Surprise! U of M botches Thursday night opening game logistics

[Ole]

The NFL while not specifically promoting it (wink wink) does nothing to discourage their fans from being loud, drunken partiers. This isn't just here - I've seen it in other markets as well. I'd say at least 70% of fans at Vikings games are well into their cups by game time. Ever since 1998, Vikings games have been one massive boozefest, and that's why they're so popular, even in down years.

Look at the tailgate scene at Penn State, or almost any SEC school (even the bad ones). Look at the party atmosphere that surrounds the Badgers these days. There's no atmosphere like that here because the city and the university don't want it.

Coach Kill does. He said as much when he got here.
I'm very honest about where i fall here. I want a giant party every saturday before during and after gopher games with thousands of crazy and passionate fans screaming for the maroon and gold. I want what all those schools you described have. Even a fraction of that. We should be so lucky to have the fan support the Vikings have enjoyed after 98'. I do not want facepainting. I'm not ok with the status quo.

Really, I'd like to hear from the administration, straight up, that they don't want a campuswide gameday. That they'll do whatever they can to dampen the atmosphere beyond tepid warm and rah rah sis boom bah.
Then I'll stop my rants and support the team from the couch.
Until then I'll still go under the assumption that the school wants a raucous fanbase filling the campus and stadium to the brim every saturday, celebrating their alma mater's glory on the gridiron in whatever way they see fit.
I don't give a flying F what the city wants. The U should stand up to the city.

 

[Iceland12]

Coach Kill does. He said as much when he got here.
I'm very honest about where i fall here. I want a giant party every saturday before during and after gopher games with thousands of crazy and passionate fans screaming for the maroon and gold. I want what all those schools you described have. Even a fraction of that. We should be so lucky to have the fan support the Vikings have enjoyed after 98'. I do not want facepainting. I'm not ok with the status quo.

Really, I'd like to hear from the administration, straight up, that they don't want a campuswide gameday. That they'll do whatever they can to dampen the atmosphere beyond tepid warm and rah rah sis boom bah.
Then I'll stop my rants and support the team from the couch.
Until then I'll still go under the assumption that the school wants a raucous fanbase filling the campus and stadium to the brim every saturday, celebrating their alma mater's glory on the gridiron in whatever way they see fit.
I don't give a flying F what the city wants. The U should stand up to the city.

Understandably, the City feels the same way about you and most of us Gopher Fans. Unfortunately the City, much like the State Fair Board feels the same way about the University also.

Unlike the Viking, Twins, Timberwolves, 3M, Target etc., the University can't say "do it our way of we'll move". Though on second thought, they kind of did when they said to Minneapolis, "f-you, we're going to build our OWN stadium!"

See, they did stand-up to them by building TCF.

And since then it's been the City's turn to say "F-You!" Reading this board, the City may have had even more people on their side than the U does.

The University needs to get smarter, bet that the Viking's getting their Stadium will calm the City down and plan on not getting any cooperation from the Fair Board anytime in the immediate future. Meaning not to have the hubris to think that they can do what nobody else has been able to do for decades, get the Fair Board to gave a crap about what anybody wants besides themselves.

Or take your route and just keep telling the City and the Fair Board to f-off.

 

[Ole]

Understandably, the City feels the same way about you and most of us Gopher Fans. Unfortunately the City, much like the State Fair Board feels the same way about the University also.

Unlike the Viking, Twins, Timberwolves, 3M, Target etc., the University can't say "do it our way of we'll move". Though on second thought, they kind of did when they said to Minneapolis, "f-you, we're going to build our OWN stadium!"

See, they did stand-up to them by building TCF.

And since then it's been the City's turn to say "F-You!" Reading this board, the City may have had even more people on their side than the U does.

The University needs to get smarter, bet that the Viking's getting their Stadium will calm the City down and plan on not getting any cooperation from the Fair Board anytime in the immediate future. Meaning not to have the hubris to think that they can do what nobody else has been able to do for decades, get the Fair Board to gave a crap about what anybody wants besides themselves.

