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

Here’s a ‘Vote’ for U Win Saturday

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

Winning won’t be easy but it seems like there are too many valid reasons not to predict the Gophers (4-1) will defeat Northwestern (5-1) tomorrow at TCF Bank Stadium.

Odds-makers believe the Wildcats will win by about three points. Sports Headliners predicts a fourth quarter field goal—perhaps wind aided—sailing over the goalpost crossbar to give Minnesota a 30-27 victory on Homecoming.

There’s no doubt a team takes on the personality of its head coach and Minnesota’s players are likely to play Saturday’s game against the Wildcats with a lot of passion. Gophers coach Jerry Kill stewed over the Iowa loss two weeks ago and was critical of himself, not just the team.

Wide receiver A.J. Barker was asked about Kill’s emotions after the Iowa loss and since then: “He gets on us when we win and he gets on us when we lose,” Barker said. “He’s very consistent and you know what to expect with him and the staff. He did a great job coming off this loss, just motivating us, keeping the foot on the gas and moving forward.”

The Gophers will have more than emotion and focus going for them on Saturday. Because of a bye in the schedule, Minnesota had two weeks to prepare for tomorrow’s game while Northwestern has not. Kill used the extra time not only to strategize against the Wildcats, but last week put an emphasis on fundamentals.

That mid-season tune-up should help the Gophers. “Sometimes we forget blocking and tackling, and using your hands, and playing with good technique and having leverage on the ball and those kind of things,” Kill said.

The extra time off helped injured players recover. Among those who didn’t play against Iowa but could be on the field tomorrow, even if in a limited role, is quarterback MarQueis Gray.

Gray’s return is a must for Sports Headliners to write its prediction in ink, rather than pencil. The senior quarterback is one of the nation’s best running quarterbacks. In spot duty tomorrow he could potentially throw Northwestern defense off balance. The Wildcats won’t look forward to stopping Gray’s runs, something Iowa didn’t have to contend with against Minnesota’s pass-oriented quarterback, Max Shortell.

Shortell, who replaced Gray in the first half of the Western Michigan on September 15, was asked about the offense that has produced just four touchdowns in the last two games. “We need to make plays as an offense. We need to convert on third downs,” he said. “Keep sustaining drives, and I think scoring touchdowns in the red zones. We can’t settle for field goals. That will really help our points per game.”

Gray’s presence on Saturday, for a few plays here and there, could not only help produce more points for the slumping offense but take minutes off the game clock. The Gophers want to have more time of possession than Northwestern, a team whose strength is on offense. The Wildcats rank 14^th nationally in rushing yards per game, 233.50, and No. 43 in total offense, averaging 432.50 yards per game.

In Minnesota’s favor, though, is Northwestern uses a spread offense similar to what the Gophers have faced in four of their first five games. And Minnesota’s defensive unit has played better than the offense or special teams this season. The Gophers rank No. 23 nationally in total defense giving up 320.80 yards per game.

Northwestern is a formidable team. The Wildcats proved that with nonconference wins over BCS opponents Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Boston College and Indiana. Pat Fitzgerald, only 37 years old, is one of the Big Ten’s better coaches, but the Gophers staff is impressive too, including a group of assistants that Kill probably frets about losing to better paying BCS schools.

May be the difference tomorrow in Minnesota’s favor is simply playing at home. With the parity of talent in the Big Ten, the home field and a noisy crowd is meaningful.

Worth Noting

The No. 1 ranked FCS North Dakota State football team, 5-0, has over 30 Minnesotans listed on the roster. Former Totino-Grace running back John Crockett leads the Bison in rushing with 432 yards. The Bison have outscored opponents 221 to 42.

North Dakota State head coach Craig Bohl, a former Nebraska assistant, will surely have his name mentioned if the Cornhuskers head coaching job opens up.

Zach Zenner, formerly from Eagan High School, has rushed for 1,077 yards, averaging 215.40 yards per game for South Dakota State. He leads all FCS players with both totals.

Roy Terwilliger told Sports Headliners the Minnesota Sports Facilities Commission retained the HKS architectural firm a few years ago to do preliminary work on the Metrodome as a potential site for a new Vikings stadium. The firm concluded the 20 acre site was sufficient for such a facility, according to Terwilliger, the former commission chairman.

Now HKS has been retained to design the new stadium. Terwilliger refers to HKS as a “great firm” and said the company also designed acclaimed NFL stadiums in Indianapolis and Arlington, Texas. “I am pleased they (the Vikings and the Minnesota Sports Facility Authority) hired them,” Terwilliger said.

Wide receiver Percy Harvin, who currently ranks second in the NFL with 38 receptions, was passed over by a majority of teams in the league before the Vikings took him with the No. 22 pick in the first round of the 2009 draft. Credit front office executive Rick Spielman, then head coach Brad Childress and wide receivers coach George Stewart with taking Harvin.

