The Minnesota Vikings and the University of Minnesota have struck a tentative deal on how much the team will pay the U to play at TCF Stadium while a new Vikings stadium is built near the Metrodome.
While declining to say how much the Vikings would pay per game, Vikings spokesman Lester Bagley said Monday that the tentative agreement would add roughly 3,000 temporary end zone seats to the university's 50,000-seat stadium. "We have close to 53,000 season-ticket owners, so we're trying to at least get to that," said Bagley, the team's vice president for stadium development and public affairs..
Other details still need to be resolved before the plan can be finalized, Bagley said Monday. "I'd say there's an agreement in principle there, but formal signoff is yet to occur between the Vikings and the university," he said.
Because it is unclear how many games or seasons the team would play at TCF, Bagley said the school and team had reached a tentative agreement on the cost per game.
I like the idea of playing outside. If I remember right one of the changes would be to add heating to the field. Too bad it hadn't been build as a split Pro/College field to begin with.
Article by: MIKE KASZUBA , Star Tribune | Updated: February 23, 2012 - 11:23 AM
Both are offered by Republican legislators: One would help fund a project in Arden Hills, while the other would have the team pay more than 80 percent of the costs.
At this very early point in the planning and feasibility stage, it's really nice to see everyone banding together and throwing so many diverse proposals on the table.
Eli wrote:
You know.... At this very early point in planning a feasibility stage, it's really nice to see everyone banding together and throwing so many diverse proposals on the table.
If this was 2004, I'd agree with you.
“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” --- Bill Shankly
In a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton, Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak and the City Council, Nader said a public subsidy would be an unwise investment and urged lawmakers to hold a citywide referendum on the plan.
The Vikings finally seem to be closing in on their long-awaited new stadium. And it won’t be built in Southern California.
A.J. Monsour of KFAN reports that the Minnesota Legislature could pass a stadium bill as soon as Thursday. A press conference has been scheduled for 9:00 a.m. CT.
If the deal is finalized, a new stadium will be built close to the site of the Metrodome, with the Vikings playing in the existing structure for two or three years while construction proceeds. Then, the Vikings will spend one full season at the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium before moving into the new venue, which would open in 2016.
Under the deal, Vikings will pay half of all construction and operating expenses. It’s expected that the stadium will cost $975 million.
The City of Minneapolis still would have to approve it, so I sure wouldnt call it a "done deal", but looks to be moving in a positive direction, which I honestly didnt think would happen once the Vikings lost every ounce of leverage.
Congrats! it looked pretty bleak there for a while especially with LA building that facility. Do any of you guys have an artist's rendering of what its going to look like? I saw one of the other posters said hosting super bowls. is it a dome?
