Question for Gopher fans

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I'm watching the Vikes play SD in TCF and wondered what the university is getting out of letting the Vikings play there. Did they fund any permanent capital improvements in TCF or the surrounding area? Does the U get the concession revenue? Or, is it strictly a rental amount per game?

When the Bears played at Illinois (I think) for a year, I think they had a special train(s) to take fans from Chicago to Champaign.
 

$6.6 Million in Upgrades, the biggest being a heated field.
Upgraded Cell Service
Cold Weather improvements
Cash payment for each game
Temp Seating the University takes advantage of for sales

Pretty good gig for the U
 

At the most basic level New bleachers in the west (open) end zone (which I think are going to stay) and certainly permanent heating coils under the field turf.

Certainly a modest revenue stream from multiple sources.

If we resurrected threads from a couple of years ago I think the general GH opinion was that the Administration went too easy on the Vikes. Straight up politics on that.
 

BilldGopher said:
At the most basic level New bleachers in the west (open) end zone (which I think are going to stay) and certainly permanent heating coils under the field turf.

Certainly a modest revenue stream from multiple sources.

If we resurrected threads from a couple of years ago I think the general GH opinion was that the Administration went too easy on the Vikes. Straight up politics on that.
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I had always heard that the blue seats in the open end zone would be gone after this year.
 



JZsportswhiz said:
I have heard that as well. Hopefully with the way attendance has been, they decided to keep those seats
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I like the seats and hope they stay although It would be nice to swap out the blue seats for maroon or just have benches.
 

It is a great recruiting tool with all the additional media coverage of TCF. Especially true going into the late season to dispel all the cold weather myths about Minnesota. The heated field gives it almost a tropical flavor.
 

JZsportswhiz said:
I have heard that as well. Hopefully with the way attendance has been, they decided to keep those seats
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I hope they don't. Looks terrible. Loved the old open plaza. If we're really ready to expand, let's expand the 3rd level and actually make it a real concourse up there. Sure would help the overcrowding of the main concourse if there were more concessions and bathrooms up top.
 

I would like the endzone seats to stay as well.

I like the look of the stadium more, they clearly are in demand, and they push capacity up in a sustainable way.

With those added I wouldn't look to increase capacity until we get 5+ years straight of sellouts, however long that takes. Gopher football needs to be a ticket item in demand, and we need to keep getting fans hooked on Gopher football to think about expanding TCF at all.
 



Word said:
I hope they don't. Looks terrible. Loved the old open plaza. If we're really ready to expand, let's expand the 3rd level and actually make it a real concourse up there. Sure would help the overcrowding of the main concourse if there were more concessions and bathrooms up top.
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Disagree.

I think a 3rd deck would be a mistake at this point.
 

westcoastgopher11 said:
I would like the endzone seats to stay as well.

I like the look of the stadium more, they clearly are in demand, and they push capacity up in a sustainable way.

With those added I wouldn't look to increase capacity until we get 5+ years straight of sellouts, however long that takes. Gopher football needs to be a ticket item in demand, and we need to keep getting fans hooked on Gopher football to think about expanding TCF at all.
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+1. Expanding the top deck would likely add way too many seats for the current demand.
 

westcoastgopher11 said:
I would like the endzone seats to stay as well.

I like the look of the stadium more, they clearly are in demand, and they push capacity up in a sustainable way.

With those added I wouldn't look to increase capacity until we get 5+ years straight of sellouts, however long that takes. Gopher football needs to be a ticket item in demand, and we need to keep getting fans hooked on Gopher football to think about expanding TCF at all.
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Yeah I agree. Need to make sure they build a sustainable program before shelling out the money to really upgrade sections. The stadium seats are a cheap and efficient way to ensure more fans have the opportunity to go to the game, which is always a good thing. I agree though, could change them to maroon and gold
 

westcoastgopher11 said:
Disagree.

I think a 3rd deck would be a mistake at this point.
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I didn't say we were ready for that yet (and definitely not ready to completely fill in the upper deck). The temporary seats are tacky (high school bleacher-ish). I also think the open plaza is a nice feature. If we're not ready to expand then we just should live with the current capacity.
 



Word said:
I didn't say we were ready for that yet (and definitely not ready to completely fill in the upper deck). The temporary seats are tacky (high school bleacher-ish). I also think the open plaza is a nice feature. If we're not ready to expand then we just should live with the current capacity.
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I agree that the open plaza looked nice. But I would rather have more fans at the game, creating a better advantage. Anybody know how many seats are in the temporary bleacher section?
 

