Friday, February 15, 2013

One step closer to a new Vikings home


Friday February 15th marked the next step closer to a new Vikings stadium when they gave the job to Mortenson Construction. It is nice to see Minnesota’s own get the job. They have built the Target Center, Target Field, Excel Energy, and TCF Bank Stadium.
I have had the thrill to attend a game in each of these stadiums and have nothing but thoughts of each stadium gets nicer what will this almost a billion stadium look like.
It is an exciting time to be a Vikings season ticket holder being able to transfer my tickets over when the new stadium opens in 2016. I would imagine it will be a hot ticket for the first season in it.
The projection of this season coming up will be very meaningful to me. I have a lot of memories which includes Twins games. I went to the Home Run derby in 1985 before the All Star game and remember paying 2.00 for general admission tickets.
The Twins winning 2 World Series titles in Game 7’s at the dome which I did not attend. The Vikings playing the NFC title at the dome in 1998 vs Atlanta and I was there. There have been so many memories both good and bad, but what makes them special is I was able to share them with my wife.
I wrote for my local paper for 3 Vikings seasons writing a blog from a fan perspective was a great memory. I was given a media pass and could sit in the press box with other media. I had lunch at halftime with them and then after the game I could go in the locker room and do player interviews. I did not get paid to do this rather I did a favor for the paper writing about my favorite team, the Vikings.
The roof of the dome collapse is a memory I will never forget. I took a tour when people were allowed and saw sights I hope I never see again. The damage was unforgettable as I could see Minneapolis from inside the dome.
The light rail had begun giving fans a chance to get to the games cheaper and less headaches of trying to drive on game day.
I want to make sure on this last season in Mall of America Field I get a lot of pictures and any keepsakes I will buy. I have bought a game pin every game the last 3 seasons and want to make sure I keep the streak alive.
I read 2 figures today that are mind blowing. The first is they are figuring 7500 workers will be employed to get the job done. The other thought is 4.25 million man hours to get the job done.
The time frame for now is we could be facing that one year from now in February of 2014, Mall of America Field will be taken down and the new stadium to be ready in 2016.
The thought of playing 2 seasons at TCF Bank Stadium is exciting for me. I think of playing home games in early fall will be an awesome experience. The later the season comes the cold and snow and honestly I do not know if I can excited for bad weather. I will deal with that if and when the bad weather occurs.
It will be a great experience to be a ticket holder and attend these games knowing the almost billion dollar stadium will be the team’s home the rest of my adult life.
I hope you can get excited for this new masterpiece in just a couple short years. I will not lie I am concerned about the price of tickets for the stadium. I will worry about it when the time comes.
Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press
Thanks for reading
Purplestick

 

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