BleedGopher
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TCF Bank update
Posted on July 9th, 2009 – 11:49 AM
By Kent Youngblood
Greetings
A bunch of us from the Strib went over to walk through TCF Bank Stadium, which is approaching completion.
We’ll be writing reams of stuff on the stadium in the coming weeks, but here are some off-the-cuff impressions:
–This stadium will take pretty good care of the regular guy/gal. By that I mean those not holding the so-called premium seats. First of all, I don’t think there is a bad seat in the house. I believe every one of the 50,000 or so fans there will get the feeling this is a relatively intimate stadium. The seats are very, very close to the field. The concourses are huge. I mean really, really wide. And, unlike the Metrodome, when you go back to the concourse to, say, get something to eat, you’ll still feel connected to the game given the open design.
–The football-shaped locker room is cavernous. Sixty yards long. They could hold walkthroughs there.
–The recruiting room will make an impression. It, too, is huge and right off the locker room. There will be a slew of comfortable leather sofas and chairs and a slew of big tvs. It will far out-strip the tent they used to erect next to the Metrodome for visiting athletes and their families.
–The feeling of walking down the ramp from the locker room to the field, with the view of the campus and Minneapolis, is inspiring.
–I know nearly $290 million is a lot of money. I still say that, compared to other projects and renovations that have been done on the pro and college level over the past few years, you will get a lot of bang for the buck as fans.
–Every sink I saw had a block ”M” in it. Talk about attention to detail. I didn’t check the toilets.
Hmm, what else? I’m told their still kicking around the idea to cover all the concrete walls circling the field with a brick finish. currently they’re just concrete, with padding covering the walls at either end zone. I think adding the brick would be a nice touch that would tie the stadium to the old Brick House.
I’m also told the placing of the field will eliminate much of the sun from affecting play. In the fall the sun’s path should be blocked, for the most part, by the high south side of the structure.
–The field sports the latest generation of Field Turf. And, incidentally, the field is barely crowned. Doesn’t need to be, thanks to the state-of-the-art drainage system.
On another note, I just got off the phone with Karl Mecklenburg. He played alongside Rene Capo on the Gophers’ defensive line back in the day. Here’s what he had to say about Capo:
”Rene Capo was a tough kid and a great friend and teammate,” Mecklenburg said. ”He was full of life and enthusiasm. Even when I was down Rene would make me smile. His stories of growing up in South Florida with the gangs and drug trade scared this Minnesota boy half to death. His openness and willingness to discuss problems in school, football, or relationships with his friends was a reflection of how important teammates and friendship were to him. I had the pleasure of getting to know many great football players in my years in college and pro football but never met anyone who cherished being a teammate like Rene. This dedication was reflected in his work ethic in football and later in Judo. I already miss my teammate Rene.”
Mecklenburg lives in Colorado. He used to be a neighbor of Tim Brewster’s. The U of M coach had Karl come talk to the team last year.
I also got an e-mail from Ross Fortier. He was the coach at Moorhead State University (now Minnesota State University, Moorhead) from 1970 to 1992. Apparently Capo had a year of eligibility left and used it at MSU in 1984. ”He had a dominant season and was named NIC all-conference and NAIA honorable mention all-American,” Fortier wrote.
Capo did return to the U of M to get his degree.
http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs.../?location_refer=Homepage:PromoScroller:Blogs
Go Gophers!!
Posted on July 9th, 2009 – 11:49 AM
By Kent Youngblood
Greetings
A bunch of us from the Strib went over to walk through TCF Bank Stadium, which is approaching completion.
We’ll be writing reams of stuff on the stadium in the coming weeks, but here are some off-the-cuff impressions:
–This stadium will take pretty good care of the regular guy/gal. By that I mean those not holding the so-called premium seats. First of all, I don’t think there is a bad seat in the house. I believe every one of the 50,000 or so fans there will get the feeling this is a relatively intimate stadium. The seats are very, very close to the field. The concourses are huge. I mean really, really wide. And, unlike the Metrodome, when you go back to the concourse to, say, get something to eat, you’ll still feel connected to the game given the open design.
–The football-shaped locker room is cavernous. Sixty yards long. They could hold walkthroughs there.
–The recruiting room will make an impression. It, too, is huge and right off the locker room. There will be a slew of comfortable leather sofas and chairs and a slew of big tvs. It will far out-strip the tent they used to erect next to the Metrodome for visiting athletes and their families.
–The feeling of walking down the ramp from the locker room to the field, with the view of the campus and Minneapolis, is inspiring.
–I know nearly $290 million is a lot of money. I still say that, compared to other projects and renovations that have been done on the pro and college level over the past few years, you will get a lot of bang for the buck as fans.
–Every sink I saw had a block ”M” in it. Talk about attention to detail. I didn’t check the toilets.
Hmm, what else? I’m told their still kicking around the idea to cover all the concrete walls circling the field with a brick finish. currently they’re just concrete, with padding covering the walls at either end zone. I think adding the brick would be a nice touch that would tie the stadium to the old Brick House.
I’m also told the placing of the field will eliminate much of the sun from affecting play. In the fall the sun’s path should be blocked, for the most part, by the high south side of the structure.
–The field sports the latest generation of Field Turf. And, incidentally, the field is barely crowned. Doesn’t need to be, thanks to the state-of-the-art drainage system.
On another note, I just got off the phone with Karl Mecklenburg. He played alongside Rene Capo on the Gophers’ defensive line back in the day. Here’s what he had to say about Capo:
”Rene Capo was a tough kid and a great friend and teammate,” Mecklenburg said. ”He was full of life and enthusiasm. Even when I was down Rene would make me smile. His stories of growing up in South Florida with the gangs and drug trade scared this Minnesota boy half to death. His openness and willingness to discuss problems in school, football, or relationships with his friends was a reflection of how important teammates and friendship were to him. I had the pleasure of getting to know many great football players in my years in college and pro football but never met anyone who cherished being a teammate like Rene. This dedication was reflected in his work ethic in football and later in Judo. I already miss my teammate Rene.”
Mecklenburg lives in Colorado. He used to be a neighbor of Tim Brewster’s. The U of M coach had Karl come talk to the team last year.
I also got an e-mail from Ross Fortier. He was the coach at Moorhead State University (now Minnesota State University, Moorhead) from 1970 to 1992. Apparently Capo had a year of eligibility left and used it at MSU in 1984. ”He had a dominant season and was named NIC all-conference and NAIA honorable mention all-American,” Fortier wrote.
Capo did return to the U of M to get his degree.
http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs.../?location_refer=Homepage:PromoScroller:Blogs
Go Gophers!!
