TCF Bank Stadium, home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, unexpectedly become a temporary home for the Minnesota Vikings after the roof collapsed at Mall of America field in December 2010 due to snow.
This time around the facility will be better equipped for the task.
The stadium will house the team for the next two seasons while a new building is constructed for the Vikings in Minneapolis. According to Ben Goessling of ESPN.com. the team announced Thursday they’ve finalized agreements for $6.6 million worth of upgrades to TCF Bank Stadium prior to their arrival next fall.
Top priority on that list was a heated field after the miserable experience players endured playing on a turf that was frozen solid in 2010. Brett Favre left the game - the last of his career - after suffering a concussion after being slammed to the turf by Chicago Bears’ lineman Corey Wooten. Temperature for kickoff was in the low 20s and the field was rock hard.
In my day job of covering the Seahawks for Sports Radio 950 KJR in Seattle, I’ve asked receivers Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin what they remembered about playing in that game while a member of the Vikings. Both players called the game an awful experience.
In addition to a heated playing surface, the stadium will gain increased storage space and upgraded concourses and concessions. The team will also add 2,000 temporary bleacher seats to bring capacity to 52,000. Construction efforts for the upgrades is expected to begin in March and be completed by July.