Memorial Stadium (University of Minnesota)

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Memorial Stadium also known as the "Brick House" was the home of Minnesota Golden Gophers football from 1924 until 1981. Prior to playing in Memorial Stadium the Gophers had played at Northrop Field, and starting in 1982 the Gophers have played their home games in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

History

The stadium opened on October 14, 1924. It was dedicated to 3527 students, graduates, and workers who had served in World War I. The stadium sat on approximately 11 acres (45,000 m²). During that span the team won six national championships including three consecutive (1934-1936). The championship years were 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941 and 1960. The official capacity of the stadium during the 1970s was listed as 56,652. The stadium seated approximately 66,000 people with additional temporary bleachers, although many of the seats were far away from the field. The stadium-record attendance was 66,284 against Purdue on November 18, 1966. Memorial stadium also served as the track and field venue for the University of Minnesota teams, and due to a conflict with a Minnesota Twins playoff game at Metropolitan Stadium, the NFL's Minnesota Vikings played a 1969 regular season game against the Green Bay Packers at Memorial Stadium. Memorial Stadium served as the anchor for Stadium Village, a small commercial area at the Southeast portion of the Twin Cities campus.

Move to Metrodome 1982

Archway of Memorial Stadium, now located inside the McNamara Alumni Center at the entrance to the Heritage Gallery

Pressured by downtown Minneapolis business interests and athletic boosters, the school elected to move out of the stadium to the Metrodome about two miles away during the spring of 1982. Athletic director Paul Giel cited the advantages of recruiting by playing in a new NFL venue. Also, the attendance was expected to go up with protection from harsh late fall weather.

University Aquatic center

Following the move, the University proposed a new natatorium that would extend into the field at the open end of the horseshoe and ensure that there could be no return to Memorial Stadium. After legal challenges to halt construction of the natatorium failed, the Aquatic Center opened in 1990 and the stadium was torn down two years later. The original brick entrance arch was preserved, and when the McNamara Alumni Center was built on the same site it was installed in the interior atrium over the entrance to a small museum.

Aftermath

The move to the Metrodome proved to be disappointing in the long run as the home games lost the charm of being on a college campus. The Gophers had the lowest priority in scheduling behind the Twins and Vikings, and had to move games if the Twins were in baseball playoffs. The University also gave up most concession and parking revenue. Although, their portion of the rent was the lowest of the three Metrodome tenants. On May 20, 2006, the Minnesota state legislature passed a bill providing funding for a new stadium on the University campus. The projected completion date for the new stadium will be fall of 2009. The original Memorial Stadium site could not be used for the new stadium because of new construction including an aquatic center and the McNamara Alumni Center, so the new stadium site will be located about 3 blocks from where Memorial Stadium once stood. When built the new stadium will be called the TCF Bank Stadium.

References

• Wood, Bob ((August 1989)). Big Ten Country: A Journey Through One Football Season. William Morrow & Co. DOI:--. ISBN 0-688-08922-4. 
• University of Minnesota 2006 Football Media Guide - Records
• University of Minnesota 2006 Football Media Guide - History