Athlon's: Ranking the Big Ten's College Football Stadiums (TCF Bank Stadium #8)

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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8. TCF Bank Stadium, Minnesota
Opened: 2009
Capacity: 50,805
2012 Attendance: 46,637 (47th)

The newest building in the Big Ten is home to the Golden Gophers of Minnesota. The on-campus, outdoor facility opened in 2009 and cost roughly $300 million to build. It could be expanded to 80,000 should it be needed. The west end zone is open air, holds a massive HD video board and provides a scenic view of downtown Minneapolis. “The Bank” or “Gopher Hole” has dramatically improved the game day atmosphere for home games and provides Minnesota an on-campus home of its own for decades to come. The amenities are also among the league’s best considering it’s the newest building in the conference.

http://www.athlonsports.com/college-football/ranking-big-tens-college-football-stadiums

Go Gophers!!
 


Putting us behind Spartans Stadium was a slap to the face. I was there in 2006, and the interior of the stadium is a dreary, gray concrete experience.

Wonder if the Metrodome would have ranked dead last were we still in it... guessing it would.
 

BleedGopher said:
BTN chimes in on this report:

"I will say this: If Minnesota was an occasional contender, there’s no way the beautiful TCF Bank Stadium lands at No. 8. To Athlon’s credit, it took into account attendance and overall gameday experience."

http://btn.com/2013/06/13/athlon-where-does-your-big-ten-stadium-rank/

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

“There is little doubt that the Horseshoe is the Big Ten’s best place to watch a game. A great nickname, awesome traditions, tremendous fan support and commitment, elite level of success, High Street and the Banks of the Olentangy make Ohio Stadium a bucket list destination for fans of every team......"

I wonder heavily they weighted 'a great nickname'?:rolleyes:

Some entertaining posts in the comment section though. One of them had the Metrodome ranked #4........maybe it was the nickname-The Dump. Or was it The Hump?
 

I have been to 9 of these (haven't been to Spartan, Beaver, or Kinnick). This list is pretty much completely weighted by "game day atmosphere" and chances of home team winning. Memorial (Lincoln) Stadium was an absolute disaster. I'm 31 and my back hurt incredibly bad after being crammed in that mass of humanity for 3.5 hours. It is by far the poorest designed stadium of the lot. Add in the fact that Lincoln blows (possibly even worse than West Lafayette), and this list loses most of it's credibilty. We go to at least one away game a year, and will keep on cycling through the B1G once we've seen them all. But I can't say I'm ever going back to Lincoln.

Also, there is no way Camp Randall is anywhere near the top if you don't include "game day atmosphere". Having to use a porta-potty in the stadium because you're sitting in the upper deck? No thanks. And the concourse is an absolute mess. There is a very fine line between "charming" and "dumpy". However, both Memorial and Camp Randall have dumpiness in spades.

At the bottom, Ross-Ade actually isn't that bad. It feels small and close, like TCF (which isn't a bad thing). Plenty of tailgating...not too bad. Seriously though- the name always makes me think that it's some generic version of Kool-Ade or something.

Memorial (Champaign) could be really nice. Outside of Ohio Stadium, it is grandest, most formal design, and could be really nice if they renovated it correctly. But even after they dumped a bunch of money a while back, it still needs a lot of help.
 



If Minnesota was a perennial contender we would definitely be in the top 4, top 3, we would hands down be 1 if these rankings were based solely on least dumpy or most upscale, we could be 1 in all of college football in terms of how modern our stadium is and most upscale
 

Absolute BS survey. I've been to most venues in the B1G and for it's size TCF has the best schematics of any structure in the B1G. Had we won a division title in TCF we would be higher on the ladder.
 

BleedGopher said:
8. TCF Bank Stadium, Minnesota
Opened: 2009
Capacity: 50,805
2012 Attendance: 46,637 (47th)

The newest building in the Big Ten is home to the Golden Gophers of Minnesota. The on-campus, outdoor facility opened in 2009 and cost roughly $300 million to build. It could be expanded to 80,000 should it be needed. The west end zone is open air, holds a massive HD video board and provides a scenic view of downtown Minneapolis. “The Bank” or “Gopher Hole” has dramatically improved the game day atmosphere for home games and provides Minnesota an on-campus home of its own for decades to come. The amenities are also among the league’s best considering it’s the newest building in the conference.

http://www.athlonsports.com/college-football/ranking-big-tens-college-football-stadiums

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

Complete BS. Won't waste my time reading it.
 



From the article:

There are a variety of ways to evaluate the greatness of a stadium. Huge attendance numbers, home-field advantage in the win-loss column, rich traditions, picturesque landscapes and amenities are just a few of the aspects that must be considered to rank so many great college football cathedrals.



The top 6 I'm not surprised about. 7 I am.
 

