Stadiums – Page 33 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

‘Fate’ for Retractable Roof 60 Days Away

Posted on February 22, 2013February 22, 2013 by David Shama

Vikings’ stadium executive Lester Bagley told Sports Headliners he expects to know this spring if the new $975 million downtown stadium that will be home to the local NFL team will have a retractable roof, or fixed roof. “In the next 60 days we should know the fate of a retractable feature,” he said.

Knowledgeable observers are pessimistic that the state-mandated $975 million budget is large enough to pay for a retractable roof, likely to cost $25 million to $50 million. But Bagley doesn’t describe the chances of a retractable roof as a “long shot.”

The Vikings, the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, the architects (HKS) and the construction management firm (Mortenson Construction) are considering options to provide enhanced amenities in the new facility scheduled to open in 2016. Those options include not only a retractable roof, but a window opening to the skyline and a moveable wall providing proximity to the game day outdoor plaza. “We think it’s a pretty decent opportunity for the retractable feature (of some kind),” Bagley said.

While neither the Vikings, state or city of Minneapolis are expected to commit any more money to the stadium budget, Bagley is already encouraged by cost savings for the project. “It (a retractable feature) is going to be a budget issue but we’ve been able to have an architect and builder (Mortenson) come in under budget,” Bagley said.

The expertise of HKS and Mortenson is also expected to maximize the best outcome for a retractable feature. HKS was the architect for the acclaimed football stadiums in Dallas and Indianapolis that have multiple retractable features including roofs. Mortenson built Target Field and TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Bagley didn’t identify the amount of the cost savings with HKS and Mortenson but it’s been reported the HKS fee will be $34 million and the Mortenson fee $12.5 million with incentives that could reach $15 million.

Bagley said the Metrodome will be demolished on February 1, 2014. Ground for the new stadium—to be located adjacent to the Metrodome—is expected to be broken this September or October.

The 2013 season will the Vikings last at the dome, and then the team will play at TCF Bank Stadium in 2014 and 2015. The Vikings and University of Minnesota are expected to have an agreement finalized within about 30 days, according to Bagley.

Sports Headliners believes the Vikings will pay in excess of $2.5 million per year to use TFC Bank Stadium. In addition, the Vikings will pay for costs to make the stadium acceptable for them. This includes paying for a new field with heating coils under the artificial turf, and then replacing that turf after the 2015 season. TCF Bank Stadium was built for fall football but Bagley said the Vikings need the facility to be suitable for the team and its fans through January.

Stadium capacity for Gophers games is 50,805 but will be expanded to nearly 53,000 by the addition of temporary seating in TCF Bank Stadium’s west end, according to Bagley. That figure was targeted to accommodate Vikings’ total season ticket holders.

The Gophers’ baseball program and other amateur baseball teams in the state have annually played games in the Metrodome when the weather otherwise forces them to be in warmer states. Leaders of those programs have been concerned about an initial field design for the new stadium that will have a baseball foul line of less than 300 feet. The Vikings are determined to build a fan-friendly football stadium that includes seats with close proximity to the field.

Bagley said design work regarding the issue is now on “option six” and he’s hopeful a solution will be finalized within a week or so. “I don’t know exactly what the foul line dimensions will be but they should accommodate the baseball community,” he said.

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Frazier Not Anxious about Job

Posted on December 12, 2012December 12, 2012 by David Shama

With three regular season games remaining, there’s no official word yet on extending coach Leslie Frazier’s contract but that seems likely to happen before too long.

Frazier reportedly has a three-year deal that commits the Vikings to him through next season. To let Frazier go very long into next year without an extension wouldn’t show much faith in him and probably won’t happen.

Vikings ownership and general manager Rick Spielman are believed to be supportive of the man who was promoted from defensive coordinator late in the 2010 season to interim coach and later head coach. Frazier won three of six games in 2010, then went 3-13 last season as the franchise began rebuilding. This season the team is 7-6 with the playoffs a possibility for the first time since 2009.

Frazier, preparing this week for Sunday’s game with the Rams, told Sports Headliners he doesn’t worry about his tenure as coach. “Not at all. I talk to our players all the time about control what you can control, and from my standpoint it’s true for me as well.

“My concentration has to be on the St. Louis Rams in this case, and really focusing on that. All those other things take care of themselves as long as I concentrate on the task at hand.”

The Vikings’ record looks like an accomplishment to those who thought before season the team was in for a dismal year. Despite losing playmaker extraordinaire Percy Harvin to injury, and having to develop a second-year quarterback and other young players on both offense and defense, there are only six teams in the 16-team NFC that have a better record than the Vikings.