Or take your route and just keep telling the City and the Fair Board to f-off.

There are ways to politically sway the city. I've yet to see the U try.
See how fast the city changed their tune for the new Vikings stadium when Ramsey County got involved? There are ways to push and pull the city, I find it hard to believe the U has no power here.
They can't move, but they are a huge business entity that Minneapolis depends on in some critical ways.

 

[Iceland12]

Just because you haven't seen it, doesn't meant they didn't try.

 

[Ole]

Just because you haven't seen it, doesn't meant they didn't try.

Hmmm. Enlighten me. I'm very uneducated on the subject apparently.
I've read the ordinances. It appears they actually amended the ordinance 319 fairly recently.
If they do expand the Vikings tailgate, that would be the opportunity to bring it up right?

All this frustration has taken it out of me honestly. I just want to drink beer with my freinds outside with TCF in eyeshot. I know I'm over the top on this subject, I can't help it.
.
.
.

I have grand hallucinations of us tailgaters and the marching band blocking off University ave with a barricade of gopher football RVs, flying a block M flag and singing the rouser as Minneapolis storm troopers roll swat tanks in. Think Les Mis', but not french, and cooler. On second thought forget Les mis.
The city council and RT Rybak in black cloaks watch from a distance on their EZ ride bikes, laughing at our resistance's pending doom as the tanks roll closer.
Goldy stands like the Tienanmen square dude on his segway and the Strib shoots an award winning photo of it all. (Like I said hallucination)
Suddenly, thousands of Gophers fans flood campus, cracking beers and chomping hot dogs, and singing Hail Minnesota at the top of their lungs. The police are overcome with state and school pride, they turn on the city council and join in. The day has turned! Victory is ours!
Zombie Bronko Nagurski arises from beneath RT's bike, picking it up with one hand and pointing to the river with it. The city council shrinks away in shame, knowing they are beaten and somewhere a child born to be a 5 star recruit, commits to the U from it's preschool lobby press conference.
When does football start again?

 

[Iceland12]

Hmmm. Enlighten me. I'm very uneducated on the subject apparently.
I've read the ordinances. It appears they actually amended the ordinance 319 fairly recently.
If they do expand the Vikings tailgate, that would be the opportunity to bring it up right?

All this frustration has taken it out of me honestly. I just want to drink beer with my freinds outside with TCF in eyeshot. I know I'm over the top on this subject, I can't help it.
.
.
.

I have grand hallucinations of us tailgaters and the marching band blocking off University ave with a barricade of gopher football RVs, flying a block M flag and singing the rouser as Minneapolis storm troopers roll swat tanks in. Think Les Mis', but not french, and cooler. On second thought forget Les mis.
The city council and RT Rybak in black cloaks watch from a distance on their EZ ride bikes, laughing at our resistance's pending doom as the tanks roll closer.
Goldy stands like the Tienanmen square dude on his segway and the Strib shoots an award winning photo of it all. (Like I said hallucination)
Suddenly, thousands of Gophers fans flood campus, cracking beers and chomping hot dogs, and singing Hail Minnesota at the top of their lungs. The police are overcome with state and school pride, they turn on the city council and join in. The day has turned! Victory is ours!
Zombie Bronko Nagurski arises from beneath RT's bike, picking it up with one hand and pointing to the river with it. The city council shrinks away in shame, knowing they are beaten and somewhere a child born to be a 5 star recruit, commits to the U from it's preschool lobby press conference.
When does football start again?

Uh, looks like you may have starting the tailgating WAY early, but I applaud your vision!

 

[Iceland12]

Ole, just sent a private message as per your request.

