The Vikings’ survey of season ticket holders regarding personal seat licenses has created a stir in the marketplace but there’s more to understand. Team spokesman Jeff Anderson said the survey will determine not only costs for personal seat licenses but also ticket pricing, and will measure interest in potential events at the new downtown stadium including professional soccer.
Stakeholders being surveyed include season ticket buyers, private suite holders and corporate sponsors. Anderson said surveying will continue into the fall, and the club is also using focus groups to obtain marketing information.
Personal seat licenses mean fans pay fees beyond the price of tickets for specific seat locations. Costs for licenses and pricing of tickets won’t be announced by the Vikings until 2014.
Ted Mondale, executive director of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, said the target date for opening the stadium is July 1, 2016. He plans to have several events (including a possible open house) in the stadium before the first Vikings’ preseason game in August. Those first events will be important to test stadium operations.
Mondale said it’s likely the Vikings will play the full 2014 and 2015 seasons at TCF Bank Stadium. That would make the 2013 season the last for the Vikings at Mall of America Field.
By mid-March the authority expects to determine what features, including a possible retractable roof, will fit into the $975 million stadium budget, and what ideas will be dropped.
Worth Noting
Although the Vikings had a sellout crowd of more than 64,000 at Mall of America Field on Sunday to watch the playoff qualifying win over the Packers, ticket demand was such that Mondale said perhaps 100,000 tickets could have been sold.
Give former Vikings defensive lineman Bob Lurtsema credit for his prediction about the team last summer. In a town of skeptics, Lurtsema said the Vikings, who were 3-13 in 2011, would have a 10-6 record and possibly make the playoffs. The Vikings won four consecutive games to end the season and finish 10-6.
Lurtsema believes the Broncos, 13-3 and winners of a league leading 11 consecutive games, are the best team in the NFL right now. He likes their defense and admires former Gophers wide receiver Eric Decker who has five touchdown catches in his last three games and a career best 13 for the season.
Coach Jerry Kill said the Gophers played their most “physical” game in his two years at Minnesota during the team’s 34-31 loss to Texas Tech at the Meineke Car Care Bowl last week. While disappointed with the loss, Kill was encouraged by the improvement of his team including on offense after the Gophers had struggled to score points in their last two regular season games.
Leading 31-24 late in the game, the Gophers took a gamble being in press coverage (no deep pass defenders) and gave up a touchdown to Tech that tied the score. The Red Raiders went on to kick the game winning field goal as time expired.
Tech’s unsportsmanlike penalties during the game upset Minnesota supporters. A Gophers fan who was in Houston for the game wrote an email to Sports Headliners that said in part:
“Fans after the game came to us…and apologized for their players’ behavior. The next day, when we were at a boardwalk park near Galveston, fans came up to us and said the same. I had one Texas Longhorn fan, who was at the game, come up to me and say they were rooting for Minnesota. They cannot stand TT. …”
North Dakota State announced yesterday that football coach Craig Bohl, who aggressively recruits Minnesota high school players, has signed an eight-year contract extension with the Bison from 2013 to 2021. Bohl’s base salary is $206,503 and the agreement includes language about annual increases, plus incentives such as compensation for winning the FCS national championship. Bohl will also receive three percent of gross tickets sales for Bison home games. NDSU plays Sam Houston State for the FCS national title on Saturday.
The basketball Gophers are No. 9 in the latest Associated Press college basketball poll, but more importantly boosted their reputation as a Big Ten title contender after winning the conference opener on Monday against Michigan State, 76-63. Minnesota’s defense shut out the Spartans (No. 18 A.P.) the last 4:05 of the second half to break open a close game.
The Gophers’ next four games are Sunday at home against Northwestern, then January 9 and 12 at Illinois (No. 11) and at Indiana (No. 5), and January 17 in Williams Arena versus Michigan (No. 2). If the Gophers are 4-1 after the first five games, they will deserve to be in the conversation about the league’s best teams.
The Timberwolves play Utah tonight, the team’s first trip to Salt Lake City this season. Jazz fans are known for their passion and basketball IQ. “It is a tough place to play,” said Suns coach Alvin Gentry. “They’re a big team also. Their strengths are the same as Minnesota’s. They try to pound the ball on the inside to (Al) Jefferson and (Paul) Millsap. They’ve got some big guys that they play there. I think it will be a great matchup.
“I like this team right here (the Wolves). I love the way Rick (Adelman) coaches. Once they get everybody healthy and knowing exactly what they’ve got, I think you’ll see them make a little move and go on a little run.”
Wolves forward Andrei Kirilenko, who played 10 seasons with the Jazz, returns to Salt Lake City for the first time in an opposing team’s uniform. Former Wolves starters with the Jazz are Jefferson and Randy Foye.
Adelman said he isn’t surprised by the back spasms that kept Rick Rubio out of Saturday’s game with the Suns, referring to his point guard having played only five games so far this season, and “this is his training camp.”
Kevin Love, whose setbacks have included a broken hand, made eight of 20 field goal attempts and had 23 points on Saturday night in the win over the Suns. He hasn’t been playing at the level of last season, and his field goal percentage of .358 compares with .450 for his career. His three point field goal percentage is .233 versus .355 for the career.
Prior to Saturday night’s game against the Suns, Adelman was asked when Love might return to last year’s form. “I don’t have a very good feel for that. Historically he’s been a very good shooter. He’s just down this year and he’s gotta stay with it. You’re going to go through tough periods and he’s going through one now.
“Sometimes you gotta experience that to understand what you have to do. Maybe try to do a little bit more, run the court…get some easy baskets. I don’t have much doubt that if he stays with it, if he does the extra shooting on the side, and he continues to just be aggressive in taking the shots he’ll be fine.”
Brent Haskins, pro personnel scout for the Suns, said his dad, former Gophers basketball coach Clem Haskins, remains active on his farm in Kentucky and was in Minnesota recently to have his knees examined. The older Haskins, now 69, had knee replacement surgery about 15 years ago.
In his position with the Suns, Brent Haskins scouts college, minor league and NBA talent, and offers possible trade scenarios for the franchise. He lives in Minnesota.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the Wolves are one of several NBA teams asked to play on Christmas Day in 2013 because of Love, a former Olympian and all-star, and the team has a roster of international players headlined by Rubio.