this season if playing in that building. It’s probably fair to say every game on the schedule would attract more paying customers downtown than will show up at TCF Bank Stadium.
But it’s not just this fall and the next couple seasons where the Gophers and their fans will lose out for not signing on with the Vikings in a shared stadium. That facility has about 13,000 more seats for football than TCF Bank Stadium. Every game the Gophers play in the future that has high ticket demand will be a reminder of how many more fans could have been accommodated and U Athletic Department revenues generated by making U.S. Bank Stadium home.
Another problem is TCF Bank Stadium is an open-air facility, while U.S. Bank Stadium has a roof. Watching games outdoors is appealing to most fans in September, a little less so in October and then problematic for many ticket buyers and holders in November and beyond. The cold and snow didn’t keep Vikings fans away for late season games when the NFL team played at the Bank while their new palace was being built, but the Gophers don’t command that kind of passion and loyalty.
Look, for example, what happened in November of 2014 when eventual national champion Ohio State came to the Bank. It was a bitterly cold day on November 15, and despite the Ohio State brand name and the Gophers still being in the hunt for the Big Ten’s West Division championship, attendance was 45,778—about 7,000 under stadium capacity. The weather kept a lot of customers away, but in a covered facility the game likely would have attracted 55,000 to 60,000 fans.
Returning football to campus was promoted as a move to boost interest in the program. The results have been mixed. The Gophers didn’t sell out a single game in 2014, but last year—with the promise of Kill having his best team and playing a glitzy home schedule—Minnesota sold out multiple games and averaged a TCF Bank Stadium season-best ever 52,354 fans.
http://shamasportsheadliners.com/
Go Gophers!!
