Memorial v. TCF?

Donate To GopherHole


Without having seen a full house at TCF it's hard to judge. I will go with TCF. It has most of the bells and whistles that you want. Chairs for the most part , not bench seating. Concourse is wide and should be easy to navigate through. It has tail gating next to it(I am not sure college sports did much tail gating before 1980.) I was at many games at old Memorial stadium, the bathrooms were a joke and trying to buy food, well forget about the game. To me the one draw back is, well the name. I know it's about the $$$$$$$. And I am grateful to TCF for the pledge that started the ball rolling for fund raising. I still would like it to be call Nagurski Stadium. Anyway, we are now back home and isn't it great. I loved hearing some of the players talking about protecting the bank. Some were saying things like, there will be no withdrawls from this bank. Decker was talking about protecting "our house". Kids are fired up for it and so are the fans. GO GOPHERS.
 

Memorial had a track IIRC, which put one a lonng way from the field.
 



dlw4gophers said:
To me the one draw back is, well the name. I know it's about the $$$$$$$. And I am grateful to TCF for the pledge that started the ball rolling for fund raising. I still would like it to be call Nagurski Stadium.
Click to expand...

Remember, it may be called TCF Bank Stadium for a while, but naming rights aren't infinite.

If you look at the letter on the north face, there is space for eight characters (T-C-F-(blank)-B-A-N-K) before the word "Stadium." Both Memorial and your suggestion, Nagurski, have exactly eight letters. Almost seredipitous that the organization that bought the naming rights to help get this stadium built had the name it did. Had they wanted to call it Twin Cities Federal Bank Stadium, I don't know what we would have done down the road.
 

TCF Bank Stadium. Those 27 years in the dome paid off. Memorial was falling apart and had no major renovations during it's existence. TCF is simply amazing...better than I had expected and the tailgating lots are second to none in the Big Ten.
 

I've only been to 1 game at Memorial and was 7 at the time...but regardless of which was better they both gave the U an identity it hasnt had in 30 years. We went to stub and herbs for a couple of beers on our walk back to our Lot 88 tailgate and I couldn't convince myself that I was in that bar after a football game and not a basketball or hockey game. Its' great to be back on campus.
 

I was 2 years old when the Gophers last played in Memorial. I wonder whether anybody thinks it was worth playing in the dome all these years to get TCF Bank Stadium? Of course, that's assuming the last 3 decades of Gopher football occurred in a vaccuum and no renovations, etc., would have occurred at the Brickhouse.

Those I know that used to attend games at Memorial said the sitelines were horrible and a person was a long ways from the field, particularly on the horseshoe end. They didn't otherwise have much glowing to say about Memorial. But then again, these guys were getting up there in years and had been Vikings season ticket holders with the Vikings since day one and were happy to move into the Dome for those games.

I watched the Gophers beat OSU on Big 10's greatest games this morning. Even though Memorial looked like a dump, it still looked a whole lot more fun to be at than at the dome.
 



Nagurski would be a SWEET name for a stadium.
 

TCF Bank Stadium is by far superior

http://brickhouse.lib.umn.edu/items/show/458

On page 61 of this scrapbook there is an article that talks about Minnesota's "Next 'U' Stadium." A paragraph of this article states:

"The Memorial stadium from which you viewed Minnesota's 1943 wartime football creation is, as it's name implies, the University's monument to the first world war's dead. But if you sat in one of those distant seats you will admit Memorial stadium I is inadequate to serve modern demands."

People were complaining about Memorial Stadium even back in 1943 and it continued to host Gopher football for another almost 40 years. There were some great games that happened in that place, and people have some great memories, but it was a poorly built, hard to renovate, sadly inadequate venue for Big Ten football ... even back in 1943.

The 27 years of purgatory in the Metrodome, while horrible and without any redeeming value, have brought us quite possibly the most modern and functional stadium in the Big Ten. Once the 30,000 seat expansion is complete (fingers crossed!) it will be the finest stadium in the Big Ten, bar none.

It has all been a natural progression. Memorial Stadium was great, the Metrodome sucked, and based on what we've learned from both we have build something much better in TCF Bank Stadium.
 

