New Twins stadium (Minnetonka, Cleveland, Viking: sale, buyers, maintenance)

[big daryle]

Originally Posted by Speedaddicted

Why not a retractable roof???

They werent allotted enough money by the state for a roof.

[knke0204]

Man, this stadium is going to rock. I can't wait for this. I have waited all my life for this... I can truely say that I have followed this team since I could remeber. I am one of the rare fans that stuck through the mid to late 1990s of season after season of losing teams. Tom Kelly kept those teams respectable, and with an embarassing budgets near $10-15 Million dollars annually. I also remember going to games at the dome with only 11,000 people there. I can't wait.

The Metrodome isn't a horrile Stadium, it's just kind of outdated, and it wasn't made for baseball. It is a football stadium and venue stadium. The new one wasn't made with a roof for dollars only. The battle for a new stadium in the TC has been going on since the mid 1990s, and actually talks really began after they were deemed a power house by winning 2 world series in 4 years. Notice that the new stadium was built for mere pennies compared to around the league. it is 1/3 of the cost of the new Yankees stadium, which also does not have a roof.

Weather-wise, I think they should be fine. April will be tough, but the team will just have to schedule many road games early in the month. October won't be tough at all, probably quite nice. It doesn't rain much in the summer here, and if it does it is usually over night or in a quick late afternoon thunderstorm.

[knke0204]

they will have to battle the same conditions as Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Seattle, NYC, Pittsburgh.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

The dome is a concrete dump. I wouldn't go to a game with free tickets. They needed to remodel or a different stadium. For the life of me I cannot understand why EACH team needs their own (Twin's, Vikings, and the Gophers). For those out of state readers, currently, they all play at the same spot. I can promise you if the owners of the teams had to pay out of there pocket, they would have shared.

It seems like a massive waste of money to build three spots especially when football only plays 10 games max a year out of 365 days.

I have not been following all all of this. What are they going to do with the current dome???

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by Speedaddicted

Why not a retractable roof???

The costs involved ($200 million) would likely have scuttled the long-time efforts of the new stadium proponents early on in the process and it was somewhat of a miracle that they found the needed political support to even get the stadium as designed built as it was. The stadium is not being built as "roof-ready" and the footprint of the new ball park would not likely leave room for the needed structure to support a roof in the future.

Personally, I'd rather bundle up and watch an outdoor game the 1st week of April outside than enjoy shirt sleeve temperatures in the Metrodome any day of the week and twice on Sunday. The Twins were forced into playing in the football configured Dome by the Vikings and Metropolitan Sports Commission who went out of their way to buy up land around the old stadium in Bloomington thus preventing any stadium from ever reappearing where the road infrastructure and space would have been a logical place to build a roofed facility in the future.

Ironically enough, the Twins get their outdoor ball park downtown and the Vikings will not get theirs given the current economic and political environment. Bye, bye Vikings. Don't forget to turn out the lights when you leave.

BallparkTour.com - New Minnesota Twins Ballpark

[Slig]

Originally Posted by Ghengis

Ironically enough, the Twins get their outdoor ball park downtown and the Vikings will not get theirs given the current economic and political environment. Bye, bye Vikings. Don't forget to turn out the lights when you leave.

Why do you have to be a hater? The Vikings aren't out of the stadium hunt yet. If I had to guess I'd say that they'll get a deal done to demolish the metrodome and build a retractable dome stadium on the same sight. While they are waiting for the new stadium to get built they'll play games at the Gopher's new football stadium (after the lease runs out in the dome at the end of 2011). If they are unable to get anything going until then they will either have to renew the Metrodome lease or at that point I'd be worried about the possibility of moving somewhere else.

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by Slig

Why do you have to be a hater? The Vikings aren't out of the stadium hunt yet. If I had to guess I'd say that they'll get a deal done to demolish the metrodome and build a retractable dome stadium on the same sight. While they are waiting for the new stadium to get built they'll play games at the Gopher's new football stadium (after the lease runs out in the dome at the end of 2011). If they are unable to get anything going until then they will either have to renew the Metrodome lease or at that point I'd be worried about the possibility of moving somewhere else.

Not a hater. I grew up in Bloomington watching the Purple People Eaters in their outdoor environment and have great fondness for the Vikings history and optimistic about their on-field chances each and every year.

I'm also pragmatic enough to know they are run as a business first and the current ownership has no personal ties to the area and they will sell out or move the team to a more lucrative location as soon as the lease expires if the legislature doesn't provide an economic incentive (tax payer dollars) before the lease expires. I wouldn't have a problem paying additional sales tax to build them a new stadium at the Metrodome or any other site but believe the vast majority of politicians and tax payers want no part of it.

They could pack up and relocate to LA tomorrow and play in the Colliseum or Rose Bowl with or without a new stadium on the drawing board out there and still have a greater revenue stream coming in to them then they would on a year-to-year lease at the Metrodome. Wilf knows the state will likely not find the support to participate in costs and he doesn't want to let another current team or expansion outfit beat him to the punch in LA. His only bargaining chip is to threaten to move the team and the outlash from the citizenry to those tactics have not worked here in the past nor will they in the future.

Hope I'm wrong but I doubt it.

[Vinegaroon]

Originally Posted by Speedaddicted

Why not a retractable roof???

That's pretty much what I have been wondering.

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by knke0204

I also remember going to games at the dome with only 11,000 people there. I can't wait.

11,000 fans would have been a treat in the early 80s. I was at a game 4000 fans in attendance. Sparse to say the least...

[kuan]

They should start collecting a $2 new stadium fee right now with every ticket sold so in 20 years time when they want a new stadium at least they'll have a headstart.