Hard to believe TCF Bank Stadium era is nearly upon us

[Schnauzer]

I was just remembering back to the days when the serious discussions took place about building an on-campus stadium, prior to the legislature actually voting on it.

I remember one thing that many detractors (I distinctly remember Sid Hartman repeating this one) whined about was how the potential new stadium location was only a few feet closer to Coffman Union compared to the Metrodome. How crazy was that? What if they had chosen Williams Arena instead of Coffman Union as their measuring point?

Anyway, I also remember attending those Gopher games in the Barber III era and seeing artist renderings of the potential new stadium in the gameday programs (the ones where the open end pointed south and showed that pedestrian cylinder covered in a big picture of Goldy).

It is great to see the finished product looks sooooo much better than those early visions and its place on campus already looks so natural. Of course there have been a few negatives like the booze debate but overall, there really isn't much if anything I'd change about the stadium's design, location, etc. At first I was thinking 50K was light on capacity but I have since changed my mind to agree with the design and ability to expand later if needed.

Anything you'd change?

 

[swmngo4]

Well, I would put brick (with cement trim) that matches the rest of the stadium on the cement wall around the field and I wish the end zone, midfield, and chairback seat maroons matched, but other than that the stadium seems awesome. Those are two somewhat small things compared to all the other big positives we've seen. I agree it looks WAY, WAY better than that original one that now looks pretty sad.

We really do need to thank President Bruininks, Maturi, legislative leaders, boosters, etc. for making this great stadium possible.

 

[Schnauzer]

Well, I would put brick (with cement trim) that matches the rest of the stadium on the cement wall around the field and I wish the end zone, midfield, and chairback seat maroons matched, but other than that the stadium seems awesome. Those are two somewhat small things compared to all the other big positives we've seen. I agree it looks WAY, WAY better than that original one that now looks pretty sad.

We really do need to thank President Bruininks, Maturi, legislative leaders, boosters, etc. for making this great stadium possible.

Good points. I think I read somewhere that the brick w/trim may come some day on that wall around the field but the budget was a limiting factor on that for now. I also agree they should have gone with the dark maroon on the field. It looks a tad bit USC-ish as is.

 

[elbailey]

complaints?

The stadium looks great, and I couldn't be more excited, but as long as you asked, I wish the angle of the stands was steeper. The lower level in particular looks to be much "flatter" than the Metrodome, for example. I wonder why.

 

[sfbadger]

At first I was thinking 50K was light on capacity but I have since changed my mind to agree with the design and ability to expand later if needed.

What are you talking about? 50,000 gives you the biggest stadium in the entire conference!

Hmmm? What's that? Oh, it's the Big Ten, not the MAC? Well then, that's just pathetic.

 

[forestlaker]

When you look at the cost of building stadiums now days, 300 M. seems like a great deal.

 

[swmngo4]

What are you talking about? 50,000 gives you the biggest stadium in the entire conference!

Hmmm? What's that? Oh, it's the Big Ten, not the MAC? Well then, that's just pathetic.

Yeah, it's pathetic sfBADGER. But speding a beautiful Wisconsin summer afternoon trolling other teams message boards attempting to insult their brand new $300M stadium is really, really cool.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

What are you talking about? 50,000 gives you the biggest stadium in the entire conference!

Hmmm? What's that? Oh, it's the Big Ten, not the MAC? Well then, that's just pathetic.

Confirmation is in:

sfbadger is the world's largest asshole

 

[sfbadger]

Confirmation is in:

sfbadger is the world's largest asshole

I guess Ruppert doesn't post here.

 

[Jike Spingleton]

We really do need to thank President Bruininks, Maturi, legislative leaders, boosters, etc. for making this great stadium possible.

And Glen Mason. I wasn't his biggest fan at the end, and I'm beyond tired of the likes of Wren coming here to stir the pot, but Mase deserves many thanks for the work he put into getting the stadium deal done. I don't know if it's possible with his BTN commitments, or if it's still too soon with some of "his" players still on the squad, but I'd like to see Mase be recognized at the first game. I, for one, will give a standing O.

 

[GoGophers2005]

There is absolutely NOTHING that could have been done with the angle of the stands/seating. It is all based on accessibility and the State of Minnesota's building code. I believe 7" is the maximum a step can be. If you want steeper stands you need to look at what the upper deck behind the nets at the Xcel Energy Center. In order to get that steep they really needed to do some unique things. I believe they added an extra step or two between rows which then creates almost a whole seat depth behind each seat, (which becomes a total waste of space).

I know Iowa has very steep seating, however that was built how long before our current building codes.

Wait till you actually get into the stadium before you wish the seating were steeper.

 

[Gopherdrummer]

The stadium looks great, and I couldn't be more excited, but as long as you asked, I wish the angle of the stands was steeper. The lower level in particular looks to be much "flatter" than the Metrodome, for example. I wonder why.

The design of TCF makes it look smaller then it actually is. On the outside it can be perceived as being really small, but on the field you discover that the stadium is surprisingly vertical. I remember when I got to visit in November being amazed at how tall the stadium is. For example if you stand in the endzone and look behind you at the stands, it is really hard to see the upper deck. That means fans are on top of the field, Very intimidating for visiting players.

 

[Schnauzer]

When I drove around it the other night the word that kept coming to mind was "classy". Such a thoughtful design to incorporate an overall retro collegiate feel but at the same time, unmistakably modern with the windows and amenities. It is really going to be fun to see how the gameday atmosphere develops around the stadium.

I actually like its location better than the old Memorial Stadium. That stadium was fairly packed in with stuff all around it. TCF gets a little space to breath but is still on campus.

 

[ChemEGopher]

Didn't they account for holding in the maximum amount of crowd noise possible when determining the pitch of the stands as well?

 

[station19]

Could this be The Camden Yards of college football? A little retro, a little new, lots of class and the first of copies to come.

 

[GoAUpher]

Didn't they account for holding in the maximum amount of crowd noise possible when determining the pitch of the stands as well?

The U has always said this was part of the design process. But as others have noted, I'm sure the new ADA requirements/building codes prohibited steeper steps and the U's goal was to build the loudest stadium within the confines of the newer regs. Moving the stands 15 feet closer to the field was probably part of that. To be honest, I'm glad the steps aren't as steep. I know some older fans who really hate road games at Camp Randall because of the steep upper deck stairs (for some folks, steps like that are uncomfortable at best, dangerous at worst). I also have to admit I'm not a huge fan of that steepness myself (I have a thing with heights). Having seen the stadium in person I can tell you that the field is right there and the closeness of the field will surprise you. To be able to get that, design it to be as loud as possible, and keep the stadium accessible for all Gopher fans is a job well done IMHO.

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

When I drove around it the other night the word that kept coming to mind was "classy". Such a thoughtful design to incorporate an overall retro collegiate feel but at the same time, unmistakably modern with the windows and amenities. It is really going to be fun to see how the gameday atmosphere develops around the stadium.

Well said.