 

[JoeDirt]

Ole, you are the best! I want everything you describe. It's sad that the best Gopher tailgates I can remember we're from the dome days, they were a ton of fun, huge party........in small doses. I've traveled to every Gopher home game since '08 from Sioux Falls. I've grown my tailgate every year to the point that I bought an "M" Bulance to haul all of my sh*t in. It get's 7.5 freakin' miles/gallon for 250 miles one way. But do I care? Hell no! All that I want is to have more crazy-ass Gopher fans doing it with me. I tailgate in St. Paul, and even though we can't see the stadium it is a fun lot. It could be a real fun lot if we had some cheerleaders, some band members, and MORE fans! The one thing that we need to make this happen is for the U to help us out. Consider a few perks for die-hard fans and before you know it there will be a lot more of us!

 

[RailBaronYarr]

Just a question, and I've posed it before. Does tailgating need to be in a 1) parking lot with your car and 2) within eyesight of TCF to be enjoyable?

We want the band to march down University? Maybe if people stopped demanding they drive in and park their car within eyesight of the stadium (in an urban campus), Minneapolis would be cool with closing down University Ave for 20 minutes.

Again, this is all about battles. The AD isn't going to successfully pick a battle to keep surface parking lots directly surrounding the stadium. The medical discovery district is being developed, and will continue. That's a fight they can't win. Other lots will continue to disappear as more dorms are built, etc. Another battle they can't win. The AD itself will be building Teague-ville along 15th which may require the Maroon lot to become the site of the track/field (maybe, I don't know). Seeing how NIMBY residents reacted to a 6-story structure in Dinkytown and remembering old coots complaining about the noise from an open air stadium and traffic 7x a year (most of it in the afternoon) leads me to believe the U is already in a tenuous position regarding neighborhood groups and thus the city (even if it IS unfair). Surface parking around campus will also continue to dry up because it's an urban environment where land prices are skyrocketing because of demographic trends, the LRT, etc.

So... the U can fight for one small vision of what makes gameday great with a bunch of parties and fail or politically discredit themselves. Or they can work to naturally promote a great atmosphere that takes hold on its own by promoting some urban infill around campus that takes advantage of the Green Line and more rowdy students living on campus. Maybe the U should come out to Minneapolis and say they'll help fund the construction of the University/4th Streetcar that connects to downtown/St Anthony? In exchange they'll work to get rid of some garage parking and turn that land back to tax-revenue generating property. More development, more bars/restaurants, more students nearby. Also, maybe they can work with MT to include free LRT/bus passes on any gameday. Pitch both of these as a commitment to end drunk-driving and improve campus safety while still acknowledging people will get rowdy on campus. Solve the politically gray area/fine line topics.

I would say fighting for private lot tailgating is the best thing they can do regarding that front. Point out to the city that they're doing it on Mpls Park space, so why limit it where private business owners are willing or able. They can stop with these communications mishaps, and continue allowing tailgating on campus lots wherever it makes sense to do so. As things get tighter, create alternate options for those who don't want to be in a bar. McNamara/Mall - nuff said there. And for god's sake, do some work with the students on the Super Block to get a party going. The previous paragraph was maybe longer-term negotiating to change the atmosphere on campus with some obvious near-term fights or ideas they should pursue.

So yes, they can certainly do more, but we need to recognize that they may be doing more than we think and that some battles we like to fight here are not reasonable ones for them to fight internally or with the city. Sorry for the long post.

 

[dpodoll68]

we need to recognize that they may be doing more than we think and that some battles we like to fight here are not reasonable ones for them to fight internally or with the city

This is really what it all boils down to. People assume that the U just bends over and takes it up the tailpipe on every issue without considering that they are a fart in a whirlwind compared to the state, county, city and yes, even the State Fair board. They need to make sure they whine extra-hard about it, too.

