FieldTurf

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GoAUpher said:
Its already happening. Here's a pretty good summary of Ticketmaster's monopoly.
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Nothing in that link refers to a venue's market entry preclusion. If such a thing occurred, off the top of my head an anti-trust action might (depending upon the facts) be brought under several different recognized theories, including essential facilities (e.g., the MCI/ATT case) or market leveraging (using a monopolistic position in one market to obtain an unfair position in another market)

EDIT: Being a monopolist isn't illegal, but what a monopolist does with its power can be.
 

myleslong said:
Nothing in that link refers to a venue's market entry preclusion. If such a thing occurred, off the top of my head an anti-trust action might (depending upon the facts) be brought under several different recognized theories, including essential facilities (e.g., the MCI/ATT case) or market leveraging (using a monopolistic position in one market to obtain an unfair position in another market)

EDIT: Being a monopolist isn't illegal, but what a monopolist does with its power can be.
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Ah...I get what you're saying. Sorry, I wasn't trying to say that Ticketmaster could/would prohibit TCF from becoming a music venue. Rather, I was saying that they could use their contracts to ensure that touring groups would play elsewhere (like Target Center or Excel) once TCF was a venue. That is, of course, unless the U decided to play ball with Ticketmaster.
 

GoAUpher said:
Ah...I get what you're saying. Sorry, I wasn't trying to say that Ticketmaster could/would prohibit TCF from becoming a music venue. Rather, I was saying that they could use their contracts to ensure that touring groups would play elsewhere (like Target Center or Excel) once TCF was a venue. That is, of course, unless the U decided to play ball with Ticketmaster.
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If they prohibited the U of Minnesota from participating in the market of hosting events, they would be stupid and have potential liability. Dictating where an act can and CANNOT play might give rise to an action.

The reality and impact of the Internet in ticketing is such that the U of Minnesota would be foolish not to consider using Ticketmaster as a ticketing agent for their events including even, potentially for in-demand Gopher tix. E.g., the thousands of student tickets might best be distributed to the students through an on-line lottery with a virtual waiting room. Ticketmaster is currently the state of the art in this. The reason they are so big is because of the revenue they pay promoters for the right to market their events. It's hard to compete with them.

That being said, venues like TCP have a unique position and could be just the type of venue to cut out the Ticketmasters of the world. The question becomes is it worth the hassle of doing it yourself or doing nothing and still having a good payday when you play ball with Ticketmaster.

BTW, I put little stock in these bands b!tching about Ticketmaster until seeing exactly how much they are making from the event CONSIDERING ALL SOURCES. Sure it's easy to say you are supporting your fans who pay $195 a seat and $45 of it goes to Ticketmaster's various line item fees. How much of those fees ultimately end up in the bands' pockets through creative three way accounting involving Ticketmaster, the promoter and the act?? Some of the bands are credible in their complaints and some are not.

I saw Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd in the seventies at around $20-30 a ticket. If and (hopefully) when those reunions occur, I fear that the market will dictate $200-$300 in convenience, ticketing, venue and other BS fees ON TOP of the $500-$2,500 ticket prices. Zep promoted their own tours for a while in the mid-late 70s. I doubt they could do it today, but if anyone could they would need that kind of demand to pull it off.
 

TCF Stadium will also host club soccer, lacrosse and rugby events and intramural soccer and flag football.
 


myleslong said:
If they prohibited the U of Minnesota from participating in the market of hosting events, they would be stupid and have potential liability. Dictating where an act can and CANNOT play might give rise to an action.
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Perhaps, but I don't see the U spending the time, effort, or money required to fight such an action. Also, it could be argued that Ticketmaster isn't prohibiting the U from participating...they're just making sure specific acts perform at Ticketmaster venues. :rolleyes:
myleslong said:
The reality and impact of the Internet in ticketing is such that the U of Minnesota would be foolish not to consider using Ticketmaster as a ticketing agent for their events including even, potentially for in-demand Gopher tix. E.g., the thousands of student tickets might best be distributed to the students through an on-line lottery with a virtual waiting room. Ticketmaster is currently the state of the art in this. The reason they are so big is because of the revenue they pay promoters for the right to market their events. It's hard to compete with them.
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I'd lean to agreement with you on this. If the U wants concerts to be a part of the stadium's use, they probably need to assimilate into the Ticketmaster collective. As always, this probably comes down to money. How much money would the U give up/gain for this type of service? How much would Gopher fans be paying in fees? Keep in mind, our fanbase still has some bandwagon issues and the move to TCF has already seen plenty of bitching as the U starts to do what is necessary to raise revenue in TCF and more fees wouldn't please anyone. Could the U control ticket sales for some things and not others? What kind of extra revenue would the U get for concerts?
myleslong said:
That being said, venues like TCP have a unique position and could be just the type of venue to cut out the Ticketmasters of the world. The question becomes is it worth the hassle of doing it yourself or doing nothing and still having a good payday when you play ball with Ticketmaster.
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I'm not sure how they have any power to do much. I'm betting concert seating configurations at TCF would put capacity in the 25K (or higher) range. Only big acts are going to play to those crowds. And these big acts are the ones who rarely (if ever) stray from the Ticketmaster venues (be it b/c of contracts, revenue from fees, whatever).
 

