Shama: Gophers the major loser in US Bank Stadium opening, widens gap between teams

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Another thing to point out, no tailgating at US Bank Stadium. Oh but you buy over price crap from a food truck you will get salmonella from.
 

The Bank, TCF Stadium is a classic stadium. U.S. Bank is pure Minneapolis. Glass, and metal, and throw in the odd shape. It was built for TV. When it comes to stadiums in the twin towns. I will take the X over target Center, and TCF over US Bank. Its my opinion and I know what I like.
 

oak_street1981 said:
This is an awful, silly column.

The Vikings were going to get a shiny new stadium sooner than later that was going to draw some interest towards the Vikings from casual fan. There are a lot of die hard Viking fans and the Vikings were always their number one team and unlike many of us, those people will want to see games in that stadium before they go to any Gopher games, if money is a concern.

The Vikings have only so many more regular seats than they had a the Metrodome, so that part of it is not a big change.

The bigger (legitimate) issue, which Shama misses, is the huge number of premium, club type seats being added to the Twin Cities inventory of such seats. The Gophers already had a challenge selling their suites, club and loge seats, and the Vikings are adding a huge amount of inventory, and the clients and the bigwigs all want their seats. The Target Center renovation for an improving team is an issue as well.

The suite issue and how it impacts revenue is the only downside for the Gophers and their is nothing they can do about that other than start to win big in football.
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The price point is so much higher, I'm not sure it impacts the Gophs like you are speculating. Twins and Wild should be much more worried...especially if the Purple throw up a big season.
 

What a stupid article. College football should ALWAYS be on campus, and should ALWAYS be separate from pro football, period.


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Oldauggie - that was what I thought as well.....sounded like a recycled article written in 1980-81.

Other random thoughts......

Urban Meyer would have loved a closed stadium in November of 2014 along with his traveling fan base. Neither he, nor his players were comfortable in that experience and that should be embraced and quite honestly, used as a plus in preparation for NFL schedule.

Only time I personally want to see Gophers at US Bank would be if it hosts B1G Title Game there.
 


Not sure how annoying the shadows will be in the Vikings stadium but it sure looks cool. Field level suites, the lounge areas in the end zone, the big doors. Wont see it until the prep bowl or gopher baseball but looking forward to it.

Hopefully one day ESPN/ABC sees the value in having the Gophers play one game in it.

It's just a weird column. No doubt attendance is going to drop this year, but they are coming off their best attendance since the late 80s (without needing Iowa or Wisconsin and some years NDSU to fill the building). Just a shame they couldn't keep the momentum going from 2014.
 

Just a strange, strange column. Not buying it for a second. Gophers are fine right where they are, on campus.
 


oak_street1981 said:
The bigger (legitimate) issue, which Shama misses, is the huge number of premium, club type seats being added to the Twin Cities inventory of such seats. The Gophers already had a challenge selling their suites, club and loge seats, and the Vikings are adding a huge amount of inventory, and the clients and the bigwigs all want their seats. The Target Center renovation for an improving team is an issue as well.

The suite issue and how it impacts revenue is the only downside for the Gophers and their is nothing they can do about that other than start to win big in football.
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Agreed about premium sales. Competing with corporate dollars is the real challenge.

Regular seats, not a problem. If there is a problem selling the gophers regular seats it is because of a lack of Ws. We saw last year that after a good previous year that folks will come. Win and they'll sell.
 



Well, if the "Little Darlings'" of the North don't win the stadium will lose the grandeur of the lunch pail crowd. Ticket prices are ridiculous.
 

If the OSU 2014 game was played indoors, Dilly Bar Dan would have never gotten his five minutes of fame.
 

that article smacks of two things:
1. Someone not familiar with the differences between college football and the NFL.
2. Someone ignorant of history (in this case, the obvious history of the same argument that was made around 1980 for the ill-fated Gopher move to the Metrodome)

Just think how much better the Metrodome seemed when compared to Memorial Stadium in the early 80's? But with the benefit of time and hind-sight, who wouldn't have liked to see that decision reversed with a (good) renovation of Memorial Stadium?

TCF is going to have smaller crowds this season and that won't have as much to do with US Bank Stadium as it will with the donation prices, home schedule strength, and possibly the loss of momentum from losing Jerry Kill.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Agreed about premium sales. Competing with corporate dollars is the real challenge.