 

[Eagan]

Didn't the agreement that the U of M had with the State Fair board regarding St. Paul parking end last year? If so, I don't understand why the State Fair has any say in how the St. Paul parking lot is used on August 29, assuming that the university owns the land. Couldn't the U of M set aside and block off half of the parking spots closest to the bus pick up/drop off site for fans with season parking passes and set aside State Fair parking for the other half until that fills up? If you want to park in the "football" half of the lot, show a parking pass or game ticket. If you are parking for the State Fair, wait in line until one of those spots become available. The U of M is more important to the state than the State Fair, so there must be more to this decision than we know.

 

[Killjoy]

This is really what it all boils down to. People assume that the U just bends over and takes it up the tailpipe on every issue without considering that they are a fart in a whirlwind compared to the state, county, city and yes, even the State Fair board. They need to make sure they whine extra-hard about it, too.

+1 - Sometimes this blog reminds me of the movie Network where everybody starts screaming "I'm as mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore. Strong on anger and beliefs and weak on real understanding and knowledge of what the U is doing to address this problem. It makes for great theater.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

+1 - Sometimes this blog reminds me of the movie Network where everybody starts screaming "I'm as mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore. Strong on anger and beliefs and weak on real understanding and knowledge of what the U is doing to address this problem. It makes for great theater.

We are weak on real understanding. That is why there is an office full of professionals who are supposed to understand and deal with the problems. I don't know exactly what other schools that have a better tailgating atmosphere do better, but there is a way to facilitate a strong tailgating environment, and I want them to find it.

Also, I agree that the fact that we don't see what they are doing doesn't mean they aren't doing anything. However, simply claiming that "just because we don't see what they are doing doesn't mean they aren't doing anything" does not mean that they are doing enough. We don't see all of the efforts, we do see the outcome though.

 

[dpodoll68]

I don't know exactly what other schools that have a better tailgating atmosphere do better

1. Win
2. Not be located in a dense urban environment

 

[station19]

Didn't the agreement that the U of M had with the State Fair board regading St. Paul parking end last year? If so, I don't understand why the State Fair has any say in how the St. Paul parking lot is used on August 29, assuming that the university owns the land. Couldn't the U of M set aside and block off half of the parking spots closest to the bus pick up/drop off site for fans with season parking passes and set aside State Fair parking for the other half until that fills up? If you want to park in the "football" half of the lot, show a parking pass or game ticket. If you are parking for the State Fair, wait in line until one of those spots become available. The U of M is more important to the state than the State Fair, so there must be more to this decision than we know.

I was wondering the same. Hope someone has the answer.

 

[Coolew01]

I was wondering the same. Hope someone has the answer.

I'm not overly familiar with the area. Could the State Fair have control of the area around the lot, making the point moot?

 

[Iceland12]

I'm not overly familiar with the area. Could the State Fair have control of the area around the lot, making the point moot?

Don't know about that. If, as has been suggested, the State Fair Board controls a section of the transit way the U needs to get those folks over to TCF, then the point as you state, is truly moot. The State Fair Board (S.O.B.S. for short) would shut it down in a second if they didn't get their way. Wouldn't put it past them to shut it down all year round to get what they want.

Wonder why all the intrepid reporters who just love to dig and find any tidbit of information that they can use to scream "See, those clowns over at the U screwed-up again!" haven't investigated the role of the S.O.B.S. in all this?

Those here who whine about the local media being "homers" for the local teams, are pointing in the wrong direction. Check all the puff pieces, location broadcasting and free publicity the S.O.B.S. get every year. It's counterbalanced by one or two articles spread out over 3-4 years about how tough it is to get a booth.

Yeah, now THERE'S hard-hitting journalism!

 

[Eagan]

The U of M has a building at a prime location on the fairgrounds. They used to not have that and were located at a booth in the Education building. Perhaps the State Fair board suggested the U of M might lose their spot if they couldn't have access to the parking lot during the fair. I'm just speculating.

 

[station19]

The U of M has a building at a prime location on the fairgrounds. They used to not have that and were located at a booth in the Education building. Perhaps the State Fair board suggested the U of M might lose their spot if they couldn't have access to the parking lot during the fair. I'm just speculating.

