Stadium Central

The University of Minnesota has placed a neat virtual tour on its website of TCF Bank Stadium, the on-campus football stadium that is under construction. The open air stadium will feature artificial turf and all of the amenities expected of new stadiums. A host of club level seats and executive suites will make up part of the stadium; the suites will even feature radiant heating for those cold St. Paul days in November. The two-tiered stadium is initially designed to seat 50,000 and will have a brick exterior that blends into the surrounding campus. One side of the stadium will be open-ended, providing views of the Minneapolis skyline to spectators. The virtual tour also shows off the classy locker rooms that will make the football players quite happy. Not only are the athletes' needs addressed in this stadium, but the marching band will also be given their own spaces for storage, dressing, and practicing. As one who takes an interest in sustainability, I am happy to see that the stadium will be one of the first college stadiums to achieve a LEED status that certifies it as a Green Building. The stadium is scheduled to open in time for the 2009 season.