When the Vikings play the Redskins on Sunday they will see former Minnesota defensive backs Cedric Griffin and Madieu Williams. This will be the third consecutive season the Vikings have played the Redskins in Landover, Maryland.

Next Tuesday, October 16, is the NFL trade deadline.

John Gagliardi, now in his 60^th season coaching Saint John’s, is off to a 2-4 start and the Johnnies have lost four straight. His Saint John’s teams have never lost more than four games in a season and he’s had only two years when the Johnnies lost more games than they won. Saint John’s has four games remaining this season including tomorrow’s home game with Carleton.

Augsburg quarterback Ayrton Scott is second among Division III players in per game total offense, 366.20 yards, and seventh in rushing yards, 150.20. The Auggies last Saturday beat the Johnnies in consecutive years for the first time since 1926-27.

Former NBA coach Flip Saunders said the Timberwolves are “potentially a playoff team.” The difference in whether the Wolves qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2004 will have much to do with how fast and effectively point guard Ricky Rubio recovers from his ACL injury, Saunders told Sports Headliners.

“I think right now you look at the West (Western Conference), there are seven teams that are playoff locks,” Saunders said. “And at that eighth spot, there’s probably about five teams that have a chance to get to that spot, and I think they’re (the Wolves) one of those teams in there.”

Who does Saunders, the former Wolves head coach, believe will be in the NBA Finals? “I think it will probably be the Lakers and Miami,” he said. “I think those are the two best teams.”

Saunders said with forward LeBron James and guard Dwayne Wade the Heat has two of the five best NBA players for closing out games. He also said Miami is “maybe the best team in the league defensively.”

Saunders, though, “wouldn’t be surprised” if the Lakers won the NBA title. “They’ve got great balance, size, a little bit of everything,” he said.

Saunders last coached in the NBA with the Wizards during the 2011-2012 season and he isn’t employed by a league team now. He’s interested in getting back into the NBA but wouldn’t say if the Wolves might one day be a possibility. Saunders could interest NBA teams as either a coach or general manager.

How about the following for TV ratings competition? The second Wolves telecast of the fall will be next Tuesday night in a preseason home game against Maccabi Haifa, the same evening of the presidential debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

Single game tickets for the WNBA Finals at Target Center range from $20 to $225. The Lynx host Indiana in game one on Sunday night starting at 7 p.m. ESPN2 will televise the game.

The Aeros, the Wild’s American Hockey League affiliate, open their season tomorrow night in Houston against Charlotte. In the Aeros’ last preseason game Mikael Granlund scored four goals as part of a five point night as Houston defeated Oklahoma City, 6-2.

The Aeros play Rockford on November 18 at the Xcel Energy Center in a regular season AHL game. Tickets are on sale via www.wild.com.

The estate sale last month for Dark Star, the former WCCO Radio personality who passed away in June, generated over $75,000 with some of the proceeds dedicated to the new Gophers baseball stadium.

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Multi-Use Priority Over Retractable Roof

Posted on August 27, 2012August 27, 2012 by David Shama

The new downtown Vikings stadium might have a retractable roof in its eventual design but that amenity won’t come at the expense of baseball and other varied events planned for the facility.

Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority executive director Ted Mondale told Sports Headliners that financing for the $975 million stadium was approved without including specific funding for a retractable roof. The facility was positioned as a “peoples stadium” in political campaigning and the facility must accommodate the same varied events the Metrodome has since 1982.

Those events include amateur baseball with a 100 to 150 games per year, according to Mondale. Other sports and attractions are expected to use the new stadium like the Metrodome, hosting everything from golf shows to Final Fours to rollerblading to a Super Bowl.

Mondale is not saying “no” to a retractable roof but is voicing caution. “There’s no extra public money,” he said. “It would be a nice feature to have.”

A stadium architect will be chosen soon and the facility design will follow. If the stadium is open to the elements because of a retractable roof that changes how the entire stadium is designed “right down to the footings” Mondale said, and also dramatically increases the total project cost, perhaps by close to $200 million.

Mondale expects a decision before year’s end on the retractable roof. But even without a retractable roof, it’s likely the stadium will be creatively designed to bring light and ambience into the building which is scheduled to open in 2016.

Vikings stadium executive Lester Bagley told Sports Headliners the team would like to have some kind of “retractable feature” in the new stadium. But the NFL franchise has made no commitment to increase its $477 million share of the $975 million budget to make sure a retractable roof will be included for what now is planned as a fixed roof facility. While it isn’t likely sufficient money can be found in the budget to have a retractable roof, Bagley is hoping there’s enough funding fort a retractable feature like a “window to the skyline” or doors that open to the stadium plaza.

