Heavy snow and difficult travel expected again, heaviest snow in southern Minnesota

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Eighty degrees and partly cloudy. That's the kickoff forecast for Friday's preseason Vikings game against the Oakland Raiders. It's the kind of night football fans like Jake Dybedahl dream about.
 


"Beautiful stadium, summer night, with a bunch of friends underneath the lights. It doesn't get much better than that," said Dybedahl, a lifelong Vikings fan.
 


The Vikings kick off the first of two seasons they'll play at TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus while their new home is under construction. The team and their fans are looking forward to what's likely to be the only outdoor NFL football in Minnesota for generations.

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Dybedahl said he wants to be part of that history. That includes the parts in January when the average daily high will fall to about 24 degrees by the end of the season.


 
"I was looking at some of the later games and the ticket prices have seemed to come down for those December, November games, so I think I'm going to bring my dad and brothers, and we'll have a good time out in the cold weather," he said.


 
Not everyone, however, is committed to bundling up to watch the Vikes.


The prospect of temperatures plunging past 20 below has given some fans cold feet already, the Vikings say.


Some just don't want to sit outside "and we respect that," said team spokesman Jeff Anderson. "But we're also seeing a number of fans who are tremendously excited about getting back outdoors and experiencing something they haven't for Vikings football for about 32 years."


 
More than 80 percent of the Metrodome ticket holders have renewed, and the team has sold about 4,000 new tickets for the TCF Bank Stadium season.


 
"We're certain that we'll sell out all of our home games this year," Anderson said.


Joe Rubenstein's family has had season tickets for decades, and he says he's excited to experience outdoor football again, but he's also a little leery about the accommodations at the U.

 
"When I've gone to the Gophers games it's been a disaster trying to find a parking spot," said Rubinstein, who's expecting similar hassles Friday.


The Vikings say they're doing their best to accommodate fans, but they're also encouraging them to ride Green Line trains. There's a stop that opened in June, right across the street from the stadium.

 
The Vikings have spent nearly $7 million to make fans and players welcome at the college football stadium. They've installed 1,720 seats to bring the capacity up to 52,000 fans. They've added more than 100 new food and beverage points of sale to the university's offerings at the Bank. There will be nine gates to let fans in, up from six for college football games.


 
The biggest ticket item, however, is one no one will see but the players will feel. The team spent $2.5 million on upgrades to keep the field from freezing solid.


 
"We tore off the old turf, took off about 4 inches of the sub-surface," said Scott Ellison, the university's associate athletic director. "We have 38 miles of plastic tubing under the field here that's going to circulate a glycol solution through the field to heat the field. Then we put new turf down."


 
Frozen ground is a serious hazard in football. The Vikings found that out the hard way. The Vikings played the Bears at TCF in 2010. Quarterback Brett Favre was knocked out on the frozen turf, ending his NFL career.


 
More changes are coming, Ellison said during a look at the field this week. They include infrared heaters in some boxes and more heat in bathrooms.


 
Besides the upgrades, the Vikings will also pay the U $250,000 and a cut of concessions per game, up to $3 million a season.


 
"To be honest with you," said Ellison, "part of the rent right now is going to help pay for the roof at Williams Arena," the home of Gophers basketball.


 
The Vikings' regular season home opener is Sept. 14 against the Patriots. They'll be back playing the Bears at TCF Bank Stadium for the last game of the season on Dec. 28.

Sports

Minnesota News

Twin Cities News

Tim Nelson

Author

The Vikings kick off the first of two seasons they'll play at TCF Bank Stadium while their new home is under construction.

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