Honestly, I've been inside Ohio Stadium when it's empty and the place is hideous. With as much money as the program has you'd think they would spruce the place up.

That said, fill it with 100k fans dressed and chanting in unison? It almost gives you goosebumps.
 

Gopherprof said:
Honestly, I've been inside Ohio Stadium when it's empty and the place is hideous. With as much money as the program has you'd think they would spruce the place up.

That said, fill it with 100k fans dressed and chanting in unison? It almost gives you goosebumps.
Click to expand...

Why bother? Wait until some big-buck supporter complains and then use his/her money.
 

I love reading Penn States.....from a massive city like Columbus to a little sleepy town in State College.
Massive city? Columbus? Right.

Also Penn State and Wisconsin's stadiums are glorified erector sets. No architecture integrity in either. Ohio State, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Purdue, Nebraska should be the only stadiums in the discussion.
 



GoGophers2005 said:
I love reading Penn States.....from a massive city like Columbus to a little sleepy town in State College.
Massive city? Columbus? Right.
Click to expand...

Well, in fairness, Columbus is the 15th largest city in the US (2X more population than Minneapolis proper). Total metro area, Columbus is 33rd largest (M-SP is 16th). State College metro is about 18 times smaller than Columbus metro.
 

GoGophers2005 said:
I love reading Penn States.....from a massive city like Columbus to a little sleepy town in State College.
Massive city? Columbus? Right.
Click to expand...

800,000 population in a city completely consumed by its University is pretty massive. Knoxville sells out 100,000 with a city population of 180,000. Ohio State could sell out a 200,000 seat stadium.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
Absolute BS survey. I've been to most venues in the B1G and for it's size TCF has the best schematics of any structure in the B1G. Had we won a division title in TCF we would be higher on the ladder.
Click to expand...

They factored in game day atmosphere, huge attendance numbers and home field advantage.
 

Maximus said:
800,000 population in a city completely consumed by its University is pretty massive. Knoxville sells out 100,000 with a city population of 180,000. Ohio State could sell out a 200,000 seat stadium.
Click to expand...

Massive is Chicago. Massive is New York City. Minneapolis at twice the population of Columbus isn't close to massive.
Just thought it was a word that should never be used to describe Columbus, Ohio. Agree to disagree?
Love you guys.
 

Maximus said:
They factored in game day atmosphere, huge attendance numbers and home field advantage.
Click to expand...

Which is why the survey is BS. They weren't rating the stadiums, they were ranking the stadium experience.
 


joshvanklomp said:
Which is why the survey is BS. They weren't rating the stadiums, they were ranking the stadium experience.
Click to expand...

As a fan, I'm more interested in reading about the complete game day experience. Maybe there's an architectural magazine or something you could find to rank the stadium design only.
 

To Kill A Badger said:
As a fan, I'm more interested in reading about the complete game day experience. Maybe there's an architectural magazine or something you could find to rank the stadium design only.
Click to expand...

The article's title had the word "stadium" in it, but not "game day experience". If you want to rank game-day experiences, then title the article, "ranking college football's game-day experiences." Right?
 

forever a gopher said:
I have been to 9 of these (haven't been to Spartan, Beaver, or Kinnick). This list is pretty much completely weighted by "game day atmosphere" and chances of home team winning. Memorial (Lincoln) Stadium was an absolute disaster. I'm 31 and my back hurt incredibly bad after being crammed in that mass of humanity for 3.5 hours. It is by far the poorest designed stadium of the lot. Add in the fact that Lincoln blows (possibly even worse than West Lafayette), and this list loses most of it's credibilty. We go to at least one away game a year, and will keep on cycling through the B1G once we've seen them all. But I can't say I'm ever going back to Lincoln.

Also, there is no way Camp Randall is anywhere near the top if you don't include "game day atmosphere". Having to use a porta-potty in the stadium because you're sitting in the upper deck? No thanks. And the concourse is an absolute mess. There is a very fine line between "charming" and "dumpy". However, both Memorial and Camp Randall have dumpiness in spades.

At the bottom, Ross-Ade actually isn't that bad. It feels small and close, like TCF (which isn't a bad thing). Plenty of tailgating...not too bad. Seriously though- the name always makes me think that it's some generic version of Kool-Ade or something.

Memorial (Champaign) could be really nice. Outside of Ohio Stadium, it is grandest, most formal design, and could be really nice if they renovated it correctly. But even after they dumped a bunch of money a while back, it still needs a lot of help.
Click to expand...


Don't know where you were in Lincoln, but this is so far from the truth I don't even know what to say. The stadium is cramped in the upper deck for sure, but the atmosphere was awesome, the people were amazing, and the bars and nightlife around the stadium were great. Hell, I'd go back just for the Friday night/pregame Saturday experience over the game....
 

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