New Minneapolis Stadiums

[Coyote]

Thanks SoDak, welcome back, where have you been?

[Sodak]

Gone but not forgotten. Mainly I've been transporting my 4 kids around the Twin Cities to their various activities. I've been reading the topics consistently the past few years and do get down to Omaha at least once a year still. Its really impressive what's been going on down there development wise since we moved up here in 05.

[Greg S]

Some crazy money has been spent in Minnesota on stadiums lately. Probably more so than necessary (and I love new stadiums). The Twins definitely needed a new one. For football you had the new Gophers Stadium go up recently at $250 million, followed by the Vikings at $1 billion. I realize the Gophers wanted their own on campus stadium but it's crazy both went up. Then you have the Target Center get built about 20 years ago, followed by years later getting the Xcel Center for the Wild. Now they they are putting $100 million back into the Target Center so the Wolves will have a better arena. Crazy that the Staples Center in LA holds the Kings, Lakers and Clippers, and yet the Wolves and Wild have their own.

You could have paired up the Gophers and Vikings (you'll have other events but think about how many days per year these two combined will not be hosting events), Wolves and Wild and saved a ton of money.

Greg

[Sodak]

We got by for 30 years on the cheap with the Metrodome, but we are definitely paying for it now. The financing of pro sports stadiums is crazy. I agree with you that the Timberwolves and the Wild should be able to share a stadium. The Vikings and Gophers could not come to a deal because the Gophers wanted to be back on campus and the Vikings were never a fan of sharing the stadium on a college campus. Plus, when the Gophers opted for an open air stadium, that killed the deal. The irony is that TCF Bank stadium is about a block away from old Memorial Field, which was torn down because the Gophers couldn't wait to move to the Metrodome when its was built.

On top of Target Field, Xcel Energy Center, TCF Bank Stadium and the new Vikings Stadium (U.S. Bank Stadium or Target Stadium are my best bets for the name), you can also add the new minor league baseball stadium being built in downtown St. Paul for the St. Paul Saints. State money was allocated to St. Paul for that stadium, along with the funding for the renovations to Target Center, in order to get enough votes to pass the Viking Stadium bill. Ha.

[Coyote]

XCel is not only for the Wild though? Doesn't a hockey team, the Vipers? play here?
I saw the Boss there a few years ago.

[Greg S]

XCel is not only for the Wild though? Doesn't a hockey team, the Vipers? play here?
I saw the Boss there a few years ago.

The Wild are the hockey team that plays there.

Greg

[Coyote]

XCel is not only for the Wild though? Doesn't a hockey team, the Vipers? play here?
I saw the Boss there a few years ago.

The Wild are the hockey team that plays there.

My bad. For some reason I thought the Wild were the WNBA team that played there, and that the NHL team played at the Target.