very cool Kinda funny that a team called the Golden Gophers is about to own one of the coolest stadium in the country. But 50k seating? For one of the biggest schools in the country? That's going to be a tough ticket for a few years. It's also strange that this is the first Big 10 Stadium to be built since 1960. Makes you wonder if there will be a building boom in college football during the next decade.
They are using student fees to coover part of the cost. That would never fly at UT. Looks like a great place to play in August and September... Hook'em
Always hated seeing teams play on the same field as a Pro team. Especially indoors. Don't know why. Bet they're glad to have their own field finally.
How the hell did more people attend the North Dakota State game than any other home game last year for the Gophers ? Must ahve given away free tickets. Hook em
Glad to see them finally getting it back on campus- dumb idea to move the team off campus in the first place. I remember my father (a Gopher alum) being upset that they tore down their stadium. He had a brick taken from the demo that he's held onto since then, and a lot of his friends who were up there at the time got stadium seats. I've got several relatives up in the Twin Cities- I tell them here in Texas we take our football seriously, and that there would be riots if someone tried to move us a game off campus, let alone try to destroy our stadium.
I wouldn't call this one the 'coolest' in the country, but it definitely is nice. Isn't cy-fair's stadium nicer (or whatever they're called...) Their band facilities are way better than UTs... That thing might give okie-lite's new boone pickens stadium a run for its money.
First of all, it won't be that cold for the games. The season is over mid-November. We average 41 for a high and 26 for a low. Yes, compared to Texas weather, it's chilly - but it's not that bad. Attendance hads been a problem at the Metrodome. The figures listed in the previous post are highly inflated - although it probably is close to the truth for North Dakota. There are a lot of ND fans and alums living in the Twin Cities and ND isn't that far. They come down in droves. The only sport at the U of MN that draws fans is hockey. Basketball is hit or miss - but with Tubby as coach, attendance is growing.
A lot of Longhorn fans ragged on the UCF stadium, but I think it was critical to the development of their program to get the football team on campus as soon as possible. It looks like Minnesota has reached the same conclusion, and I absolutely agree. There's no way to transfer the enthusiasm with both students and alumni that comes with having game day on campus to a stadium ten or fifteen miles away. It doesn't work.
We ragged on UCF's stadium because it was ******. Minny's stadium looks MUCH nicer and I agree that it is better to have a stadium on campus and the E/W orientation is pretty cool.
Looks nice...of course anything would be an improvement to the Dome. I was up there for a couple of Gopher and Twins games in 98-99 and was shocked a what a hole that place is. The Twin Cities are too nice to have a crappy stadium like that. Are they getting a new baseball stadium also? That has to be the worst baseball atmosphere I've ever been in. Danno
