In Minneapolis, Sid Hartman reported the Univ. of Minnesota and the Vikings have "agreed in principal on an agreement for the Vikings to play at TCF Bank Stadium while the new Vikings stadium is being built." The Vikings will "pay $250,000 per game for rent and install 2,800 temporary seats at the open end of the stadium." UM will get the income from "concessions that it would get from a Gophers game, but the Vikings will work out an additional profit for them with the concessionaires." The Vikings will spend $2.5M to "install new turf with heating cables underneath the field, so games can be played in colder weather." The Vikings also will "have to winterize the stadium and do whatever is necessary to keep the field usable later in the season, at a time the Gophers never planned to play" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/8).
STEEL RESOLVE: Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl on Thursday said that a nearly $40M proposal for renovations to Heinz Field "can be salvaged despite a court battle between the Steelers and the stadium's owner, the Sports & Exhibition Authority." Ravenstahl said, "There is common ground to be found." He also noted that the Steelers have complained during negotiations that the SEA failed to set aside enough money for 'routine maintenance' of the stadium." Ravenstahl: "Quite honestly, the authority probably hasn't done (that) to the extent that it agreed to in the lease" (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 11/9).
SOFT IN THE CENTER: 49ers CEO Jed York discussed the team's new stadium being built in Santa Clara and said the team wants it to be a "software-driven stadium as opposed to a hardware-driven stadium." York: "You see a lot of the new buildings putting in big scoreboards and things like that. That’s all going to be obsolete in three to five years. We want to make sure that we capture the mobile market, the tablet market, those types of things (and) allow you to use the things you use in your daily life to their fullest extent inside the stadium and allow people to connect to the game in ways that they wouldn't otherwise be able to do in a stadium. Really revolutionize the game day experience” (“CNBC Sports Biz: Game On!,” NBC Sports Network, 11/8).
EVERYTHING'S BIGGER: In Ft. Worth, Jimmy Burch writes, "The countdown to what is expected to be a record-setting 2014 Final Four at Cowboys Stadium began in earnest Thursday with the unveiling of the event logo." The logo "incorporates a stylized image of Cowboys Stadium in which the venue's signature support beams form the number '14' to commemorate the year." A basketball "replaces the letter 'o' in 'Final Four,' which sits below the words '2014 North Texas.'" Xavier AD and NCAA D-1 Men's Basketball Committee Chair Mike Bobinski said, "If all goes well, we'll establish a Final Four attendance record" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 11/9).
