Gopher Football Stadium

[Blue Breeze]

Don't know if anyone saw this/posted it, but the Gophers are getting a new 50,000 seat stadium on campus next to Mariucci and Williams. This is a huge boost for the program. Not sure how many college football fans there are out there, but I love it. One of the things that makes it so charming is the tremendous venues and atmosphere. Hopefully the Gophers can become more succesful on the field and with attendance.

[ChrisK]

It's an expensive boondoggle. When even Sid Hartman suggests that they should have taken over the Dome rather than building a new stadium, you know it's a questionable idea. Looking at where they're going to put the stadium it looks like it will disrupt the traffic flow through the area. Parking is already a problem for the 18,000 who go to hockey and basketball games, how are they going to find room for 50,000? I heard Maturi on the radio saying that they'd have shuttles from the fairgrounds but wasn't the purpose to have the stadium on campus?

The University has been cutting programs and corners to come up with the money for this stadium. They could've had the Dome to themselves once the Vikings leave, which also would've solved the problem for a facility for the baseball program.

I feel Maturi has done a terrible job with the athletic department, men's basketball is in shambles and Monson stays on, the football program is firmly mired in mediocrity and Mason stays on, do these guys have incriminating photos of Maturi or something? Spend the money on some decent coaches, not a stadium!

[jimjackjohnmmmm]

ChrisK- When were you in college last? Is there anything better than going to a college football game outdoors in the fall, none the less having it be in the big ten? Its about damn time the gophs got a real stadium the students can be proud of and fill up. If I have to go to the metrodome one more time and hear badger fans talking about how PLEASE BAN ME of a stadium the gophs play in... ill do something. I think this is a great move and hopefully can attract some more 4 and 5 star players to the program.

[ChrisK]

jimjack, I work at the U and I've been to Gopher games at the Dome. I am aware of what the University administration has done to get this stadium through, making it top priority at the expense of other worthy programs. Outdoor football is great, but they could take the top off the dome and renovate it for far less than the $300 million+ that they'll be shelling out for the TCF stadium.

And as Patrick Reusse AND Sid Hartman pointed out in recent columns, a new stadium does nothing to improve the program itself. If you really think a new stadium will attract 4 or 5 star players, you're dreaming. In fact, it may actually make it less attractive to players from down south, who might rather play in a more comfortable environment. No, a decent coach is needed to turn this program around and while Mason isn't a bad coach, the program needs more than what he offers. If I have to sit through another embarassing last minute meltdown loss, my head's going to pop off. Badger fans can rip the stadium all they want as long as the Gophers rip up the Badgers on the field.

Don't get me wrong, I love college football and I'd love to see the Gophers in the Rose Bowl, something that has not happened in my lifetime! This is just another example of Maturi and the administration focusing on the wrong solution to the problem.

[packerboy]

I think we need a new stadium and a new coach.

UR correct ChrisK in that a new stadium isnt going to make or break the program.

But why dont we have a football stadium on the campus of a world renowned university? Its ridiculous. The Dome is a joke. Its all in blue and they try to cover it with maroon and gold for a Gopher game and it looks like a piece of plastic garbage. Its so bad.

The U should have its own stadium on campus. Mason will still be mediocre but at least it will be in a good facility.

Should we tear down Williams and have Monson's boys play at Target? Thats basically what football did 20 some years ago. Stupid.

[jimjackjohnmmmm]

Guess Im just a purist. But packerboy hit what I was trying to say, the U is too big and good of a university to have the dome as its homefield. And while the stadium does cost a pretty penny, I cant imagine the amount of money thats going to be pumped into university area with the amount of traffic it will see on gamedays. Cant wait to take a beer on campus and walk to a game.

[koren808]

College football needs to be on campus. You don't realize how much better it is until you have been to somewhere like Notre Dame or USC (which I have done), and then compare it to the Metrodome. Recruits can't tell the difference? I don't think so. An on-campus stadium will lead to better recruits, which in turn leads to a better team. The Dome was a terrible fit for the Gophers. TCF Bank Stadium will be so much better.

[ChrisK]

I'm clearly in the minority here, so I'll just say my final piece and let you guys finish the beer. Sure an on-campus stadium will be nice. It'd also be nice if I could get a new car and if I could convince someone else to pay for it that'd be even better. The University administration has been crying poverty for several years now, gutting programs, cutting back on benefits for employees, raising tuition all in the name of cutting costs and then they turn around and demand that the state pitch in for a state of the art football facility.

Once the Twins and Vikings leave they could have had sole occupancy of the Dome, renovated it, repainted it, put a big 'M' on the roof and the sides so anyone stuck in traffic on 94 could see it, but no, they want to drop a new stadium into an overcrowded area where parking and traffic will be more congested than an asthmatic with bronchitis. And the Dome is not that far off campus, you guys make it sound like it's down in Bloomington or something. If they wanted to they could make the Dome appealing for college football. The baseball program also needs a new facility and despite its faults the Dome would provide them with an opportunity to play and practice in early spring.

It seems that a more responsible use of the state's money would have been to renovate the Dome and resuscitate the football program by getting a coaching staff that could take them to the Rose Bowl. The administration seems to think this new stadium will resurrect the program but if the team is still as mediocre after two or three years in the new facility you'll start to see the empty seats again and then what'll they do?

[jimjackjohnmmmm]

I dont know if this is exactly true, but I heard a while ago that taking the roof of the dome wont work because there is no plumbing or drainage system underneith. I dont know how much the cost would be to install, or if it is even possible but that would be a major problem. Oh well, who cares, problem solved!

[Irishmans Shanty]

No school in the Big Ten with any winning tradition whatsoever takes the Gophers seriously. The date with the Gophers has to be a win, period. A loss to the Gophs is a season killer, look what Michigan did after "the loss" last season. An outdoor stadium may not help what other schools think of the Gophers, only sustained winning will. An outdoor stadium will not postively affect recruiting, only sustained winning will. But at the very least, it will allow Minneosotans to enjoy up to six times a year what college football fans all across America already know. The game is important, but the campus buzz on game weekend is what makes the game what it is. Anyone who has not experienced a fall Saturday at a major college football campus must do so. Sometimes you have to throw logic out the window, the cost of the Stadium could clearly be used for something better, traffic in an already conjested area will only get worse. But just build the thing, and just maybe the Gophs can have homefield advantage when Iowa and Wisconsin come to town.