Maturi says TCF COULD host Bears vs Vikes Next Monday Night

[gopherguy05]

If anyone is inconvenienced, it will be the Vikings fans, because the U is not going to screw employees for a one-night event.

Plus, the parking is never compromised for any other weekday event.

They will get the park and ride from the Fairgrounds going....that will make things easier.

 

[Ski U Mah 55]

I think a decent solution to the parking could be the NFL/Vikings paying for the U to run shuttle buses from the Metrodome parking lots to the stadium. Kind of a reverse Gopher gameday shuttle from the Metrodome years.

 

[alltimetwinsfan]

Could the Twins swoop in and offer up Target Field? Heated field, heated concourses and a liquor license!

I do not know if it can fit a football field safely, but the Twins could step in and be the heros while Joel sits on the sidelines and cannot make a decision...

Target Field is also winterized right now, so it would take the same amount of time to prep. Further, there is zero chance the Twins would want to tear up their almost new turf for this. That's why there won't be any concerts at the ballpark for quite some time...they want to make sure the turf is properly matured before doing anything on it, and that takes several years.

It's TCF or Bust if the Vikings can't play at the dome.

 

[Stan The Caddy]

If anyone is inconvenienced, it will be the Vikings fans, because the U is not going to screw employees for a one-night event.

Plus, the parking is never compromised for any other weekday event.

I agree. Just laying out all of the possibilites for the Viking-centric rubes.

Also, 18k is the most on campus for a weeknight event. Not 50k for a Vikes game. That would be a completely different animal and would be a large pain in the rear.

 

[Stan The Caddy]

Target Field is also winterized right now, so it would take the same amount of time to prep. Further, there is zero chance the Twins would want to tear up their almost new turf for this. That's why there won't be any concerts at the ballpark for quite some time...they want to make sure the turf is properly matured before doing anything on it, and that takes several years.

It's TCF or Bust if the Vikings can't play at the dome.

I know it is a longshot.

Not buying the turf argument.

 

[alltimetwinsfan]

Also, 18k is the most on campus for a weeknight event. Not 50k for a Vikes game. That would be a completely different animal and would be a large pain in the rear.

What some of you are forgetting, however, is that this would be taking place during final exams. Further, it's more than halfway through the finals period, meaning there would be a far smaller amount of students on campus than normal.

In the end, people will have to deal with it if it comes to pass, which I think it will. Further, put yourselves in the dome's shoes, for a second. You don't think if some major catastrophe would occur to TCF that the dome and the Vikings wouldn't be willing to help?

I think your answer would be vastly different.

 

[year of the gopher]

"Have you ever been to the U of M?"

What are you talking about? Parking in and around the U is full each and every day school is in session. Parking would be a MAJOR issue if there is a game on campus next Monday night.

It is either going to be an issure for Viking fans coming to the game because the lots are full from staff and students or it is going to be an issue for staff and students because they are holding the lots for the football game.

Either way it would be a major issue on a weekday.

I'll try to be polite.

Ummm..yeah, you could say I'm familiar with the place. I'll leave it at that.

Have you ever been there other than for a football/basketball/hockey game?

Parking is mildly challenging at the U on weekdays (seldom see any of the ramps completely full except occasionally for Wash. Ave. ramp) during the day and for home football games. The evenings are not a huge challenge at all. Parking will be only slightly more challenging than a Saturday football game due to evening classes going on.

How many Vikings fans will actually turn out before 5pm for a Monday night game? My guess is not many.

They'll probably plow and open the Fairgrounds lots and encourage people to shuttle from there to the game or bus from downtown or park in one of the many surface lots and ramps on the east bank. My guess would be they'll charge $15-$20 on east bank for special event parking that night, $10 in St Paul, and Parking & Transportation Services will do quite well on the deal.

 

[alltimetwinsfan]

Not buying the turf argument.

I know what I'm talking about. Buy it. And buy it big.

 

[Iceland12]

I agree. Just laying out all of the possibilites for the Viking-centric rubes.

Also, 18k is the most on campus for a weeknight event. Not 50k for a Vikes game. That would be a completely different animal and would be a large pain in the rear.

The other problem with parking around the U is I'd imagine that quite a few on street parking spots will have been lost due to the massive amount of snow.

 

[MNfootballfan]

Target Field is also winterized right now, so it would take the same amount of time to prep. Further, there is zero chance the Twins would want to tear up their almost new turf for this. That's why there won't be any concerts at the ballpark for quite some time...they want to make sure the turf is properly matured before doing anything on it, and that takes several years.

It's TCF or Bust if the Vikings can't play at the dome.

The Yankees didn't care that Notre Dame played on their near brand new turf. Playing one football game on a field will not tear it up beyond repaid.

Heck, Kent Hrbek ruined the field more in the "legends" game than the NFL players will!

