Stadiums – Page 37 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikings & Other Notes

Posted on June 4, 2012June 4, 2012 by David Shama

Joe Webb told Sports Headliners the coaches have told him he is the Vikings No. 2 quarterback. The third-year quarterback is behind Christian Ponder, a rookie last season, but Webb’s attitude was upbeat at the team’s Organized Team Activities at Winter Park. “I am fired up,” Webb said last week.

Often wearing a smile, he has a passion for football and life. He grew up in a family where religion was emphasized and so too was a positive outlook. “It’s just a blessing to be on the field,” he said. “One percent of players make it in the NFL.”

Webb has started three games in his NFL career. He plans to be ready if the opportunity to start comes again. With experience, he’s learned the playbook better, sees the field of play better and has learned to work on his mechanics.

Webb, whose contract expires after next season, also feels comfortable now being a leader. “I speak up to guys a lot more,” he said.

A sixth round draft choice in 2010, he played not only quarterback but wide receiver and even safety at UAB. His athleticism has created speculation the 6-4, 230-pound athlete might become a wide receiver with the Vikings. “My heart is in being a quarterback but I want to help the team anyway I can,” he said.

Coach Leslie Frazier said if Adrian Peterson isn’t recovered from his knee injury in time for the opening game the plan is to start Toby Gerhart and not use multiple running backs. He described Gerhart as a “solid” alternative. “…We’re not afraid of Toby having to start,” Frazier said.

Lester Bagley expects ground to be broken next spring on the new Vikings stadium downtown. He doesn’t anticipate any developments to delay that schedule. Bagley, who has been the club’s lead executive for years on the stadium project before gaining state and city approval this spring, believes it’s likely owner Zygi Wilf will be involved with commercial development near the stadium site.

Ian Thomsen, writing in the June 4 issue of Sports Illustrated about the Celtics aging big three that includes Kevin Garnett, said in 2007 Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor gave in on “his demand” that point guard Rajon Rondo had to be included among the players Boston would send to Minneapolis in exchange for Garnett. Rondo, 26, now ranks with the NBA’s best point guards and in a playoff loss to the Heat had 44 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

Minneapolis-born Zach Parise earns praise in the May 29-June 4 issue of The Fleisher Report. The report quotes Kings goalie Jonathan Quick as saying Parise’s “speed and competitiveness” are special. Quick observed that how Parise plays “usually” determines how the Devils fare.

In the same issue ex-Minnesota Wild defenseman Willie Mitchell, back with the Kings, credits that organization with giving him an opportunity while only an eighth grader.

KARE 11 news and sports personality Eric Perkins will travel to London to report on the summer Olympics.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien emailed that boys basketball coach Reggie Perkins is leaving Washburn to coach at Bloomington Kennedy. Perkins coached Washburn in the Class 3-A championship loss to DeLaSalle in March.

Friends of Corky Taylor are saddened by the former Gophers basketball player’s battle with lung cancer.

Canterbury Park will hold a memorial service in the paddock open to the public starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday for Dark Star who passed away last week. Star’s second home was the Shakopee racetrack.

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Final Four Likely for New Stadium

Posted on May 18, 2012May 21, 2012 by David Shama

With approval for a new Vikings stadium now finally in place, media speculation has started about attracting a Super Bowl to Minneapolis but it might be even easier to bring the NCAA’s Final Four to town.

“I’ll be amazed if we don’t get it (a Final Four),” Bill Lester told Sports Headliners. He is executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission and was part of the group that helped bring Final Fours to the Metrodome in 1992 and 2001.

The Gophers have been the college host for past Final Fours. “We know how to put it on,” said Joel Maturi, Gophers athletic director. “This is a great city (to visit).”

Lester said the Final Four sites are determined through 2016 but beyond then Minneapolis could be in the mix with a bid. “They (the NCAA) like competing cities,” he said.

