Coming Together to Pave the Way

Your stadium’s planning process covered the entire field.

First it was a dream, now it’s a reality. But along the way was an intensive planning process that brought stakeholders together and made sure success was the only option.

The University of Minnesota began actively exploring a new on-campus Gopher football stadium in 2003. The process began with a feasibility study that determined the appropriate size and type of stadium, preliminary construction and operating costs, revenue potential, and uses beyond football.

A set of guiding principles for development of a Minneapolis campus stadium was then drafted. Including usage for both the Gopher football team and related athletic and academic purposes of the University, the principles were soon endorsed by the Board of Regents of the University.

An environmental review of the stadium project examined the impact the development of the proposed stadium facility would have on the environment. It included consideration of traffic and air quality and identified needed environmental remediation for the site. The Board of Regents, acting as the responsible government unit, approved the final environmental impact statement in 2006. A subsequent plan for the cleanup of stadium site was then developed.

A plan for the cleanup of the site

Approval of the schematic design and budget for the new stadium was granted by the Board of Regents on January 3, 2007, and construction at the stadium site officially began in July 2007.

Construction of the stadium, which began in July 2007, was completed in summer 2009, in time for kickoff on September 12, 2009.