 

[Stan The Caddy]

What some of you are forgetting, however, is that this would be taking place during final exams. Further, it's more than halfway through the finals period, meaning there would be a far smaller amount of students on campus than normal.

In the end, people will have to deal with it if it comes to pass, which I think it will. Further, put yourselves in the dome's shoes, for a second. You don't think if some major catastrophe would occur to TCF that the dome and the Vikings wouldn't be willing to help?

I think your answer would be vastly different.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy there big fella. Grow up? I am not saying the U should not help out. Just saying that it will be a bit more of a mess to park at the U on a weeknight as opposed to a weekend game.

I think it would be a great showcase for the U of M to have TCF host a Monday night game. I am all for it.

Another thing you have to consider for the parking is that 10K of the seats at TCF for Gopher games are student tix. Those students for the most part do not drive down and park for the games. Meaning, 10K more fans than usual could be driving down and parking.

 

[Stan The Caddy]

I'll try to be polite.

Ummm..yeah, you could say I'm familiar with the place. I'll leave it at that.

Have you ever been there other than for a football/basketball/hockey game?

Parking is mildly challenging at the U on weekdays (seldom see any of the ramps completely full except occasionally for Wash. Ave. ramp) during the day and for home football games. The evenings are not a huge challenge at all. Parking will be only slightly more challenging than a Saturday football game due to evening classes going on.

How many Vikings fans will actually turn out before 5pm for a Monday night game? My guess is not many.

They'll probably plow and open the Fairgrounds lots and encourage people to shuttle from there to the game or bus from downtown or park in one of the many surface lots and ramps on the east bank. My guess would be they'll charge $15-$20 on east bank for special event parking that night, $10 in St Paul, and Parking & Transportation Services will do quite well on the deal.

You were polite, mission accomplished.

I have been at the U for plenty of athletic events and functions on weekendays and weekends.

My point was that adding 50k or so extra people on campus late on a Monday afternoon would cause both traffic and parking headaches. I realize that they will put forth an effort to utilize as many shuttle options as they can.

I actually think plenty of Viking fans will show up before 5pm for a Monday night game. A chance for an outdoor game and all that goes with it. I know die hard Vikings fans that show up and tailgate 5-6 hours before kickoff no matter the date and time of the game. This has been a Monday night game on their calendars all season.

 

[Monty519]

It will be a headache, there's no way around it. Even though I'd be affected, I'm still all for it, I think it'd be a great opportunity to showcase the stadium to a national audience, and also even be a small recruiting tool, just to allow everyone to see how tight our stadium is.

Someone mentioned shuttles from Dome parking. I think that'd be a great idea, especially since I'm sure many Vikings fans will want a place to tailgate but still be able to easily get to the game.

 

[howeda7]

What some of you are forgetting, however, is that this would be taking place during final exams. Further, it's more than halfway through the finals period, meaning there would be a far smaller amount of students on campus than normal.

In the end, people will have to deal with it if it comes to pass, which I think it will. Further, put yourselves in the dome's shoes, for a second. You don't think if some major catastrophe would occur to TCF that the dome and the Vikings wouldn't be willing to help?

I think your answer would be vastly different.

Good points on both fronts.

 

[DarrenTheGreek]

Parking for a MNF game is just as much an issue in downtown Mpls as it would be on campus. A simple solution is to get the park & ride from the parking lots in downtown as well as the fairgrounds.

 

[GophersInIowa]

It would be awesome for the Bears to go 1-0 on TCF Bank turf.

The Bears sure looked good yesterday playing in bad weather conditions.

 

[mplsbadger]

I would bring my shovel and volunteer if that's what it took to make an outdoor Viking gam happen.

 

[CJTGopher]

What would have to be done? Clear the snow, figure out a configuration and prop up some goal posts.

Why would temporary seats need to be brought in?

Is Maturi capable of an epic fail? (Rhetorical question people)

I agree that it is a long shot at best, but was surprised it has not been discussed.

Even if the logistics could be worked out to use Target Field for a Vikes game the Twins would surely have zero interest. The field would get destroyed and with very little growing season in the spring to make repairs the Twins would have a compromised field for a good chunk of next season. Heated field or not turf needs light to grow well and it does not get enough of that late fall, winter and early spring.

 

[RodentRampage]

It seems that baseball stadiums all over the country are hosting football games, I don't see why the Twins would have any more of a problem with it than anyone else. But it would be even more problematic than TCF, as Target Field is not a football stadium, there is more logistics to consider.

 

[16FeetUnder]

I was also told by somebody in the know that there was a design flaw with TCF. The main area where the Gophers and vehicles enter the filed is two inches too small to fit dump trucks out to the field. So, when all the snow is shoveled out onto the field, it has to be hauled out of there in much smaller trucks, adding to the time it would take to clear the field.

