The last time a Minnesota Gopher football team played a game on campus, none of the current players had been born, Ronald Reagan was early in his first term as president, and Hill Street Blues had just premiered on television.
That was 1981, when the decision was made to move the Minnesota college games downtown to the newly built Metrodome, home of the Vikings and Twins. It was a decision that was quickly questioned as crowds waned and the lack of campus spirit was soon apparent. But there the Gophers remained for nearly 3 decades.
Long Wait Over As TCF Bank Stadium Opens September 12, 2009
It's been a long wait for Gopher fans, but this Saturday, September 12th, 2009, marks the end of that wait and the beginning of a new era for the 127-year-old Minnesota Football Program, at brand-spanking new TCF Bank Stadium. The 6:00 p.m. kickoff versus Air Force has been circled on Minnesotan's calendars for more than two years now.
After several years of lobbying the state legislature, the University of Minnesota got the go-ahead in 2006 for a new, on-campus stadium. A ceremonial groundbreaking quickly took place, followed by an actual one in May 2007, and work began on the 50,000 seat open-air facility. Students and fans watched for two years as the classic, collegiate brick horseshoe rose out of a parking lot, across the street from both Williams and Marriucci Arenas, not far from the site of the old Memorial Stadium.
That stadium, nicknamed the "Brick House," was the home to 10 Big Ten Title teams (5 shared, 5 outright), and 6 National Champions during its 57 years (1924-1981) presiding over Oak Street. The Metrodome saw nothing better than a third place conference finish in the next 28 seasons. It shouldn't be hard to see, then, what hopes have been placed on TCF Bank Stadium, with its return to "home-field advantage" for a Golden Gopher team that's been on the rise since the hiring of Coach Tim Brewster, now in his third season.
TCF Bank Stadium Acknowledges Golden Past
TCF Bank Stadium gives a nod to the past and the team's old home with its brick facade and classic horseshoe shape, but is otherwise as state-of-the-art and forward-looking as any stadium in America. The huge 60-yard long locker room is football shaped and open, Tim Brewster's idea for promoting the team dynamic. Directly above the large central "M" on the floor is an illuminated one that can be programmed to pulse to music.
A band-designed band room, two club rooms, three different levels of private suites and boxes, the third largest scoreboard in football, a Hall of Fame, Veterans and Native American Memorials, and the potential to expand to 80,000 seats are just a few of the many aspects to TCF Bank Stadium that make this place special.
Designed by Populous and built by Mortenson Construction, the stadium also set an example in green construction. All water is pre-sewer filtered, all lights are energy efficient motion lights, 95% of the steel used is recycled, as was 95% of the waste going off the site. It was also, according to the Minneapolis StarTribune, 95% Minnesota built.
Finally, TCF Bank Stadium was originally planned to sit in a North-South position until University President Robert Bruininks suggested an East-West orientation, like the old Brick House. That way, the bowl would open to a view of all the current sports venues, as well as all the past sites of Gopher football, with downtown Minneapolis in the distance and the dome a tiny, receding memory. If the football gods and Gopher fans have their way, the new view from TCF Bank Stadium will be a metaphor for a new era in Golden Gopher football.
A special thanks to Paul DeBettignies and his Gopher the Roses blog, a great place to follow Golden Gopher Football. Other Sources: GopherSports.com and the Minneapolis StarTribune.
Dale Van Every - Dale Van Every is a freelance and fiction writer living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He earned his Masters Degree in English Literature from ...
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