TCF Bank Stadium Totally Explained

Everything about Tcf Bank Stadium totally explained

TCF Bank Stadium is the future football stadium for the Minnesota Golden Gophers college football team at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. By enrollment, the university is the fourth largest college campus in the United States. The 50,000 seat on-campus "horseshoe" style stadium is under construction and planned to be built in time for the 2009 football season. The first game in the stadium is scheduled to be against the Air Force Falcons. The stadium will be designed to support future expansion to seat up to 80,000 people. The Gophers compete in the Big Ten Conference.
TCF Bank Stadium is the first of three stadiums being built or considered for the major tenants of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome–the Gophers and two professional teams, the Minnesota Twins baseball and Minnesota Vikings football teams. Served by existing and proposed light rail, the three stadiums are located within a 1.2-mile (2 km) radius loosely centered at the Guthrie Theater on the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis.

History

The push for a new on-campus stadium for the Golden Gopher football team began in the fall of 2000. The university cited poor revenue and lack of a college football atmosphere at the off-campus Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome as their main reasons for wanting to move back. A plan for a joint Minnesota Vikings/University of Minnesota football stadium was proposed in 2002, but differences over how the stadium would be design and run, as well as state budget constraints, led to the plan's failure. In September of 2003 a highly publicized attempt was made by T. Denny Sanford to be the lead donor for the project, but in early 2004 the plan fell through when the two parties were unable to come to an agreement on the financial terms. The university unveiled preliminary stadium drawings and a general plan to seek state money and donations in December of 2003. Finally on March 24, 2005, the university and TCF Bank announced a deal that would have the bank contribute $35 million towards the project which would give them naming rights. The deal was given an expiration date of December 31, 2005; time enough for the Minnesota Legislature to provide the bulk of funding needed to make the project a reality.
   During the remainder of 2005 the university concentrated on drafting a stadium proposal that would draw the support of state politicians. The final plan proposed that the state of Minnesota would contribute 40% of the stadium cost while the university would raise the remaining 60% on its own. Portions of that 60% were to be funded by the TCF naming rights, while the remainder would come from a $50 per semester student fee, private donations, the sale of 2840 acres (11.5 km²) of university land in rural Dakota County back to the state, and game day parking revenue. Late in 2005 when it became evident that this would happen, the university and TCF Bank announced that it had extended the naming rights deal to June 30, 2006. The house bill was nearly identical to what the university was proposing and had full university support. However on May 9, 2006, the Minnesota Senate passed a radically different version of the bill on a 34–32 vote. The Senate version would have removed the TCF naming rights deal, the student fees, and the purchase of the university owned land. The proposed funding that was removed was to be replaced with a state wide tax on sports memorabilia. It also would have required the stadium to be named Veterans Memorial Stadium (which would be similar to the previous on-campus football stadium Memorial Stadium, which was last used in 1981 and then demolished in 1992). Governor Tim Pawlenty stated he supported the House version.
   Even though the differences between the house and senate bills were major, the details were ironed out and approved on May 19, 2006 in a House–Senate conference committee. The TCF Bank naming rights and land sale remained in the bill, as did a scaled down $25 per year student fee. The tax on sports memorabilia as well as the Veterans Memorial Stadium name were voted out. The committee also voted to increase the state contribution to the project to compensate for the smaller student fees. The compromised bill was then approved by both the full house and senate on May 20, 2006, and was signed by Governor Tim Pawlenty on May 24, 2006.
   The stadium was planned as the centerpiece of a 75-acre research park called the East Gateway District on the East Bank side of the Twin Cities campus, expanding an existing precinct and adding a new Medical Biosciences Building. Sketches for the regents were available in December 2006 and, pending approval by the Minnesota Legislature, as of June 2007, biosciences was scheduled for completion in Fall 2009.