The temporary seats are temporary. They will be gone.
 

Around 2,000 seats................and they will be gone.

Don't forget another price hike coming next year.

One more time....THEY WILL BE GONE.
 

That could have been the plan originally, but if it is creating 2,000 additional sales every game, things may change.

$$$$ talks
 

I love the look of the temporary seats. It closes the stadium in but they aren't that big. The stadium still feels open, but I feel it completes the stadium.
 

station19 said:
The temporary seats are temporary. They will be gone.
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station 19 - You must be old enough to remember the "temporary" buildings built at the U at the end of WWII? As I recall they were far from "temporary", so "temporary can be as long as you want it to be.:rolleyes:
 

Killjoy said:
station 19 - You must be old enough to remember the "temporary" buildings built at the U at the end of WWII? As I recall they were far from "temporary", so "temporary can be as long as you want it to be.:rolleyes:
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I had many a class in the old science classroom building - what a POS.

I'd prefer to get rid of the temporary seats and open the plaza area back up. If they keep them I hope they get rid of the blue seats. That's my largest gripe. It looks odd when empty. Feels like they brought a piece of the Metrodome over.
 

More seats will be available yet due to the second hike of the foundation program. Some people were biting it this year but next year will be a different story.
 

One small...or NOT so small factor will depend upon how the Gopher does in Big Ten Play. Win the JUG...the PIG...and the AXE Games and who knows what might happen?
 

Gotta get rid of those temporary seats in the open end. Ruins the whole feel of walking around there and seeing the field.

They've had some sellouts here and there but no need to add seats anywhere until there is sustained demand and etc. We've got a ways to go before establishing that.
 

Also remember our home schedule is not nearly as good next year. Could affect attendance some.

Oregon St.
Indiana St.
Colorado St.
Iowa
Rutgers
Purdue
Northwestern

Sorta off topic, but holy smokes does our schedule next year look very favorable right now. Road games are:

Penn St.
Maryland
Illinois
Nebraska
Wisconsin
 

GophersInIowa said:
Also remember our home schedule is not nearly as good next year. Could affect attendance some.

Oregon St.
Indiana St.
Colorado St.
Iowa
Rutgers
Purdue
Northwestern

Sorta off topic, but holy smokes does our schedule next year look very favorable right now. Road games are:

Penn St.
Maryland
Illinois
Nebraska
Wisconsin
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I won't be able to make any more games this year so I was looking at this today to plan next year already. Wow this schedule looks better!
 

GophersInIowa said:
Also remember our home schedule is not nearly as good next year. Could affect attendance some.

Oregon St.
Indiana St.
Colorado St.
Iowa
Rutgers
Purdue
Northwestern

Sorta off topic, but holy smokes does our schedule next year look very favorable right now. Road games are:

Penn St.
Maryland
Illinois
Nebraska
Wisconsin
Click to expand...

Yeah well it should look more favorable after the Michigan and Ohio St. crossover fun.
 

homermn said:
$6.6 Million in Upgrades, the biggest being a heated field.
Upgraded Cell Service
Cold Weather improvements
Cash payment for each game
Temp Seating the University takes advantage of for sales

Pretty good gig for the U
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And since it's working so well, isn't it now apparent to everyone how stupid we taxpayers are to build yet another disposable (and in the case of the new Viking stadium, UGLY) pork barrel project?
 

FanSinceTheFifties said:
And since it's working so well, isn't it now apparent to everyone how stupid we taxpayers are to build yet another disposable (and in the case of the new Viking stadium, UGLY) pork barrel project?
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The amount that is spent, the way they're funded, and etc regarding NFL stadiums stinks.

Having said that, TCF isn't an NFL stadium, and can't host the same kind of things (super bowl, winter indoor events, college football playoffs, etc). A U / NFL stadium would not be what we see in TCF if they were to have done it that way. You're not wrong about suckyness of the way it is funded, but TCF is only "working well" for an NFL team because it is temporary.
 

FanSinceTheFifties said:
And since it's working so well, isn't it now apparent to everyone how stupid we taxpayers are to build yet another disposable (and in the case of the new Viking stadium, UGLY) pork barrel project?
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It's unfortunately necessary part of having a NFL team these days. Will be a great place to host a lot of marquee events though, and a nice asset for the city/state. I think it looks great.
 


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