Bagley said that the Vikings financial commitment to the stadium is the fourth largest by an NFL team in league history, and the $975 million budget is less than the cost of other new stadium projects around the country.

Mondale said the stadium authority and Vikings will look at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis as a model. That facility has a retractable roof but he said the stadium roof is open only “three to four times per year.”

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After 10 Years Stadium Advocate Exhales

Posted on June 29, 2012June 29, 2012 by David Shama

Lester Bagley remembers a conversation with his nine-year-old son Michael at 2 a.m. only hours after the Minnesota legislature approved the Vikings stadium bill last spring. Bagley, the Vikings executive who for years led the fight to win public approval for a new stadium, was exhausted on that night and was lying in bed when Michael said:

“Dad, you passed the bill. Let’s hope the governor doesn’t veto it.”

In an interview with Sports Headliners last week Bagley talked about the 10-year campaign for the stadium while discussing how the issue impacted him and his family. Bagley worked on the issue for previous owner Red McCombs and for the last seven years for the Wilf ownership group. The process was a physically and emotionally demanding experience for those most involved including Bagley, the Vikings executive vice president for public affairs and stadium development.

Bagley told Sports Headliners: “Over these many years there were many times where we thought we were close but weren’t and there were many times when we thought this is never going to get done. This may not be possible in this market to do this deal.”

Bagley said the strategy was to go back every year and try again. This year, during the five days leading up to passage of the bill, the Vikings thought optimistically about their chances. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s message that state leaders needed to make a decision after years of indecision was impactful. All Goodell asked, Bagley said, was give the bill a chance to be voted on.

In the end the Vikings owners compromised on the stadium site and agreed to a roof while pledging $477 million — the third largest private contribution total by an NFL team in league history — toward the $975 million facility that will be located downtown on the Metrodome site, and is also financed by the state and city of Minneapolis.

The stadium architect will be selected later this year and the facility is scheduled to open in 2016. The stadium ensures the future of the franchise because the Vikings will now be in a facility that allows them to compete financially with other NFL teams but Bagley doesn’t want “credit” for his lead role.

“People come up to me and not only recognize me from the deal but are so appreciative of what we did in their view…that we saved the Vikings because of what was at stake in securing this franchise,” Bagley said. “The overwhelming response throughout the state of Minnesota wherever I’ve gone (is) people coming up to me saying, ‘Thank you.’

“ ‘Thanks for doing what you did. Thanks for putting up with all the stuff you guys put up with and thanks for hanging in there and getting it done because I am not sure what I would have done if we had lost the Vikings.’ ”

The appreciation expressed by so many toward the Wilfs, Bagley and the entire Vikings organization isn’t too surprising since nearly 70 percent of state residents follow the team’s games on Sunday. The Vikings are a cultural phenomenon like no other sports or entertainment attraction in the state.

That’s not to say some citizens weren’t opposed to what Bagley described as the largest public project ever undertaken by the state (a $348 million commitment). Bagley was the target of verbal abuse. The team’s director of security was asked to come to the state capitol and critics called his Minneapolis home.

“It was just nasty,” Bagley said. “People calling you at home. People going off on me and swearing at me. Out of control angry.”

But Bagley persevered and he said persistence is one of the traits that define him. Growing up in small town Barron, Wisconsin— about two hours fromMinneapolis —he swept the floors as a 12 year old at his dad’s farm implement store. When he finished sweeping he asked his dad what chore he should do next. “Sweep it again,” his father replied.

Bagley left the Midwest to attend college at UCLA and later worked on the East Coast. He has about 25 years experience in public affairs and public relations. With the Vikings he manages those areas which include the club’s extensive community relations work with nonprofits.

Besides his persistence, how does he think others regard him professionally? “Dedicated, hard working, loyal,” Bagley said. “Good guy, nice guy, funny guy. Try not to take myself too seriously. Good boss. At least they say they like working for me (laughs).”

As for family, Bagley devotes time to coaching baseball with Michael and his six-year-old brother Charlie. He grew up a baseball fan and admits his passion for sports impacts weekly date nights with wife Wendy (deputy secretary of the Minnesota Senate). “My wife is a little bit tired of going out on dates that are sporting events,” he said.

When Bagley has some personal time he enjoys golf (he played on his high school team) or just finding a few moments to laugh and relax. “Always appreciated humor and the lighter side of life,” he said. “When I was going to UCLA I would go down to the Comedy Store a lot. …

“Somebody I think is extremely funny is Dan Cole, the (KFAN Radio) Common Man. He’s one of my favorite comedians and he’s not a comedian. He’s just a naturally funny person.”

Next week Bagley and family leave for a short vacation that will include the Black Hills. Son Michael now knows governor Mark Dayton signed the stadium bill. He probably also realizes dad deserves a break.

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