Vikings Dir of Ticketing & Hospitality Phil Huebner said that the team "spent more than a year devising a plan to shoehorn fans in a fair and equitable fashion into TCF Bank Stadium" for the '14 and '15 NFL seasons while the team's new stadium is under construction, according to Rochelle Olson of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. The process involved "hiring a consultant and even visiting specific seats to check them out for the fans." The team's 11,000 season-ticket holders were notified last week "of their seat assignments at the team's interim home" and have "the first option to buy their seats" at the Univ. of Minnesota's football facility. Those who remain as season-ticket holders through the two years at TCF Bank Stadium will "have first dibs on seats" at the Vikings' new facility. The team will "bolster TCF's capacity by adding 2,000 seats, making room for 52,000 fans -- roughly the equivalent of the number needed to accommodate seats held by every season-ticket holder in the stadium." Vikings Communications Dir Jeff Anderson said that the team "understands that some fans might not be up for the open-air experience." He added that season-ticket holders who do not keep their seats at TCF "will lose a minimal amount of seniority, but they won't go to the back of the line." Olson reported the "squeeze is on in the luxury suites as well." The team "sells 60 suites for the season at the Metrodome," but TCF has only 38, and UM football suite-holders "have first dibs on those for the Vikings games." Meanwhile, Anderson said that there will be "an unqualified yes to beer sales throughout the stadium" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 1/11).
DEAL DELAYED? Minnesota state officials yesterday announced that a legal challenge has "forced the state to delay" a $468M bond sale to finance construction of the Vikings' new stadium. The officials said that the lawsuit "jeopardizes plans to open the facility" for the '16 season. Minnesota Management & Budget Commissioner Jim Showalter said that he "hoped the delay would be brief but that officials decided it was 'appropriate and prudent' to postpone the sale until the Minnesota Supreme Court can sort out the legal issues." The AP's Steve Karnowski noted former Minneapolis mayoral candidate Doug Mann on Friday "filed the challenge with the Minnesota Supreme Court," asking for a "restraining order to block the bond sale" (AP, 1/12).