Frazier’s likeable personality enhances his popularity with the franchise, media and fans. “I try to be myself as much as I can,” he said. “Some people will like that person and some people won’t, but it’s important to be yourself. That’s one thing I’ve learned over the years. Be who you are. Hopefully people will accept you for who you are. …”

Frazier said when he was an NFL player he always appreciated coaches and others who were honest with him. He tries to do the same now in his leadership position.

“When you start trying to mislead people, I don’t think that’s a good deal,” he said. “You don’t create the trust that you have to have in the environment we’re in.”

Worth Noting

Ted Mondale, executive director for the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, told Sports Headliners an announcement about whether the new Vikings stadium will have a retractable roof will come in “late February or early March.”

That announcement will be made after a construction company is hired and can determine what amenities are affordable on the $975 million budget. An announcement naming the company is expected January 25.

The Vikings want a retractable feature for the stadium but budget limitations might dictate that rather than a costly sliding roof something like a huge window that can be opened and closed will be what is affordable. The stadium will have either a fixed or sliding roof—open air isn’t an option.

In the December 10 issue, Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald Jr. is one of 10 individuals profiled in Sports Illustrated for service to others. The Cardinals All-Pro wide receiver is particularly known here for his work in the fight against breast cancer, a disease that took his mother Carol’s life. But he’s also a world traveler whose causes in other countries include the Starkey Hearing Foundation and USO.

“If you get consumed by fame, your world can be a very small bubble,” Fitzgerald told Sports Illustrated.

Steve and Dorothy Erban’s Creative Charters is working on filling up a second airplane with fans wanting to attend the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston on December 28 between the Gophers and Texas Tech. www.creativecharter.com

Eden Prairie High School football coach Mike Grant is expected to interview this week for the Saint John’s head coaching job, according to a December 8 St. Cloud Times online story.

Chad Rogosheske, named Hamline football coach on Monday, was a running back for the 1995 Pipers—the school’s last team to have a winning record. He was all-MIAC in 1996, blocking for Eric Johnson who set school records for rushing yards and touchdowns. Rogosheske also spent three seasons at Ohio State as a graduate assistant.

Will tonight be Ricky Rubio’s season debut when the Timberwolves play the Nuggets at Target Center? The second-year Spanish point guard played in 41 games as a rookie before injuring his left knee and ending his season.

Gophers coach Tubby Smith took the redshirt status off Rice Lake, Wisconsin freshman guard-forward Wally Ellenson last night in Minnesota’s win over North Dakota State. With one nonconference game remaining before the Big Ten season begins, the athletic Ellenson will add depth to the roster.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien emailed that Apple Valley point guard Tyus Jones made 20 of 22 free throws and seven of 14 field goals to score 36 points in the Eagles’ 82-68 win over Minnetonka last night. The junior preseason All-American also had six assists.

My son Bill and I had dinner with former Gophers basketball captain Paul Presthus last night. Presthus and my father were both from Rugby, North Dakota— a small town known as the geographic center of North America. Presthus was famous as a high school player and before his senior season was included with Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) as a first team prep All-American.

The announcement Monday that the NHL has cancelled regular season games through December 30 now means 42.8 percent of the schedule for 2012-2013 is lost.

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U Will Schedule BCS Teams

Posted on November 14, 2012November 14, 2012 by David Shama

Norwood Teague told Sports Headliners the Gophers want to schedule BCS opponents for nonconference games, but not for several years.

The Gophers’ new athletic director cancelled games with North Carolina for 2013 and 2014 earlier this fall. Now Minnesota doesn’t have a BCS opponent on the nonconference schedule until 2018 when Oregon State is scheduled to play in Minneapolis.

Teague and football coach Jerry Kill aren’t saying never to scheduling BCS non-conference foes—schools from the six conferences of the Big Ten, Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC . “Oh, yeah,” Teague said. “We want to do that.”

The decision to exit from the North Carolina series and make the nonconference lineup of games in 2013 and 2014 more winnable was based on a belief by athletic department leaders that the Gophers program needs time to become more competitive.

The Gophers were 4-0 during non-conference games this season and without all four wins (three against non-BCS opponents) the program would still not be bowl eligible. Minnesota is 6-4 after earning its second Big Ten win last Saturday against Illinois but without its non-conference sweep, the Gophers would have to be hoping for a sixth win and bowl eligibility in their last two games—underdog assignments versus Nebraska and Michigan State.

Six wins and a bowl game can help a program in recruiting, and Kill highly values the extra 15 practices allowed to prepare his team for the post-season. Those bonus practices can be like a second spring practice, particularly helpful for a young roster of players like the Gophers.

Teague emphasized that in a difficult Big Ten, having a favorable nonleague schedule is a plus. “It’s where we are now (in scheduling philosophy),” he said. “I am not saying we’re going to be there in five years but it’s where we are now (needing nonleague wins).”