The NCAA chooses only Final Four sites that are state-of-the-art domed stadiums. The new Vikings stadium will have either a fixed or retractable roof, and Lester said the seating configuration for the Final Four will be about 74,000.

A Super Bowl was held at the Metrodome in 1992. Although the NFL is known to reward new facilities with a Super Bowl, the league has most often selected warm weather cities as the site for games and sometimes in older stadiums. Earlier this year Indianapolis with a new stadium was the Super Bowl site, and Lester believes there’s definitely a possibility Minneapolis could host another Super Bowl within the next 10 years.

Maturi said the Big Ten Conference will be open to considering the new Vikings stadium for the league’s championship football game. That game is committed to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the next four years, and Detroit has expressed interest in hosting the game at Ford Field, according to Maturi.

There’s been quiet talk about establishing an annual college football bowl game (“City of Lakes Bowl?”) in Minneapolis. Maturi acknowledged it could be a difficult sell to convince teams the city is a desirable destination in December but said this is an attractive area with lots to do.

Maturi believes a nonconference basketball game involving the Gophers and a national power might one day be booked for the new Vikings stadium. “I think it’s a natural,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”

Meanwhile, Lester said he’s already hearing from potential users of the new stadium that is projected to open in 2016. Contacts range from inline skating organizers to amateur baseball teams looking for a protective environment. Such contacts are providing input on the design of the new stadium.

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No New Vikings Stadium Until 2013?

Posted on April 30, 2012April 30, 2012 by David Shama

Sports Headliners’ sources don’t believe the legislature will pass a Vikings stadium bill in 2012. If so, that means no approval this spring, nor is it likely that Governor Mark Dayton will call a special session to address the stadium issue.

The reaction of the Vikings ownership and NFL is likely to be silence. That will add to drama and speculation about a possible franchise transfer to Los Angeles. The threat of losing the team will cause so much political pressure between now and the 2013 legislative session that a stadium bill is likely to be passed next winter.

The Vikings won’t try to move the team for the 2012 season and the NFL wouldn’t consider such a transfer. However, the Vikings ownership (present or new owners) could go before the NFL after next season and ask to move the team.

If the legislature is sure to pass a stadium bill during the early months of 2013, that will trump a request to relocate the franchise. Why? Because the Vikings have been a successful franchise operating in a desirable market for more than 50 years. Their business model blemish is the Metrodome; but fan support, corporate backing and TV revenues are first rate.

A Vikings stadium bill in 2013 can be addressed without the political pressure of an election year. That should help secure votes but there will still be squabbling over stadium financing and probably the site.

The stadium should be located in Minneapolis. The city has the infrastructure, parking and hospitality amenities to accommodate the Vikings and other large events. Building on the Metrodome site is the most cost-efficient new stadium option, although the Farmers Market location would add to an entertainment corridor that already includes Target Stadium and Target Field. Then, too, the economic vitality of the region’s largest city can only be enhanced by the building of the new stadium in Minneapolis and that is important to the future of the metropolitan area. Counting various attractions and uses, including even small community events, the stadium will be used hundreds of days per year.

Anti-Minneapolis online chat room bashers don’t consider these facts, nor are they aware it was Minneapolis that made the bond financing possible for Met Stadium and then the Metrodome. The state of Minnesota, by the way, contributed no money to building the facilities that first attracted and then maintained major league baseball and football here. It is Minneapolis and its core suburbs that historically made major league sports possible in Minnesota.

Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak deserves credit for championing the Vikings stadium before a reluctant city council. The city’s governing model puts the power in the hands of the council, and its membership was a tough sell for Rybak and other stadium advocates.

Whether Rybak can hold the 7-6 pro-stadium council majority in place during the coming months could be dicey. But with the help of business and labor advocates he might do so, and that would retain the city’s commitment of $150 million to the stadium project.

If not, Hennepin County is still the “gorilla in the room” regarding possible stadium funding sources. That card should give further hope to those who worry about the stadium issue and losing the Vikings.

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