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Gophers_4life said:
Sure, you can always do anything with enough willpower and money. But how would a 10k expansion look, architecturally?

If the main way to expand was to build a 2nd deck on the side opposite the press box/suites, and it was only for 10k ... it would be too skinny? Or too short? I don't know
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Filling in the upper deck would add 30,000. As I recall, the thought when it was built was that (if this was ever done) it could be done in two phases, with one part added along the sidelines and one around the end zone. That could be 15,000 each. Of course, it wouldn't have to be. And, as others have said in this thread, maybe if we ever add a few thousand seats it could be in the open end, although originally that wasn't part of the plan. The year the Vikings played here we had a few thousand temporary seats in the open end averaged 52,455 -- more than the current capacity. That seemed to work okay.

I'm just going off what was said in the paper and on this board 15 years ago or so. I'm with those who say we shouldn't expand. But we should add more concessions and food on the second level.
 

GopherTheJugular said:
Since you asked....

1) I think football is better on tv. You know those threads that get started, "For those who watched on TV, was it really a catch..." or "...did he really stay in bounds?". Well, if you're watching on TV and you get to see all the replays and such.... So I prefer that, plus at the stadium there is NOTHING to do in-between plays. At home, I can see a replay, or if the replay isn't worth showing, then maybe I get a cool graphic with some interesting stats, etc. Basically, the TV viewing experience is kinda non-stop, minus halftime. In person, it seems more like 3-5 seconds of action, now I'm bored out of my mind for 30 seconds, then 3-5 seconds of action, 30 seconds of being bored to death, repeat. And with the networks needing to air more commercials, there will be more random stop-ages that will make the in-person experience even more boring.

2) I don't want to stand in line/have to be searched. I go to the mall of america and I'm around thousands of people that haven't been searched. I'm not worried about it, but the complaining I see on hear about being searched and told you can't bring in your water bottle, well, that just makes me even less interested.

3) This should almost be 2.5, since it relates to #2. But I read complaints on here about running out of bottled water and other concessions. So let me ask you, how often would you keep going to the same restaurant if you had to wonder whether the stuff on the menu was actually available? Probably not long. Or if you could make it to the bathroom and back in under 15 minutes?

4) I don't want to sit in a chair and either a) have to squeeze in-between the others as I try to leave my row and go get food/beer/bathroom, nor do I want others doing that to me if I'm sitting at the end. Make the aisles WIDER so you can stretch out.

5) Unless you've been going to live sports for decades, you might not find a hard piece of plastic very comfortable to sit on. This one I just don't get. You'd never eat dinner or watch a movie at a place of business that made you sit on cheap, hard plastic seats, but somehow sports fans spend a lot of money and tolerate it.
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1. Gameday experience for me outweighs most if not all that
2. Line moves really quick and they waive a wand over you. It's not like it's a full cavity search. They have it down pretty good and I get right through even on busy games (early days was frustrating)
3. I believe they ran out of water once when it was unusually hot. It's pretty rare they run out of things
4. Ok, it is a bummer, but it isn't that bad. And as prior mentioned, we have much more room than our rivals which is nice.
5. Well they're not going to put barka loungers out there.


If you don't like going to live event, that is fine, but none of your points are specific really to us
 

gopher8 said:
I feel like this is just a rant lol

What do you do for fun?
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Well, "rants" can be answers to questions though, can't they? ;)

As for your question, I watch college football at home for fun! ;) ;) I get what you mean though, I'm not trying to sounds like the "get off my lawn" guy, or the poster on here (last year?) getting upset about people standing.

I DEFINITELY would consider putting up with the search crap to get in if they did a standing-room only, bar-kinda thing where there were no seats, just a flat slab of concrete and a bar, with a large TV that I can watch on.
 

salzie said:
If you don't like going to live event, that is fine, but none of your points are specific really to us
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That kinda sums it up more than anything. I really don't like live events of any kind. But, if there are other fans like me, that kinda explains the attendance issue though.
 

IrishGoph55 said:
How does it compare to other Big Ten Stadiums? I know it’s not the biggest but I love it. It’s modern, clean, sells beer. I like the open section by the end zone. I’ve never been to any other Big Ten stadiums but I read someone mention MSU was a dump.
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Personally I think the bathroom situation at Huntington Bank Stadium is the worst I've experienced at any stadium. There's only one concourse for 50,000 fans and spending 30 minutes waiting in a bathroom line while watching the game on a 40" TV isn't the best gameday experience.
 


MNfootballfan said:
I think there are a lot of people who are like me and my cousin. We are both big Gopher and Viking fans, support both, love both teams, etc. I have Gopher season tickets and he has Viking season tickets. He has said more than once that he has just as much fun at Gopher games but it isn't worth getting season tickets because there are only 2-3 good games a year. With the Vikings you could go to a game against the lowly Jaguars and still see a player like Trevor Lawrence, who 2 years ago was one of the biggest players in NCAA.