Funding

The stadium's cost totals $288.5 million of which the university will play 52 percent and the state of Minnesota the remaining 48 percent. Including interest the state's cost is about $10 million per year or about $1.7 million per game for twenty-five years. About $50 million of the state's portion goes to the purchase of 2840 acres (11.5 km²) of undeveloped university land, part of the Rosemount Research Center in Dakota County, over twenty-five years by the state of Minnesota who will assume responsibility for risks if the site requires environmental cleanup. The university retains its right to use the land for its "research, education and engagement mission" in perpetuity.
   The university's share is $111 million TCF Financial Corporation of Wayzata, Minnesota is contributing $35 million over twenty-five years in exchange for the TCF Bank naming rights and other agreements. The university projected earnings of $2.5 million per year or $96 million over the life of agreements with TCF that will include marketing debit cards to alumni and ticketholders. If unable to fulfill its contractual obligations, TCF Financial Corporation must propose an alternate name subject to the approval of the university.
   Other corporate donations have been pledged as well, including Best Buy ($3 million), Dairy Queen ($2.5 million), Target Corporation ($2 million), Federated Insurance, General Mills and Norwest Equity Partners. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community agreed to donate USD $10 million for stadium construction, the largest gift Gopher athletics has ever received. The university will match an additional USD $2.5 million to create a $5 million endowment for scholarships for American Indian and low-income students. The hospitality plaza on the stadium's west side and the scholarship will be named to honor the community, and the plaza designed to "celebrate the history, presence, and cultural contributions of all eleven Indian tribes in Minnesota".
   The university is also accepting donations from individuals. Currently donations are being sought from "high-end" donors (those contributing $100,000 or more), and in 2008 the university will expand the fundraising effort to gather smaller donations. As of November 14, 2007, $75.5 million of the University of Minnesota's $86 million contribution had been collected.
   The remainder of the university's portion will come from a $12.50 per semester student fee The university has vowed that even if the stadium cost rises again, it won't seek more money from the state nor increase the student fees any further. The address will be 2009 University Ave S.E.
   An environmental impact assessment of the stadium site was conducted by the university between December of 2004 and March of 2006 at a cost of $1.5 million. The results were approved by the Board of Regents on March 27, 2006.

Design

TCF Bank Stadium will be a horseshoe-style stadium which organizers say will have a "traditional collegiate look and feel". On December 7, 2006, the university announced that the stadium's field will be laid out in an east-west configuration, with the open end of the stadium facing campus. This layout, similar to that of Memorial Stadium, will provide a view of downtown Minneapolis. The new stadium will also incorporate a tribute to the university's veterans.

Construction

On June 8, 2006, the university announced that it had selected HOK Architects to design TCF Bank stadium. HOK Architects was one of the three finalists, along with HNTB Architects and Crawford Architects, that made presentations to the university on May 24, 2006. The local firm working on the project is Minneapolis based Architectural Alliance, and M.A. Mortenson Company is the general contractor. Schematic designs of the stadium were presented to the public on January 3, 2007.
Infrastructure work at the stadium site began in late June 2006, and a ceremonial groundbreaking took place at the stadium site on September 30, 2006. The beginning of construction on the stadium itself along with the unveiling of the stadium's logo took place on July 11, 2007. Site preparation and foundation work continued through the summer and fall of 2007, with work on the stadium's steel skeleton beginning January 28, 2008. It is anticipated that the stadium's external structure will be completed in the fall of 2008, leaving just under a year to complete internal finishing, landscaping, and lighting.

Other uses

While TCF Bank Stadium will be the game day venue of the Golden Gophers football team, the university has identified a number of other anticipated uses for the facility. The stadium will replace Northrop Auditorium as the home of the University of Minnesota Marching Band, providing the band with new storage, rehearsal, and locker facilities. The university also expects to use the stadium for intramural sports, career fairs, and graduation ceremonies.
Several potential non-university uses for the stadium have been discussed as well. Minnesota State High School League state tournaments, concerts, and marching band and drum corps competitions have all been considered. TCF Bank Stadium has been named as a possible location to host preliminary soccer matches if Chicago wins its bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. Should the Minnesota Vikings successfully carry out a plan to build a new stadium on the current site of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, TCF Bank Stadium could provide a temporary home for the team until the new stadium is completed.

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