You might be confusing the State Fair Board with Zigi.

 

[highwayman]

Just a question, and I've posed it before. Does tailgating need to be in a 1) parking lot with your car and 2) within eyesight of TCF to be enjoyable?...

...So yes, they can certainly do more, but we need to recognize that they may be doing more than we think and that some battles we like to fight here are not reasonable ones for them to fight internally or with the city. Sorry for the long post.

This is really what it all boils down to. People assume that the U just bends over and takes it up the tailpipe on every issue without considering that they are a fart in a whirlwind compared to the state, county, city and yes, even the State Fair board. They need to make sure they whine extra-hard about it, too.

+1 - Sometimes this blog reminds me of the movie Network where everybody starts screaming "I'm as mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore. Strong on anger and beliefs and weak on real understanding and knowledge of what the U is doing to address this problem. It makes for great theater.

We are weak on real understanding. That is why there is an office full of professionals who are supposed to understand and deal with the problems. I don't know exactly what other schools that have a better tailgating atmosphere do better, but there is a way to facilitate a strong tailgating environment, and I want them to find it.

Also, I agree that the fact that we don't see what they are doing doesn't mean they aren't doing anything. However, simply claiming that "just because we don't see what they are doing doesn't mean they aren't doing anything" does not mean that they are doing enough. We don't see all of the efforts, we do see the outcome though.

1. Win
2. Not be located in a dense urban environment

Score.

 

[gopherdudepart2]

State Fair board owns part of the transitway that connects MPLS/St Paul U campuses

Basically the State Fair board threatened U administration that if they took away the State Fair parking lots in St Paul during the Fair, that they would block up the portion of the U transitway they own not allowing the campus connectors to get through that connect St Paul and Minneapolis campuses. Basically shutting off the busway and an important route to get students across both campuses.

When people say the State Fair board plays "dirty pool" very well, they know what they are talking about, they negotiate with no one. Thank god nobody listend to Sid Hartmen about a shared Viking/ Gophers stadium at the Fairgrounds, we would have been treated worse than we were in the Dome Days.

 

[gtp]

Lot ownership

The U of M has a building at a prime location on the fairgrounds. They used to not have that and were located at a booth in the Education building. Perhaps the State Fair board suggested the U of M might lose their spot if they couldn't have access to the parking lot during the fair. I'm just speculating.

Not sure if this has been established already, but just to be clear, the Minnesota State Agricultural Society (the same entity that controls the State Fair) owns the parking lots that the U uses for parking on the St. Paul campus. So the Fair didn't need to threaten to take away the U's nice building spot. The Fair hold all the cards.

 

[Killjoy]

Not sure if this has been established already, but just to be clear, the Minnesota State Agricultural Society (the same entity that controls the State Fair) owns the parking lots that the U uses for parking on the St. Paul campus. So the Fair didn't need to threaten to take away the U's nice building spot. The Fair hold all the cards.

I was also under the impression that this was the case. This situation wouldn't be much different than if I had leased a portion of Canterbury Park's parking ever October for an event. I then decided I wanted to hold an extra the event in the summer during a race weekend. I next made a request to Canterbury that I wanted to do this. After considering it, they decided that it just wasn't going to work because of traffic congestion etc. and said no. I may disagree this but they have the right to say no, i.e they hold the better cards.

The biggest problem with this whole discussion is that none of us have actually seen the contract that the U has with the Minnesota State Agricultural Society for parking. Therefore it is impossible to know if the U has any recourse in this situation. I do though remember this issue being discussed as a potential problem when they were thinking about moving the game to Thursday night.

I personally don't have anything emotionally capital invested in the outcome of this issue but without knowing what is in the contract, I expect the U may be on thin ice in this case. Like it or not the Minnesota State Agricultural Society priority is the state fair, not Gopher football.