Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome

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The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, usually simply called the Metrodome, and often nicknamed the Homerdome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington, and Memorial Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus.

The Metrodome is home to the following sports teams:

It was the home at one time for:

Contents

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History

Construction on the Metrodome began on December 20, 1979 and was funded by the state of Minnesota. The dome is air-inflated and requires 250,000 ft³/min (120 m³/s) of air to keep it inflated. Three times in the stadium's history, heavy snows have caused a small puncture in the roof and caused it to deflate. Varying air pressure due to a severe storm once contributed to a dramatic deflation during a game. The stadium construction is notable in that the $68 million price tag was on budget, and the facility was completed on time, a rare feat in the world of stadium construction.

During its early years of operation, the field at the Metrodome was surfaced with SuperTurf, which was disliked by both football and baseball players as being too hard. This surface was upgraded to Astroturf in 1987, and in 2004, the sports commission had a newer artificial surface, called FieldTurf, installed. FieldTurf is thought to be a closer approximation to natural grass than Astroturf in its softness, appearance, and feel.

The 1985 Baseball All-Star Game, WrestleRock '86, games of the 1987 and the 1991 World Series, Super Bowl XXVI in 1992, were all held at the Metrodome.

The NCAA Final Four was held at the Metrodome in 1992 and 2001. Curiously, Duke University was the winner on both occasions.

The Metrodome is one of the four regional venues for the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. It also hosted regionals in 1986, 1989, 1996, 2000 and 2003

The stadium was named in memoriam to former mayor of Minneapolis, US Senator and US Vice President, Hubert H. Humphrey, who had died in 1978.

The Metrodome is both beloved and reviled by Minnesota fans. The Twins have won both of their World Series championships in its friendly confines (and winning both Series by winning all four games held at the Dome), and the white roof, quick turf, and the right-field wall (or "Baggie") can provide a substantial home-field advantage for the Twins. Because it was designed for football, the Metrodome has severe disadvantages as a baseball venue. The way many seats are situated forces some fans to crane their necks to see home plate. Neither the main nor the upper concourse has visibility to the field, meaning fans risk missing play whenever they leave for the concession stands. The Dome's sight lines tend to be below average, with nearly 1,400 seats having obscured or partial visibility to the playing field.

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The Baggie

Image:Metrodome ALDS Oct 2004.JPG

The Metrodome's right-field wall is composed of the seven-foot-high (2.1 m) fence around the whole outfield and a 16-foot-high (4.9 m) plastic wall extension in right field, known as the "Baggie" or the "Hefty Bag." The seats above and behind the Baggie are home run territory; the Baggie itself is part of the outfield wall. Fenway Park's "Green Monster," a comparable but taller feature, is 17 feet (5.2 m) closer to home plate than the Baggie is, so batters who hit short, high fly balls are not typically helped by it. However, it is an attractive target for left-handed power hitters, and it is not uncommon for upper-deck home runs to be hit to right field. When in a rectangular configuration for football and other small-field events, the Baggie is taken down and the seats behind it extend to form complete lower-deck seating.

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The Roof

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The Metrodome's roof is made of two layers of Teflon fabric, and is supported by positive air pressure. To maintain the differential air pressure, spectators usually enter and leave the seating and concourse areas through revolving doors, since the use of regular doors is accompanied by a strong breeze. The double-walled construction allows warmed air to circulate beneath the top of the dome, melting accumulated snow. However, on November 19, 1981, a rapid accumulation of over a foot of snow caused the roof to collapse, requiring it to be reinflated.

Because it's unusually low to the playing field (172 feet/52.4 m), the air-inflated dome is occasionally touched by the ball, altering play. Any ball which strikes the Dome roof remains in play; if it lands in foul territory it becomes a foul ball, if it lands in fair territory it becomes a fair ball. Any ball which becomes caught in the roof over fair ground (which has only happened once) is a ground rule double. More common is for a ball to strike an overhead speaker, which are even closer to the playing surface; such balls are also alive and in-play (although starting with the 2005 MLB season, the ground rules for balls hitting the speakers have been changed). The low roof has never been a concern for events other than baseball.

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Possible replacements

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The Dome is thought to be an increasingly poor fit for all three of its major tenants (the Twins, the Vikings and the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football team). The Dome's sight lines tend to be poor, with nearly 1,400 seats having obscured or partial visibility to the playing field. Fans of all three of its major tenants note and resent the complete lack of natural lighting, the Dome's processed air and cramped seating arrangements. These tenants say the Metrodome is nearing the end of its useful lifespan, although the stadium is structurally sound and could last decades without major repairs. The Twins, the Vikings and the Gophers have all proposed replacements for the Metrodome, of which the proposed Twins ballpark is closest to fruition as of 2006. The Dome is among the last of the "multipurpose facilities" that were once common throughout professional sports.