Regular seats, not a problem. If there is a problem selling the gophers regular seats it is because of a lack of Ws. We saw last year that after a good previous year that folks will come. Win and they'll sell.
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Go compare the premium pricing...can't see it being an much of an issue for Gophs...
 



Schnauzer said:
Just think how much better the Metrodome seemed when compared to Memorial Stadium in the early 80's? But with the benefit of time and hind-sight, who wouldn't have liked to see that decision reversed with a (good) renovation of Memorial Stadium?
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Dam straight! Memorial Stadium was awesome when the Gophers were decent! We just need to get over the hump and finish a season or two in a row winning the west or finishing close to winning it. Get some better recruits and press on. Then it won't matter where the Gophers play! Ski U Mah MF!!!!!
 

College football needs to be played on the college campus. Being the second choice in a NFL playpen is a bad position. Nearly all power 5 schools in NFL cities play on campus in their own stadiums (U of Washington in Seattle, ASU in Tempe/Phoenix, Georgia Tech in Atlanta). Only exception I can think of is Pitt in Pittsburgh and they are an after thought. TCF is a great COLLEGE experience and it will be great for the Gophers to have it all to themselves again.
 

I don't buy this article at all. First moving the team back to campus was such an obvious move it's insulting to say otherwise. With all the new development around stadium village it's a great spot with adequate tailgating lots. Also the smaller stadium is great unless we're selling out every game and actually need the space.

The whining about the cold is a bit odd comparing it to a pro stadium as well. The regular season is finished before December. Moreover it's the college football, in the Big Ten! Success brings crowds, whether they're playing in the glass monstrosity that is US Bank, or Met stadium in the cold. Plain and simple
 

Yes, the cold/poor weather stuff is a ridiculous argument, actually quite amusing. NFL regular seasons go all the way through the month of December, the B1G no later than the Saturday after Thanksgiving. At most, a B1G team is likely to play 2 home games in November?

Oh, the humanity!
 

I agree with everyone else that says the Gophers belong on campus in an open air stadium. However, I don't think the article is that far off base when it comes to trying to attract new fans to Gopher games for the next few years.

US Bank stadium will be one of the best stadiums, if not the best in the US. Everyone will want to see it, and attending a Gopher game would give them a more affordable option to see it. Much like fans flocked to Target Field just to experience the stadium, the same will be said for US Bank.

People can pretend the weather doesn't have a factor on attendance, but it's 100% true. There's no reason that Ohio State game shouldn't have been sold out and one of the best atmospheres ever at TCF. But it wasn't and that's because it was cold. Same goes for Vikings games late in the season the last two seasons, including last years playoff game. The Vikings had trouble selling out a smaller stadium when it was cold. Sure the Gophers don't play as late in the season, but how many fans really show up for those cold November 11am games? Many more would if it was inside.

Long term though, TCF Bank Stadium is the better solution over US Bank Stadium. The shininess of the new stadium will wear off, and if the Gophers can ever put together a more consistent winning program, the fan base will slowly grow.
 

Are the Colts the only Dome team to ever win a Super Bowl? How can teams like Green Bay, New England pack the stadiums and win with the weather no matter? How did Buffalo go to 4 straight? Seems like the dome powers are stuck in the chase for another Astro Dome. Go inside a play, runs contrary to everything I was told. The Twins were chided for an open air stadium, the guarantee for ticket holders that a game would be played would destroy their base. Shama is a tool of the Wilfs.
 

The Gophers never fared well in the Metrodome with the Vikings and Twins as the Third tennant that always had to move the games,(never got any parking revenue, signage or barely any concessions revenue(70% of that revenue went to the Vikings) (All club and Suite revenue went to the Vikings) also see moving Gophers football game to a Friday night against Michigan because of a Twins playoff game.

Second the Gophers will find their niche, there is not a lot of overlap in Minnesota that are both Vikings fans and Gopher fans for football. What I mean by that is there are quite a few Vikings only fans in this state especially the further North you go from the Twin Cities proper. People that have young kids are married and need an affordable alternative, I think we are already starting to see those young families take in the Gophers (due to less swearing and overall vulgarity).
With the Twins and Vikings becoming extra expensive with there new places to play I think the Gophers will start to see more fans come to the bank. Gophers are becoming competitive on the field, the walk and wandering in the wilderness of the Metrodome is becoming a more distant memory. The Gophers lost their soul and the heart and "home" having to share with the Vikings, all of that has been taken back and some. The Gophers are home truly where they belong on Campus with our University's colors proudly displayed. The Vikings can have there Palace of glass and steel, I will take our small stadium and being outdoors in the fall any day of the week.
 

