Minnesota has plenty of tickets available for the upcoming season
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are set to open their new football stadium, TCF Bank Stadium, come September 12, 2009, when coach Tim Brewster and company host the Air Force Falcons. This outdoor stadium is a vast improvement from the Metrodome with top notch facilities and great views from every seat. However, their may be a shortfall in revenue this season as the legislature enacted a ban on alcohol, making TCF Bank Stadium DRY.
Coincidentally, as the ban was enacted, it has also been reported about half the indoor club seats and a quarter of the private suites were unsold, and both have now been made available for single-game purchase. This clearly is related to the slumping economy and the alcohol ban.
We are not economists at The Matador, but we do know Tim Brewster has gone 8-17 in two seasons. This year, the team has questions on the D-Line, the offense will have problems with the switch from indoor to outdoor, and the team needs to improve in the running game. With that being said, there is a good chance the Gophers will make a bowl appearance; however, from a fans perspective, their will be some tough home games against Cal, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Illinois. The fans will need some serious alcohol to ease the pain.
There seems to be no logic behind the ban.
STADIUM BY THE NUMBERS
Opens: Saturday, Sept. 12, against Air Force
Cost: $288.5 million
Seats: About 50,800; can be expanded to 80,000
Got to go: There are 113 restrooms
Tuned in: About 350 LCD televisions have been connected
Big screen: Scoreboard stands 48 feet high by 108 feet wide, comparable to basketball court in Williams Arena
Get out: Stadium has 844 doors
Gopher pride: Features a total of 9,185 Minnesota block M’s
Beer Vendors: 0