Teague acknowledged an outpouring of disappointment by fans about cancellation of the North Carolina series. Fans, including season ticket holders, have long been frustrated by the lack of BCS teams on Minnesota’s non-conference schedules. There’s no arguing that for many season ticket holders having the likes of Western Illinois and San Jose State as early games in 2013 detracts from the value of their purchases. Other nonconference home opponents on future schedules include Eastern Illinois, Middle Tennessee State and Indiana State.

“If I was a fan and we cancelled the North Carolina series, I would be frustrated too,” Teague said. “…It’s something Jerry felt like we needed to do and I wanted to support him and I agreed with him after we analyzed it.

“I can’t tell you how much we analyzed this over June and July. We met about it constantly. We ruminated on it constantly and decided to go ahead and do it.”

The Gophers Athletic Department paid $800,000 to North Carolina to cancel the games and the decision left Minnesota scrambling to fill open dates in 2013 and 2014 (Minnesota will likely play at New Mexico State on September 7, 2013). The $800,000 was a significant part of the public criticism.

Would Teague make the same decision again?

“I would. I regret that it struck such a chord with our fans, and I don’t want to anger anyone for reasons that seemed like we’re looking at it in a flippant way. The money is one thing. It’s a lot of money and it could be seen as being used for better and more needy situations.

“But it is an investment for the future. We’re trying to get momentum in the program. The Big Ten is tough. …”

Vikings Stadium & Other Notes

A construction management firm for the new Vikings stadium could be chosen within the next 30 days, according to Lester Bagley. The Vikings vice president of public affairs said the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority will issue a request for proposal, and a firm will be selected before year’s end.

That company will determine the cost of potential retractable features for the stadium. Retractable options for cost analysis are expected to include a moving roof, and doors that open to the stadium plaza.

Bagley said ground for the new stadium is likely to be broken next September. Although the facility will be built on the Metrodome site, the Vikings will be able to play the entire 2013 season at Mall of America Field. Before the expected new stadium opening in 2016, the Vikings will play some games at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings are close to announcing completion of an agreement with the University of Minnesota.

Bagley said details regarding the Gophers’ stadium include placement of heating coils beneath the playing field and expanding seating capacity (currently 50,805). The Vikings have more season ticket holders than TCF’s present capacity, and because the team plays more than a month after the Gophers’ season ends there are “weatherization” issues with the stadium, according to Bagley.

The Vikings don’t play again until Sunday, November 25 in Chicago against the Bears. Some players will use the bye week break to leave town including linebacker Chad Greenway who will be in his native South Dakota hunting pheasants.

Vikings reserve quarterback Joe Webb turns 26 today.

Although the Gophers’ bowl destination won’t be decided for awhile, an athletic department spokesman speculated the destination could be the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas in Houston on December 28, with Minnesota playing Iowa State, TCU or West Virginia from the Big 12 Conference.

With his team down to one healthy center, Gophers coach Jerry Kill said yesterday his staff will need to teach someone to be a backup to starter Zac Epping for Saturday’s game against Nebraska in Lincoln.

Here are Sports Headliners Big Ten football power rankings: Ohio State,Nebraska, Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan, Northwestern, Michigan State, Purdue, Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana and Illinois.

Tickets for the St. Thomas Division III home football playoff game against St.Norbert College on Saturday go on sale starting at 10:30 a.m. that day at O’Shaughnessy Stadium. Tickets are priced at $8 for adults and $4 for students. The game isn’t expected to sell out. The Tommies are 10-0 while the Green Knights are 8-2.

Bethel (8-2) is a second MIAC team advancing to the playoffs, and plays in Chicago on Saturday against Concordia-Chicago (10-0).

The Timberwolves, 5-2 and off to their best start since 2001-2002, didn’t have a player among the NBA’s top 25 for points, rebounds, assists or minutes through league games as of Monday. The Wolves, undefeated at home in three games, play the Bobcats at Target Center tonight.

Former Gophers center Colton Iverson had 18 points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes playing for Colorado State last week in the Rams’ opening game, a 72-65 win over Montana. The 6-10 Iverson is wearing jersey No. 45, the same number he had at Minnesota.

Rams coach Larry Eustachy praised Iverson in the college basketball issue of Athlon Sports now on newsstands. “Colton changes the whole team. He’s in a small pool of players around the country that have his size, his intelligence and his feel for the game. He passes the test.”

Former Gophers basketball player Keith Young emailed he has completed his first book of poetry. “This is a twenty year hobby that I have decided to turn into a business venture,” he wrote. Poems from an Unexpected Source is about “family, friendship, sports, hope and life.” yeltd@sbcglobal.net.

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