Gopherdrummer said:
Real grass would not be able to survive that long into the season in Minneapolis. An example is the grass at Lambeau Field dies in November. They actually need to dye the field green so it looks nice on TV. They are also experimenting with a synthetic/natural hybrid field. Every 100 blades of grass, a synthetic one is stitched 6 inches into the turf. The roots of the grass grow around it and make the turf stronger, and hopefully the field will last longer.....
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With some heating of the field (like Target Field) and the right grass, it could be played through the end of the Big Ten season. The main reason for not having real grass is the Band--marching band practices are brutal on real grass.
 

MNCH said:
TCF Stadium will also host club soccer, lacrosse and rugby events and intramural soccer and flag football.
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And, God-willing, a mid-winter outdoor hockey game or two. :) :)
 

I'd say the number one reason is cost. However, it does allow for more use of the facility than grass at that cost - creating a win-win for everyone. From band in high school, I can tell you that everyone saying that band practices on are hard on the field is absolutely true. Especially on a field used by JV and Varsity football in high school. It's just cheaper, faster, and easier for all parties involved. With the advent of the new FieldTurf technologies, many of the cons of the old AstroTurf have been eliminated - namely, the injury factor. I agree with the decision to go FieldTurf.
 



Other events

I heard Maturi say on WCCO that they are planning a day of outdoor hockey at the stadium. Not this year but probably next year.
A profile high school matchup(s) in the early afternoon, a division 3 game, the Gophers after that probably vs UMD, and a Wild game at night. This would be great.

Go Gophers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

I'm sure cost was a factor, but the main reason is field turf is safer than grass from an injury standpoint. I can't imagine a new stadium being built now with anything but field turf.

I was told by a Wisconsin band member the field turf company which installed the turf at Camp Randall provides soccer-type shoes for their band to wear because their street shoes were damaging the field turf. I was skeptical until she showed me the cleated shoes they are required to wear. I wonder if the U has a similar agreement.
 

sugarriver said:
I'm sure cost was a factor, but the main reason is field turf is safer than grass from an injury standpoint. I can't imagine a new stadium being built now with anything but field turf.

I was told by a Wisconsin band member the field turf company which installed the turf at Camp Randall provides soccer-type shoes for their band to wear because their street shoes were damaging the field turf. I was skeptical until she showed me the cleated shoes they are required to wear. I wonder if the U has a similar agreement.
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Yes the Badger Band wears Addidas cleats. But those cleats actually destroy their turf. The reason they wear them is their retarded highstep/robot marching style that slams their feet into the ground. The cleats provide extra traction. Unfortunately for madison, they have to replace their FieldTurf every 2 years or so because the marching band destroys the surface. FieldTurf is supposed to last 10+ years. I only know this because last year during rehearsal the U actually installed different kinds of artificial turf on our practice field. We were instructed to beat the crap out of it and see which kind held up the best. The winner....FieldTurf.

As far as I know the Marching Band doesn't have a deal with Nike for cleats. We've been marching on FieldTurf in the dome and at the football complex for years. shoes have never been an issue. Basically the Badger Band is dumb.....
 

Concerts, noise

Per an agreement with the local neighborhood organizations, there will be no concerts held at TCF Bank Stadium for the first full year of occupancy due to unknowns surrounding the stadium's impact on the surrounding neighborhoods.

Although the stadium is open towards campus, sound doesn't project out of it like you might think (e.g. satellite dish). I keep hearing that the stadium's sound design is supposed to be one of the crowning design achievements of the building. It apparently really will sound like over a 100,000 fans instead of 50,000. That way we can say we are louder than Michigan with only half as many fans. IF we make noise, that is. Can't wait to hear it for myself. :cool02:
 



Perhaps some people think outdoor stadium = natural grass turf, but if artificial turf were limited to indoor stadiums, artificial turf would probably never have even been invented, as the vast majority of stadiums are outdoor stadiums.
 

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