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Shane Frederick

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June 22, 2009

New stadiums put ol’ Metrodome to shame

The first question that pops into your head when you walk around Minneapolis’ two new stadiums — the University of Minnesota football team’s TCF Bank Stadium and the Minnesota Twins’ Target Field — is this:

“Why?”

No, not, “Why are taxpayers supporting the construction of these arenas?” Not, “Why doesn’t the Twins ballpark have a retractable roof (it was even raining that day)?” Not, “Why is there artificial turf and not grass on the Gophers’ field?”

Instead, the question is, “Why on earth did those teams play in the Metrodome all of these years?”

The only thing TCF Bank Stadium doesn’t have going for it is the name. It doesn’t have the collegiate ring of Camp Randall Stadium, Kinnick Stadium or Michigan Stadium (aka The Big House).

Otherwise, it’s a beautiful, old-school-looking, 50,000-seat stadium with great sightlines. The stadium, which will open on Sept. 12 when the Gophers play Air Force, is reminiscent of Memorial Stadium’s horseshoe, only with state-of-the-art amenities, including luxury suites, club seats and a beautiful president’s suite that has a great view of Williams and Mariucci arenas and, farther away, the Minneapolis skyline.

Staying on the subject of rooms I’ll never be allowed into again, the Gophers’ locker room is perhaps the most impressive part of the field. It’s a 60-yard-long, football-shaped room that, according to U of M officials, is the largest football locker room — college or pro — in the country.

Four miles across town, Target Field is equally impressive.

With a facade of Mankato’s own yellow, Vetter Stone, the ballpark is, as one official called it, “the anti-Dome.”

“I can smell the grass growing,” Twins executive director of public affairs Kevin Smith said as last Tuesday’s rain came down on the excavation taking place on the field below. “Bring a towel.”

The grass is being grown in Colorado and will be trucked to Minnesota and laid down in August.

“Hello mower; goodbye vacuum,” Smith said.

While that night’s game likely would have been the first rainout of the season, it was hard not to daydream about a clear day, seeing the grass as you walk into the 40,000-seat stadium from the right-field plaza.

After 27 years in the Metrodome, that will be a welcome site, even if you have to bring a blanket early in the season.

Although it seems unlikely now, there was a time when people marveled in similar fashion about the Metrodome.

Looking back through the archives, here’s what some folks told The Associated Press back then:

“I really like it. It’s a super facility,” then-Twins manager Billy Gardner said. ... “It was fabulous; it was long needed,” said one fan. ... Said another, “I was quite amazed. It’s quite incredible. You appreciate coming to a place like this.” ... “Boy, it’s a lot better than the old place,” then-Philadelphia Phillies manager Pat Corrales said after an exhibition game against the Twins, referring to Met Stadium.

Now, all that you hear about the Dome are disparaging words. After seeing TCF Bank Stadium and Target Field, it’s hard to imagine we’ll be hearing those kinds of remarks in 2036.

Unless the Vikings are still playing at the Dome, that is.



Shane Frederick is a Free Press staff writer. Click here to access his college hockey blog or e-mail him at sfrederick@mankatofreepress.com.

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