It is hard to argue with people who choose to spend their money on a Vikings game over a Gopher game... it is just their opinion.
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I'll bite. What home games for the Vikings would you consider the good games?
 

GopherTheJugular said:
Since you asked....

1) I think football is better on tv. You know those threads that get started, "For those who watched on TV, was it really a catch..." or "...did he really stay in bounds?". Well, if you're watching on TV and you get to see all the replays and such.... So I prefer that, plus at the stadium there is NOTHING to do in-between plays. At home, I can see a replay, or if the replay isn't worth showing, then maybe I get a cool graphic with some interesting stats, etc. Basically, the TV viewing experience is kinda non-stop, minus halftime. In person, it seems more like 3-5 seconds of action, now I'm bored out of my mind for 30 seconds, then 3-5 seconds of action, 30 seconds of being bored to death, repeat. And with the networks needing to air more commercials, there will be more random stop-ages that will make the in-person experience even more boring.

2) I don't want to stand in line/have to be searched. I go to the mall of america and I'm around thousands of people that haven't been searched. I'm not worried about it, but the complaining I see on hear about being searched and told you can't bring in your water bottle, well, that just makes me even less interested.

3) This should almost be 2.5, since it relates to #2. But I read complaints on here about running out of bottled water and other concessions. So let me ask you, how often would you keep going to the same restaurant if you had to wonder whether the stuff on the menu was actually available? Probably not long. Or if you could make it to the bathroom and back in under 15 minutes?

4) I don't want to sit in a chair and either a) have to squeeze in-between the others as I try to leave my row and go get food/beer/bathroom, nor do I want others doing that to me if I'm sitting at the end. Make the aisles WIDER so you can stretch out.

5) Unless you've been going to live sports for decades, you might not find a hard piece of plastic very comfortable to sit on. This one I just don't get. You'd never eat dinner or watch a movie at a place of business that made you sit on cheap, hard plastic seats, but somehow sports fans spend a lot of money and tolerate it.
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This is such a hot take. So you're telling me you would rather watch the 2019 Penn State game on TV rather than be there yourself? Still the best sporting environment I've ever experienced. There's nothing like being at the game period. Also can't experience the marching band's pregame performance, which is one of my fav parts of the whole game and really gets me fired up.
 

DoubleDeckerDons said:
This is such a hot take. So you're telling me you would rather watch the 2019 Penn State game on TV rather than be there yourself?
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Yes, absolutely I'd make the decision to watch on TV versus going to the 2019 PSU game 1000/1000. Even knowing the outcome in advance.

There's nothing like being at the game period.
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I agree. I think nothing is worse, you think nothing is better, but we agree, nothing compares to it lol. I'd rather watch paint dry in a house all by myself with nothing else to do before watching a live sporting event. But I'd skip a family wedding to watch the Gophers on TV.
 

savagerube said:
Personally I think the bathroom situation at Huntington Bank Stadium is the worst I've experienced at any stadium. There's only one concourse for 50,000 fans and spending 30 minutes waiting in a bathroom line while watching the game on a 40" TV isn't the best gameday experience.
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I can't remember the last time I waited in a line for the bathrooms at TCF.
 





Dakota2 said:
How does Maryland draw?
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Maryland and Minnesota have similar sized stadiums, 51K to 50K respectively. They averaged 33K last year we averaged 46K. For comparison Iowa averaged 66K and Wisconsin 73K
 

Word said:
This has been discussed on here a lot over the years. It's a combination of factors. Tickets are probably too pricey especially for some of the seats, like the upper deck.

Also I'm guessing we are the smallest metro area that has all 5 major sports (if you count soccer as major) and also a P5 football team. There's a lot of competition for the discretionary dollar here so fans are just choosier with what they are going to spend their money on. So when it comes to Gopher Football they tend to wait it out and make sure we are a legit contender before spending their money.
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It's actually Denver.
 



savagerube said:
Personally I think the bathroom situation at Huntington Bank Stadium is the worst I've experienced at any stadium. There's only one concourse for 50,000 fans and spending 30 minutes waiting in a bathroom line while watching the game on a 40" TV isn't the best gameday experience.
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The concourse can be annoyingly crowded, and the lines for food can be excruciating, but I haven't ever waited to go to the bathroom. Usually in and out in 2-3 minutes. I'm not sure what you're doing wrong.
 

savagerube said:
Personally I think the bathroom situation at Huntington Bank Stadium is the worst I've experienced at any stadium. There's only one concourse for 50,000 fans and spending 30 minutes waiting in a bathroom line while watching the game on a 40" TV isn't the best gameday experience.
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Is it possible you actually spent 30 minutes waiting outside a locked bathroom on a non-game day? Do you need assistance getting out of there?

I think my record for longest wait time outside a Huntington Bank Stadium bathroom is no longer than 5 minutes or so.
 

disco said:
It's actually Denver.
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Boulder is borderline Denver metro and the Buffs are borderline P5 🙂
Also I would guess Buffs attendance is worse than ours.