You sure? I have personally almost been run over by a dump truck driving out onto the field. Granted, it was during construction, but they had plenty of room to spare at that time.

 

[Stan The Caddy]

You sure? I have personally almost been run over by a dump truck driving out onto the field. Granted, it was during construction, but they had plenty of room to spare at that time.

Interesting. Maybe that was before everything was complete? I trust the info I was given, but that photo certainly paints a different picture.

 

[16FeetUnder]

I don't doubt it. Adding brick and curbs could reduce clearances quite a bit.

 

[GoAUpher]

Interesting. Maybe that was before everything was complete? I trust the info I was given, but that photo certainly paints a different picture.

EDIT: 16Feet already answered and corrected what would have been an bad statement on my part. All hail 16Feet.

 

[GoAUpher]

It seems that baseball stadiums all over the country are hosting football games, I don't see why the Twins would have any more of a problem with it than anyone else. But it would be even more problematic than TCF, as Target Field is not a football stadium, there is more logistics to consider.

Target would have a bigger issue b/c they have a smaller (maybe the smallest) field footprint in the majors. Basically no foul territory. Not saying they couldn't, but if they couldn't that would be the primary reason I'm guessing.

 

[CJTGopher]

The Yankees didn't care that Notre Dame played on their near brand new turf. Playing one football game on a field will not tear it up beyond repaid.

Heck, Kent Hrbek ruined the field more in the "legends" game than the NFL players will!

New York is a vastly different climate than Minnesota for growing grass. They were able to prepare that field after the Yankees season was done because of their growing season. Whereas the end of the Twins season is essentially the end of the growing season here in MN. The heat was kept on for a bit but shut down to allow the turf to go dormant as usual. Warming up the field, playing a NFL game and expecting the field to be ready for spring is a non-starter, the Twins would never do it. I also know what I am talking about. Turf management is what I do for a living.

Its all a moot point because it wouldn't work anyway.

 

[Stan The Caddy]

Target would have a bigger issue b/c they have a smaller (maybe the smallest) field footprint in the majors. Basically no foul territory. Not saying they couldn't, but if they couldn't that would be the primary reason I'm guessing.

GoA-

They have the smallest stadium footprint in baseball, not the smallest field footprint. As we found out this year, the field itself has tons of room in the outfield...Wrigley also has little to no foul territory as well.

This is all a moot point, as it most likely will not happen.

 

[GoAUpher]

New York is a vastly different climate than Minnesota for growing grass. They were able to prepare that field after the Yankees season was done because of their growing season. Whereas the end of the Twins season is essentially the end of the growing season here in MN. The heat was kept on for a bit but shut down to allow the turf to go dormant as usual. Warming up the field, playing a NFL game and expecting the field to be ready for spring is a non-starter, the Twins would never do it. I also know what I am talking about. Turf management is what I do for a living.

Its all a moot point because it wouldn't work anyway.

Thank you. I suspected the turf stuff was likely another issue (seemed logical) but its nice to get a real explanation for the "why".

 

[glovedgopher]

New York is a vastly different climate than Minnesota for growing grass. They were able to prepare that field after the Yankees season was done because of their growing season. Whereas the end of the Twins season is essentially the end of the growing season here in MN. The heat was kept on for a bit but shut down to allow the turf to go dormant as usual. Warming up the field, playing a NFL game and expecting the field to be ready for spring is a non-starter, the Twins would never do it. I also know what I am talking about. Turf management is what I do for a living.

Its all a moot point because it wouldn't work anyway.

Larry Divito would probably shoot someone if it was even brought up to him. And how would you get the snow out in a timely manner.

 

[GoAUpher]

GoA-

They have the smallest stadium footprint in baseball, not the smallest field footprint. As we found out this year, the field itself has tons of room in the outfield...Wrigley also has little to no foul territory as well.

This is all a moot point, as it most likely will not happen.

Good point on the stadium footprint thing versus field...I wasn't distinguishing the 2. That said, I still don't see where the space comes from. There may be tons of room to deep center at TF, but the corners are much tighter. And the lack of foul territory thing becomes huge when you look at the space around home plate. There definitely isn't room to configure it down one foul line like Wrigley (since both corners in TF are about 20 feet closer than at Wrigley and we saw how well things fit there). And I'm not sure how they'd shoehorn in a home plate to center field alignment like the one that was used for the Notre Dame game given the fact that Yankee Stadium has deeper right and left center measurements and more foul space around home plate for those end zone corners.

 

[disco]

So let's ask the obvious question. Does the Bank get a temporary liquor license? Is that even possible?
They weren't going to sell beer at the U2 concert that got postponed.

I can't really see the Vikings rubes showing up without the ability to drink. That's 90% of the reason people go to games it seems.