There is NO comparison to Memorial and TCF. There is not one thing from Memorial that I would rather have instead of TCF. I hate to say this but Memorial was a dump and in total disrepair. For anyone to say Memorial has any thing better than TCF or even the Dome better put down the roach clip and clear your head.
 

snackeru said:
http://brickhouse.lib.umn.edu/items/show/458

People were complaining about Memorial Stadium even back in 1943 and it continued to host Gopher football for another almost 40 years. There were some great games that happened in that place, and people have some great memories, but it was a poorly built, hard to renovate, sadly inadequate venue for Big Ten football ... even back in 1943.
Click to expand...

I second Snackeru's motion. I think the author of the 1943 article might have been overstating his case a bit and was probably a minority opinion at the time, but take a look at the blueprints for Memorial Stadium on the "Construction" tab of the Brickhouse website, and you'll be hard-pressed to see how it could have been renovated successfully, at least now that we have the current model to compare it to. The fact that it was completed in about six months tells you something.
 



Viperman69 said:
There is NO comparison to Memorial and TCF. There is not one thing from Memorial that I would rather have instead of TCF. I hate to say this but Memorial was a dump and in total disrepair. For anyone to say Memorial has any thing better than TCF or even the Dome better put down the roach clip and clear your head.
Click to expand...

I haven't been inside TCF but how could it be anything close to what a rehabbed memorial would have been at a lower cost. I wouldn't apply the throw away mentallity to a stadium. It's not all about sky boxes and preferential seating.
 

jovs said:
I haven't been inside TCF but how could it be anything close to what a rehabbed memorial would have been at a lower cost. I wouldn't apply the throw away mentallity to a stadium. It's not all about sky boxes and preferential seating.
Click to expand...

Once you get inside TCF Stadium, you will clearly see that is about far more than sky boxes and preferntial seating. In fact, those things are only a small part of what makes the new stadium a truly remarkable facility.
 

a thought on the original construction of memorial stadium....

it seems that the main problem with memorial (there were certainly no problems winning and winning big there) was that when it was built in 1924 it was not really built to allow for much in the way of meaningful expansions, changes. rather it seems that it was kind of stuck where it was at in terms of size, expansion of concourses, expansion of amenities, etc.

where as some other big ten stadiums that were built around the same time had a bit more future-proofing built into them and/or their super-structure. ohio stadium, camp randall, spartan stadium all come to mind and seem to have been built where it was much easier to add those "additional" things incrementally as time and demand required. memorial stadium unfortunately did not seem to have that same luxury built into its original design and was perhaps what led to its unfortunately and untimely demise in the early 80's.
 

jovs said:
I haven't been inside TCF but how could it be anything close to what a rehabbed memorial would have been at a lower cost. I wouldn't apply the throw away mentallity to a stadium. It's not all about sky boxes and preferential seating.
Click to expand...


You could not have made Memorial to anything close to the TCF. The concourses, sight lines ect are so much better than anything Memorial could have offered us. We are in the Big 10 not the MIAC. If we want to compete with the large schools we have to have the facilities to do it. Memorial wasn't simply a throw away stadium. It was a dump. And no amount of money could have made it close to the TCF.
 

Memorial Stadium

I agree with the other posters on here that say Memorial Stadium was a dump. I saw several games there where the stadium was half-filled, the sightlines were bad and whoever said that the fans were far away from the field due to a track is right on the money. Personally, I never really cared for it too much and you have to remember, most people were happy to see us move out at the time including a lot of coaches and players.

The one thing Memorial Stadium had going for it were all the outstanding Gopher teams that played there, several undefeated and national champion teams and all their great players. It had
a rich history and tradition that we will probably never see again in our lifetime. If we could accomplish even a third what those guys did who played at Memorial Stadium in the new TCF Bank, I would say we were doing pretty darn good.

I would rather see a great team in a bad place than a bad team in a great place. Eventually the novelty of a new stadium wears off and a lousy team won't draw even in the nicest of stadiums. (I hope the Twins are paying attention to places like Cleveland, Baltimore and Texas on that note.)

This TCF Bank Stadium looks just fantastic - I think we hit the jackpot with this one....it's REALLY nice!

One last note --- The naming rights will be here to stay as a nice extra revenue stream. You won't ever see Bronko Nagurski Stadium, but the latest trend is naming the Field AND Stadium --- so it is very possible you see something like a Bronko Nagurski Field at TCF Bank Stadium.
 