I will say that Denver folks are REALLY into sports. I have a lot of relatives there. And give Denver about 5 years and it will be bigger than MSP. It is growing rapidly.
 

Word said:
Boulder is borderline Denver metro and the Buffs are borderline P5 🙂
Also I would guess Buffs attendance is worse than ours.

I will say that Denver folks are REALLY into sports. I have a lot of relatives there. And give Denver about 5 years and it will be bigger than MSP. It is growing rapidly.
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And yet they were ho hum about the Avalanche winning the cup. Denver is an average sports town at best and people maybe moving to Colorado but they are moving away from Denver.
 

PMWinSTP said:
I'll bite. What home games for the Vikings would you consider the good games?
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The point was that even NFL teams that have a losing record have very quality players that are fun to watch.
A perennial underdog, Detroit, was not subdued until the last minute on Sunday.
Almost all of the mercenaries that show up pre-conference and even some conference teams at the Bank are very boring to watch.
Now I would far rather watch college games than the NFL but I am in a minority in most cities that have both.
 

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Plato said:
The point was that even NFL teams that have a losing record have very quality players that are fun to watch.
A perennial underdog, Detroit, was not subdued until the last minute on Sunday.
Almost all of the mercenaries that show up pre-conference and even some conference teams at the Bank are very boring to watch.
Now I would far rather watch college games than the NFL but I am in a minority in most cities that have both.
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I call that mediocracy. The TB/BB game was like watching paint dry. There are a lot of maginal teams in the NFL.
 

PMWinSTP said:
I'll bite. What home games for the Vikings would you consider the good games?
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9/11 - Packer Game Enough Said
9/25 - Lions - Jared Goff, Aiden Hutchinson (2021 Heisman Finalist), Amon-Ra St. Brown - one better young WR
10/9 - Bears, Rivalry - Justin Fields
10/30 - Cardinals - Kyler Murray
11/20 - Cowboys - One of the biggest franchises in professional sports. Dak should be back, CeeDee Lamb, Ezekial Elliott
11/24 - Patriots - Nothing overly exciting anymore, but still get to see the most successful coach in NFL history
12/4 - Jets - Tons of young talent
12/18 - Colts - Jonathon Taylor, Matt Ryan, Michael Pittman Jr.
12/24 - Giants - Similar to Jets but probably the most blah home game on the schedule


Compare that to the Gophers Home Games:
9/1 - NMSU - Jerry Kill Bowl. I was excited for this game because of "the handshake" and hearing his name get announced.
9/10 - Western Illinois - Nothing exciting
9/17 - Colorado - Excited to see a new school come to the U
10/1 - Purdue - Homecoming (although, unpopular opinion, but Homecoming does nothing for the average fan)
10/29 - Rutgers - Any story line?
11/12 - Northwestern - Usually a pretty good game, Fitzgerald has become a big name coach
11/19 - Iowa - Enough said
 

My kids have little interest in sitting down and watching the Gophers for 3.5 hours on the TV. They may meander into the living room from time to time to ask the score, or come watch the reply of a fantastic play but that's about it.

But they all clamor for the chance for me to take them to the stadium.
 

DarrenTheGreek said:
My kids have little interest in sitting down and watching the Gophers for 3.5 hours on the TV. They may meander into the living room from time to time to ask the score, or come watch the reply of a fantastic play but that's about it.

But they all clamor for the chance for me to take them to the stadium.
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My son had almost been the opposite, but as he gets older he's wanting to go to the stadium more. He's pretty excited about going to the Homecoming game. We were there for the 2019 game vs PSU and rushed the field. I think that really helped with showing him how fun a college football game can be in-person.
 

Also, can we please bring back the block M they used to make back in memorial stadium. Similar to what penn state does with the S.
 


FLgopherfan said:
love the stadium. buy a cheap ticket, go to upper concourse and follow the ball up and down the field, always on the line of scrimmage
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It floors me that more people don't do this. I feel like I'm the only nutjob with a beer in my hands up there sometimes.
 

DarrenTheGreek said:
My kids have little interest in sitting down and watching the Gophers for 3.5 hours on the TV. They may meander into the living room from time to time to ask the score, or come watch the reply of a fantastic play but that's about it.

But they all clamor for the chance for me to take them to the stadium.
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Plus they can do the lion king bit. I love that this is a staple now.
 

Taji34 said:
Can you link to an example for us younger folk?
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This would be really cool. But if we cant even pull off a stipe out I doubt this would ever work, but its fun to fantasize about.
 

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I have only been to one Big 10 stadium, and that was last year when Minnesota played Maryland at
at Gopher Stadium. Sorry I can't remember the stadium's name. But it was the perfect setting,
nice crisp October day, and the best thing.......... the Gophers sent the Terps home with a loss.
Good Luck to the Gophers this year. They seem to be playing vey well.
 

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