Another great venue

The Golden Gophers are finally 'home'. With the opening of TCF Bank Stadium, the Twin Cities has added yet another great sporting facility to its short but soon to added to list of newer sporting venues. In a day when funding for such big money projects are hard to come by, all credit goes to the U for putting together such a fine looking and appropriately located stadium. It is the one local 'franchise' that truly deserved a new home. And they did it right...I am not a big Gopher football backer, but even to the casual fan such as myself, I cannot help but be impressed with what I see in TCF Bank Stadium.

With new sports venues comes new and better facilities. We have been spoiled as of late and there is more to come. In the Twin Cities, it started with the building of the Xcel Energy Center on the site of the old and worn-down St. Paul Civic Center. And even though the X is coming into its 8th season hosting the Wild, it was recently named the 'Ulitmate Crib' in the NHL by ESPN The Magazine. In addition, the magazine also ranked the Wild second overall in 'Stadium Experience' when compared against all 122 major league sports franchises encompassing the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB, not the first time the X has been ranked nationally.

I would expect that the new TCF Bank Stadium will have similar successes when looked upon on a national level. Simply looking at the place gives off a very impressive view. And the good news is that this stadium will not be the last one to open in a twelve month period. The Minnesota Twins are set to move into their new home, Target Field, next spring with the start of the new baseball season. And I would also expect that Target Field will come with all of the bells-n-whistles as well.

Lastly, the Vikings, who have been searching for a new home for as long as I can remember. If ever the time was right for an owner of a major league sports franchise to self-fund a new staduim, ballbark, or arena, that time is now...

I cannot get over TCF Bank Staduim...kudos to the University of Minnesota and the Golden Gophers football program.