Gold Rush said:
One last note --- The naming rights will be here to stay as a nice extra revenue stream. You won't ever see Bronko Nagurski Stadium, but the latest trend is naming the Field AND Stadium --- so it is very possible you see something like a Bronko Nagurski Field at TCF Bank Stadium.
Click to expand...

Doesn't TCF have it in the agreement that the U cannot do this? I thought that was part of the deal back when they announced the terms.
 

Memorial was considered the best when built...

But almost 60 years of no upkeep and no repairs, lead to how it was at the end. It would have taken 2 million to get it up to code and four more to make the upgrades that were wanted or needed, how little would it have cost to do the upgrades as they went along? How would TCF look after almost 60 years of disrepair and no more sunk back in?
 

I have watched and listened to Gopher football forever. I attended my first Gopher FB game in 1967 and saw the Gophers beat Michigan 20 to 15. The following year we saw the Gophers play USC and OJ. At that time I thought Memorial Stadium was the greatest ever. I attended the "U" in the 70's and attended every home game during some of the best years of my life. My memories are kind of hazy due to the abilty to bring your own beer into the stadium when life was a lot less complicated. Memorial Stadium even then had outdated bathrooms and concession stands. The players I believe had their locker rooms in Cooke Hall. The bowl end was quite aways from the field and as mentioned previously the track made the field a little more distant from the bleachers. It was an old stadium with character. Saturday we attended the event at TCF and we came away impressed. Our seats are in 133 and about half ways up and thought they were fine. The concourses and concessions are great as well as the bathrooms. it will be a great venue for Gopher Football. In time it will develop its own character. What is bugging me now is the whining-the sun is too hot, my seats is in the shade, i don't like the people in front of me, too much noise in the concourse, my gate number of where I should enter isn't on my ticket and countless little more whines. PEOPLE this is the home of the Gopher Football program for 7 Saturdays a year. The bugs will get worked out and if you don't like it their are people who will be happy to have your tickets. This is a great upgrade from the dome and I for one look forward to outside football during the ENTIRE season.

Go Gophers!
 

Greyeagle said:
Memorial had a track IIRC, which put one a lonng way from the field.
Click to expand...

If anyone Tivo'ed the game, watch the play right after Gray completes the sideline pass to the 5 yard line to HC. You actually see a cheerleader being flipped up in the air in the lower corner of the screen before the next play. It gives you an indication how much closer to the field the seats are (and thus the cheerleaders) than in either the dome or Memorial.
 

If I could go back in time and get Memorial Stadium the needed upgrades, I would. I'm truly glad we have TCF, but if Memorial had been upgraded, we wouldn't have wandered in the wilderness of the Metrodome, and the upgrade to Memorial would have been a bargain in retrospect.

But although I would have preferred Memorial Stadium to have lasted for much longer, nothing lasts forever. I'm sure that some people missed Northrop Field. When we sit in the stands at TCF Bank stadium, we're going to be at the beginning of a long tradition there. We can imagine what it was like to attend the first game at Memorial Stadium and many decades from now, people will ask what it was like to attend the first game at TCF.

When the naming rights deal runs out, I'd be quite happy to see the name changed to Nagurski Stadium, if the U is able to do without the cash for naming rights.

If Brewster happens to do phenomenally well as our coach, it should be noted that Brewster is also eight letters long. :D :D :D
 


Of course Memorial could have been renovated and had luxury added to the stadium. It could not have been done on the University side, but on all other sides it could have been done very easily.
I don't think 1 Big Ten stadium was built with renovations or additions in mind. Look at Camp Randall....they just tacked an ugly concrete tinker toy structure up around the original stadium for their upper deck. Then did the same for their club and suite area and basically covered up the remaining exposed original stadium.
Ohio Stadium had a track around it and they figured a way to remodel.
Look at Michigan. Purdue's stadium was a close replica of Memorial and they have done just fine.

Also, I emailed Maturi about the naming rights to the stadium way back when TCF came on board and he told me that they cannot name the field or add any other verbage to the TCF Bank Stadium. I really wanted Bronko Nagurski Field at TCF Bank STadium.
 


You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom