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Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 1/17 & 1/18

Brenthoven said:
On my way home from work at 6...on 394E west of 494...congestion warnings were on those e-boards on the highway. And BTN mentioned traffic for late arrivals.
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Yeah, I was out of town for work and flew in late this evening, so I couldn't make it down to the U until about 7pm. Had to park a mile away (mapped it and it was 0.9 miles). Congestion getting in was pretty bad too. Made it in just in time for the puck drop. There were some sections with noticable empty seats, but like in Chicago there was also a good number of people who watched standing at the edge of the concourse (as it was warmer there). The atmosphere was pretty lively by the end of the 1st period.
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 1/17 & 1/18

I still wish they'd do one of these outdoor games with a Minnesota/Wisconsin matchup. The atmosphere would be off the charts.
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 1/17 & 1/18

mnstate0fhockey said:
Yeah, I was out of town for work and flew in late this evening, so I couldn't make it down to the U until about 7pm. Had to park a mile away (mapped it and it was 0.9 miles). Congestion getting in was pretty bad too. Made it in just in time for the puck drop. There were some sections with noticable empty seats, but like in Chicago there was also a good number of people who watched standing at the edge of the concourse (as it was warmer there). The atmosphere was pretty lively by the end of the 1st period.
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How were the sightlines? Could you see the puck?
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 1/17 & 1/18

I was a couple sections to the left at that same level. Awesome from my end, too.
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 1/17 & 1/18

mnstate0fhockey said:
Sightlines were great. Much better than they were in Chicago.
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That was my guess, TCF is a much better venue for something like this. Now if we had a BADger/Gopher outdoor game, I doubt TCF could accommodate the crowd. I know capacity is 50,805, but they designed it for possible future expansion to 80,000.
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 1/17 & 1/18

I was down in row 20 in a corner, so the sightlines were rough for play in certain areas of the rink. The huge screen was facing me though, and I just looked up as that in those moments.

All in all pretty darn fun. 45,000 doesn't surprise me either, place was nearly full in the second.
 
HarleyMC said:
That was my guess, TCF is a much better venue for something like this. Now if we had a BADger/Gopher outdoor game, I doubt TCF could accommodate the crowd. I know capacity is 50,805, but they designed it for possible future expansion to 80,000.
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Yeah, I imagine they'd have to find some way to expand it beyond 50,000 if they want to host a Winter Classic there too. The Vikings are playing there the next few years while their new stadium is built. Anyone know if they are expanding the capacity for those games?
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 1/17 & 1/18

I've heard nothing about any permanent expansions in the foreseeable future, and I don't know if I expect one in the next ten years.
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 1/17 & 1/18

mnstate0fhockey said:
Yeah, I imagine they'd have to find some way to expand it beyond 50,000 if they want to host a Winter Classic there too. The Vikings are playing there the next few years while their new stadium is built. Anyone know if they are expanding the capacity for those games?
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Here's a graphic on the EXPANSION AREA. You can see the expansion area of 30,000 seats could be added above the second deck of the stadium from the end of the press boxes across to the northwest end of the venue, wrapping around the remainder of the horseshoe.
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 1/17 & 1/18

mnstate0fhockey said:
Pretty cool. Thanks for the link Harley.
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The real kicker is there would have to be adequate demand for that to happen. It's been estimated that they COULD add 10,000 at a time, but the duplicate costs involved in that plan vs. the whole enchilada of 30,000 might preempt it. My guess is they might add more suites/loge boxes/club seats to "pay" for an expansion. But the bottom line is demand. If expansion is ever undertaken, it can be completed in about 9 months so that there would be minimal interruption of a football season.
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 1/17 & 1/18

mnstate0fhockey said:
Any idea if they could do temporary ones, like bleachers in the open end or such?
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The Vikings will play the 2014 and 2015 NFL seasons at the Bank during construction of their new stadium. 3000 temporary seats will be added to accommodate Viking season ticket holders (TEMP SEATS). My understanding is the U is charging the Vikings on a per game basis and they paid $1.7M for the Monday Night game against the Bears in 2010. It was reported in the Minneapolis Business Journal last Oct. 2013 that the Vikings will also spend $4.5M to upgrade the facilities to NFL standards, mainly to include heating coils under the turf. That revenue could "maybe/possibly" lead to a more permanent expansion of 30,000 seats, but who knows...demand, demand, demand.:)

Bonin21 said:
So you believe attendance was measured differently for this game than a normal game. Alright, well no sense in arguing since none of us can confirm.
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The 45,021 fans on hand gave the game the largest attendance ever for a hockey game in the state of Minnesota.
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Reference

CONFIRMED. How much more evidence do you need?:D

HIGHLIGHTS After looking at the review of the goal, it looks like Rau was the one who poked his stick in the crease, not Cammarata (whose stick was not even on the ice at the time) and then Thomkins pushed the puck in with his glove.
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 1/17 & 1/18

For what it is worth, I had a great time. I brought my 8 year old boy and his friend and they seemed to have fun except that everyone stood so THEY had to stand and then I could not wrap them up in a blanket, or they sat and did not see the game. My son had a pseudo-maroon & gold mohawk and would not wear a hat until it was too late and he was pretty cold. The game? Well, I thought it was pretty good. Ohio was good, but I thought we controlled more of the play. Condon and Warning showed up pretty nicely, with effort anyway. Condon especially showed some good speed and tenacity.He'd been a bit absent of late. Wilcox? What can one say. He looks great. As for the Gopher jersey bashers on here? Pish-posh poppycock. They were fabulous. Enjoy Hockey Day Minnesota all. I will be tending the hardware store.:( Tonight,inside, Gophers win by 3.
 
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