Bring Gopher Football Home
Show your support!
We need your help to make the dream of bringing Gopher football back to campus a reality. Only with the support of thousands of students, alumni, fans, faculty, staff, and citizens will we succeed.
Show your support by signing below.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Bring Gopher Football Home
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
I support building a new campus stadium and bringing Gopher football home!
Signed by:
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Campaign Launched:
August 25, 2004
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The Right Time
The time is right for bringing Gopher football home. The University needs a venue in which the Gophers can play for years to come. The Gophers have played football in Minnesota for 120 years, will continue to play here, and should not be taken for granted.
This is an important time for the University to pursue a new campus stadium. The University’s lease at the Metrodome expires at the end of the 2011 football season. It will take at least four years to build a new stadium, so planning needs to begin now. And the University must represent its interests as the state legislature discusses new facilities being pursued by professional sports teams.
The Right Solution
We want what’s right for the University and for Minnesota—and that’s a campus stadium. A traditional, collegiate, and economical facility for Minnesota’s only Division I, Big Ten university. Last fall, the University completed a study to determine the feasibility of building a new campus stadium and concluded that such a stadium is possible. Now the University is developing a finance plan and determining the level of private funding that can be raised.
Two things are certain: First, the University’s only option for attracting a significant level of private and philanthropic support is a Gophers-only campus stadium. Second, a campus stadium is the best long-term option to maximize revenues for Gopher football and the University.
The Metrodome is not a viable long-term option for Gopher football. Its future is uncertain and using it as a Gopher-only facility is not financially prudent. The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission estimates that it would cost between $6 and $10 million a year to operate the Metrodome for the Gophers alone. As the University currently earns less than $6 million annually at the Metrodome, a significant public subsidy would be required to fund the annual operating costs and the capital improvements needed to modernize an aging facility.
A joint stadium with the Vikings will not work for the University. Last year we explored this option with the Vikings and both parties concluded that such a facility would not meet their needs.
The Vikings want a 365-day-a-year entertainment complex that would cost at least twice and much and be twice the size of a Gopher campus stadium. Such a facility is not compatible with the University’s mission and needs. If it were built on campus, it would substantially disrupt campus and community life. And sharing a professional sports stadium far from campus would reduce long-term revenue opportunities for the University and diminish the sense of community, spirit, and pride that can only be kindled by a new campus stadium.
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