husker70 said:
Are the Colts the only Dome team to ever win a Super Bowl? How can teams like Green Bay, New England pack the stadiums and win with the weather no matter? How did Buffalo go to 4 straight? Seems like the dome powers are stuck in the chase for another Astro Dome. Go inside a play, runs contrary to everything I was told. The Twins were chided for an open air stadium, the guarantee for ticket holders that a game would be played would destroy their base. Shama is a tool of the Wilfs.
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Colts, Rams and Saints are all dome teams to win Super Bowls.
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
The Gophers never fared well in the Metrodome with the Vikings and Twins as the Third tennant that always had to move the games,(never got any parking revenue, signage or barely any concessions revenue(70% of that revenue went to the Vikings) (All club and Suite revenue went to the Vikings) also see moving Gophers football game to a Friday night against Michigan because of a Twins playoff game.

Second the Gophers will find their niche, there is not a lot of overlap in Minnesota that are both Vikings fans and Gopher fans for football. What I mean by that is there are quite a few Vikings only fans in this state especially the further North you go from the Twin Cities proper. People that have young kids are married and need an affordable alternative, I think we are already starting to see those young families take in the Gophers (due to less swearing and overall vulgarity).
With the Twins and Vikings becoming extra expensive with there new places to play I think the Gophers will start to see more fans come to the bank. Gophers are becoming competitive on the field, the walk and wandering in the wilderness of the Metrodome is becoming a more distant memory. The Gophers lost their soul and the heart and "home" having to share with the Vikings, all of that has been taken back and some. The Gophers are home truly where they belong on Campus with our University's colors proudly displayed. The Vikings can have there Palace of glass and steel, I will take our small stadium and being outdoors in the fall any day of the week.
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Well stated, especially the family aspect to it, after attending a couple Vikings games at the Bank the game day atmosphere is night and day. I went to the chiefs game when their workers were on strike didn't get in until the second quarter, even against the chiefs there were a lot of brawls in the stands, I don't even want to know what a Packer game is like. Gopher games are definitely more family friendly, the tailgating isn't nearly as out of control and it's still IMO a good stadium environment on Saturdays
 

This article was a dog. I still remember all the talk about how sharing the metro-dump with an NFL team would help with recruiting, attract more fans, blah, blah, blah. Holtz even called it the Taj Mahal of college football. Well, we all know how well that worked out.

Shama's argument about the benefits of sharing with the vikings are really dumb. It's like saying I'd be better living in Trump's house because his is so much nicer than mine. Yeah, except I'd be treated like a serf while Donny gets all benefits like rent, tax write-offs, etc.

I'm so glad the Vikings are done playing at TCF and have moved into their own spaceship or whatever that dumbazz thing is. The Ziggy Bank is going to have a very short novelty honeymoon. I predict it won't take long and the vikings will be asking for this and that in upgrades.

TCF is a gem and will be for a long, long time with nothing more than some routine maintenance. I refer to it is Mecca. Shama is an idiot to think otherwise.
 

I will probably never attend a Vikings game in the new stadium - unless someone gives me free or discounted tickets. After all of Dayton's talk about the "People's Stadium," the Wilfs basically went ahead and gouged the public for all they could get. Just out of curiosity, I hope to get up there for the Prep Bowl so I can see the place in person.

As far as the Vikings and the Gophers, I don't think there is a lot of overlap between the two fan bases. If there is overlap, it would be on the corporate side of things, where bigger companies might have tickets for both. It would be interesting to know how many regular fans actually have season tickets for both the Vikes and Gophers. I would bet a couple thousand at best.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I will probably never attend a Vikings game in the new stadium - unless someone gives me free or discounted tickets. After all of Dayton's talk about the "People's Stadium," the Wilfs basically went ahead and gouged the public for all they could get. Just out of curiosity, I hope to get up there for the Prep Bowl so I can see the place in person.

