NFL could block Vikings' stay at TCF Bank Stadium - Ingles

The NFL is annoyed with the idea of the Minnesota Vikings playing up to three seasons at TCF Bank Stadium. There is the $67 million financial hit, not to mention potential logistical nightmares while waiting for Metrodome 2.0.

And league owners still would have to sign off on this concept before the Vikings play a single down at the University of Minnesota.

"I can tell you there won't be a lot of happy campers among the membership (owners)," said a person close to the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of stadium negotiations. "TCF is a gem, but it's not an NFL stadium."

The experiment worked for one game in December 2010. The Vikings excavated TCF Bank Stadium from the snowstorm that collapsed the Metrodome roof to host the Chicago Bears. The game was even celebrated as the franchise's return to outdoor football, and more game day snow helped limit attendance and quell possible brouhahas over general admission seating.

One novelty act, however, does not compare to two or three years of operating losses for the team. It is a tall order to make a smaller college facility conducive to fans used to certain privileges - such as premium seating, parking and booze - or NFL owners accustomed to cost certainty.

"Capacity is way reduced," the person close to the situation said. "It's a different atmosphere for visiting teams, not as much of a home-field advantage for the Vikings. Nobody has figured out how the team will fill
that loss of revenue hole. There's still a lot of wood to chop."

Other teams have had to move to temporary housing. As recently as 2002, the Bears had to migrate south to the University of Illinois while Soldier Field underwent a makeover. But that was just one season. No team has ever played three seasons at an alternative venue since the Super Bowl era began in 1966.

The NFL has final authority to relocate games. Owners also control a subsidized loan program from which Vikings owner Zygi Wilf wants to borrow up to $200 million to help fund a new stadium, yet another agenda for negotiators to consider as they navigate the crosscurrents of stadium politics in Minnesota.

The Metrodome figured to be the Vikings' way station if they got their wish - a new facility in Arden Hills. The Dome might be viable this season if engineers can do ancillary work around the building before blowing it up. But until a bill is passed by the Legislature, there is no construction timeline.

And with no Metrodome in 2013 and beyond, there is no alternative in the area outside of TCF for the Vikings.

"We understand the challenges that we face there," Wilf said this week about rebuilding on the Metrodome site. "We're still in the process of doing our due diligence. Lot of aspects involved, including how we address the seasons we play at TCF. But we're making progress on getting to know the site much better."

TCF Bank Stadium seats about 51,000. There are an additional 3,000 designated standing-room spots in the plaza behind the west end zone. The Metrodome holds slightly more than 63,000. The Gophers' 38 suite owners have the right of first refusal to access their enclosed boxes, which theoretically would leave any leftovers to Vikings suite holders.

The Vikings could be in the awkward position of shoehorning fans into their temporary home at the same time they are ramping up marketing on the state-of-the-art stadium for which they spent a decade lobbying.

"Do you do a lottery or hope for volunteers? And do it for three years?" said the person close to the situation. "You're downsizing your fan base by 25 percent in anticipation of opening a bigger stadium. That doesn't make good business sense."

State law and NCAA regulations ban alcohol at Gophers games. The university has a liquor license to sell booze on an all-or-nothing basis in the stadium but only to NCAA events. Moreover, the stadium was built to host events only into late November, and concourses are not equipped for kegs to be tapped or fountain drinks to be served in freezing temperatures.

Vikings President Mark Wilf has said the team would lose $37 million playing at TCF Bank Stadium for three seasons and would have to spend an additional $30 million to make it NFL compliant, including providing 2,500 parking spaces for premium-seat holders and installing heating coils to prevent the turf from freezing.

University of Minnesota chief financial officer Richard Pfutzenreuter said there have been no formal talks with the Vikings about using TCF Bank Stadium. But he is confident an agreement could be reached to satisfy the needs of the team and the NFL, using the December 2010 contract as a template.

The Vikings wound up reimbursing the university $1.8 million for reopening the stadium after it had been shuttered for the winter.

"From an operational standpoint, and game day issues, there are some things we can draw upon. Neither of us is coming into this blind," Pfutzenreuter said. "When you start talking about two or three years, things like traffic, the neighborhood, alcohol, transitioning from Saturday Gophers games to Sunday Vikings games - clearly there are going to be disruptions. But I don't think they're insurmountable issues."

Under the Illinois agreement, the state passed litigation to allow beer sales only. The Bears split concession and parking revenue with the university. They also paid 10 percent rent on ticket prices. Memorial Stadium in Champaign, 135 miles south of Chicago, actually had 4,000 more seats than Soldier Field before renovation.

The Illinois athletics department used the windfall to refurbish the locker rooms and replace the turf.

"It was a wonderful collaboration," associate athletics director Dana Brenner said. "The Bears picked up a lot of season-ticket holders here (that) they brought back and it was successful financially for us."

(source St. Paul Pioneer Press)