As far as the Vikings and the Gophers, I don't think there is a lot of overlap between the two fan bases. If there is overlap, it would be on the corporate side of things, where bigger companies might have tickets for both. It would be interesting to know how many regular fans actually have season tickets for both the Vikes and Gophers. I would bet a couple thousand at best.
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To believe this may not impact the attendance is a little silly, in my opinion. The whole thing a lot of people are missing is the die hard Gopher fans (i.e. most of us on this board) are going to go to the games even if they rebuilt the Metrodome in Ely and moved there. That's 25K-30K people. Where do the other 20K-25K people come from that we'd like to fill the stadium? Usually casual fans that aren't necessarily even Gopher fans (likely much stronger Viking or other NFL team fans), but enjoy coming to a college game now and then. Those are the fans that may decide not to go to a Gopher game because they dropped a chunk of money to see the Vikes play.

That said, to suggest the Gophers should play at US Bank Stadium is outright asinine. I mean, those 17K fans that showed up for some of the games against IL or IN or Purdue really showed how important an indoor 60K seat indoor stadium was.:confused:

If the Gophers win they'll put butts in the seats. If they win enough long enough they'll keep butts in the seats. Yes their attendance will likely be negatively affected this year and the next couple, but the program will still be much better off than if they were playing in US Bank Stadium.

Hopefully sometime the team will be good enough to have a "Neutral Site" NC game at US Bank Stadium against a major opponent every few years. That'd be a pretty fun thing.

The interesting what if in this scenario is - if the Gophers hadn't gotten TCF Bank Stadium and the U had developed the old parking lot such that you couldn't put a stadium where the Bank is, where would both teams have played when they built US Bank Stadium?
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I will probably never attend a Vikings game in the new stadium - unless someone gives me free or discounted tickets. After all of Dayton's talk about the "People's Stadium," the Wilfs basically went ahead and gouged the public for all they could get. Just out of curiosity, I hope to get up there for the Prep Bowl so I can see the place in person.
I don't think there is a lot of overlap between the two football fan bases. If there is overlap, it would be on the corporate side of things, where bigger companies might have tickets for both. It would be interesting to know how many regular fans actually have season tickets for both the Vikes and Gophers. I would bet a couple thousand at best.
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This is spot on analysis "Son", in that Zygi Wilf didn't put one nickle into building US bank stadium that was his own.
There is very little overlap in the majority of the Vikings fan base and Gophers. I like the NFL and enjoy watching the games but not the raucous out of control yelling, and blasting music that leaves you with a profound headache when you leave to go home. We have to maintain a section of seats that is affordable for the Family's and kids because that is what will continue to bring them back(I'm not pandering for this because I am not in this group, but I see them as a key demographic).
Gophers have to market to Families and the kids crowd, and somehow pull in students, that is the only hope to build the fan base and fill up as many seats as possible. College football is fun, to me I enjoy the College game day atmosphere a lot more but I guess I am in the minority at least in a place like Minnesota. To me just keep building it brick by brick, win some games, grow the atmosphere and we will have what we all want. Go Gophers and Ski-U-Mah!
 

There's about a 5k difference between November games the last year in the dome and a sold-out TCF Bank Stadium when looking at non-WI/IA games. Hard to say though if that's tied to watching a game indoors or because it was a team that started the year 7-1 and were #17 in the polls.
 


joshvanklomp said:
There's about a 5k difference between November games the last year in the dome and a sold-out TCF Bank Stadium when looking at non-WI/IA games. Hard to say though if that's tied to watching a game indoors or because it was a team that started the year 7-1 and were #17 in the polls.
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I remember going to those last 3 games in the dome. Homecoming against Northwestern where we lost on a pick 6. Then the worst Michigan team in decades comes to town and we get blown out. Finally the debacle against Iowa and also noted for the infamous bathroom incident. Part of what drove demand was the need for gopher points to secure your seats in the new stadium, so sure that was going to boost sales. We were a bowl team for most of the previous decade so there was that residual effect. The second and third years in TCF were brutal. Had we sustained Mason level success during this period we would have better attendance. A better measure would be percentage of capacity used or revenue generated by game. What prompted this article is Shama probably talked to someone associated with the new stadium who doesn't like the competition for events TCF Bank stadium poses. We will always be the better concert venue.
 

One aspect to the cold weather games at the end of the season is that I think it benefits the Gophers. The typical Gopher team over the last 20 years has been less talented than some of the powers in the B1G. You put two teams on a field in perfect 75 degree weather and the more talented team is going to win that game more often than not. You put those teams on an outdoor field in 20 degree weather and that neutralizes a lot of the talent gap.

I'm sure for the Kill era and beyond the Gophers are getting more talented, but I'd rather take my chances with OSU on a miserable, cold day than in climate controlled conditions.
 

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