The Twins wish to replace the Metrodome with a new ballpark in downtown Minneapolis within the next half decade. The Twins are on a year-to-year lease at the Metrodome, and may thus move to another city at any time. However, no large American markets or new major-league-quality stadiums exist without a current team; it is accepted that the Twins could not profit from a move to another city. Twins management claims that the Metrodome generates too little revenue for the Twins to be competitive. In particular, the Twins receive no revenue from luxury suite leasing (as those are owned by the Vikings) and only a small percentage of concessions sales; also, the percentage of season-ticket-quality seats in the Metrodome is said to be very low compared to other stadiums. The Twins are seeking taxpayer subsidy of more than $200 million to assist in construction of the stadium. On April 26, 2005, the Twins and Hennepin County announced that an acceptable deal had been reached, involving the Twins paying roughly 1/3 of the cost of the stadium, with the rest being paid for by a 0.15% Hennepin County sales tax. The deal would need to be approved by the Hennepin County Board. On April 28 the Board announced that they were delaying a vote by one week. On May 3 the Board voted in favor of the stadium deal. The vote was 4-3 falling entirely along gender lines, with Commissioners Mike Opat (District 1), Mark Stenglein (District 2), Peter McLaughlin (District 4, a DFL candidate in the city's 2005 mayoral election) and Randy Johnson (District 5) in favor. Gail Dorfman (District 3), Linda Koblick (District 6) and Penny Steele (District 7) were against the proposal. Minneapolis DFL mayor R.T. Rybak had already weighed in favor of the stadium, a move said to hurt his bid for the party's endorsement for re-election. The plan passed its second hurdle on May 9, 2005 when a House committee of the Minnesota Legislature approved it to be sent to the floor on a 17-5 vote. This legislation later languished before the full Legislature, during a particularly gridlocked session, and was placed on the back burner, pending resolution of "more pressing" legislation. On January 9, 2006, the Twins went to court to argue that their lease with the Metrodome should be considered "dead" after the 2006 season. Regardless of whether the Twins or the Metropolitan Sports Commission gets their way in the initial ruling, appeals are expected to take several years, during which time analysts expect that the Twins will be required to continue playing in the Metrodome. In February, the district court ruled that the Twins' lease was year to year and the team could vacate the Metrodome at the end of the 2006 season. The ruling appears to have energized the state legislature, and both House majority leader Steve Sviggum (R-Kenyon) and Senate majority leader Dean Johnson (DFL-Willmar) have stated that the Twins' stadium plan now possesses majority support in both houses of the Minnesota Legislature.

The University of Minnesota is looking for a solution to build an on-campus stadium to replace their use of the Metrodome, which is a mile west of the edge of campus. Attendance at Gopher football games rarely fills the Metrodome to capacity, and it is thought that, in order to pep up its student base for increased ticket sales, an on-campus stadium is required. Presumably they used opposite reasoning when they abandoned the old on-campus stadium. In addition, an on-campus stadium would benefit athletic revenues, benefitting not only the football program, but the University's non-revenue sports. A University-only stadium is expected to cost less than half of what a NFL-quality football stadium might cost, and tentative plans have been developed to build a new stadium on surface parking lots just a few blocks east of the former Memorial Stadium. TCF Bank has agreed to be a substantial donor, and the stadium if built will be called TCF Bank Stadium. The University of Minnesota is expected to raise more than half the cost of the stadium via private donations.

The Vikings are thought to be the least hampered by their current situation in the Metrodome, but they are also the only tenant likely to move after their current lease expires, in 2011; an enormous market without an NFL team exists in Los Angeles, and San Antonio, Texas has also been discussed as a possible site. The fear of losing the Vikings to another state may pressure governments to finance a new, revenue-generating stadium for the team. Downtown Minneapolis as well as the suburb of Blaine have been explored as potential stadium sites. The Vikings are seeking taxpayer subsidy of more than $300 million to assist in construction of the stadium, which may also be used for the many other non-baseball events currently taking place at the Metrodome. On September 20, 2005, the Vikings and Anoka County reached an agreement to build a 68,000 seat retractable-roof stadium in Blaine. The calls for the Vikings to pay $280 million, the county another $280 million, and the state $115 million. It would open in 2009 or 2010 if approved by the legislature. Unlike previous owner Red McCombs, the present Vikings ownership headed by Zygi Wilf has publicly disavowed any plans to remove the team from Minnesota.

It is impossible for the citizens of midsize U.S. metropolitan areas, such as the Twin Cities, to be assured that any given professional sports team will remain in the area. In the Twin Cities, the threat of franchise relocation was recently realized by the Minnesota North Stars' move to Dallas in 1993. The sports fans in the city hope new revenue-generating facilities, such as the much-praised Xcel Energy Center, will commit teams to remaining in the market. With public support finally growing for replacement projects for "the Dome"'s three tenants, its end may be drawing near.

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Other Events

  • Prep Bowl (Minnesota State High School League; state high school football championships)
  • Various small college football games
  • Various high school baseball and football games
  • Monster truck, motocross, and other motor entertainment sports
  • Large concerts (very few)
  • Large religious services and gatherings
  • Rollerdome and MDRA running (exercise programs in the concourses)
  • Conventions, such as TwinsFest, golf shows, home and garden expos, and car shows
  • Cultural celebrations, such as Hmong New Year gatherings
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Getting there

The Metrodome is located near the junction of Interstate 94 and Interstate 35W, and many fans come by car. There is limited parking in surface lots throughout eastern downtown, ranging from $5 for a Twins game, to $50 for a close stall at a Vikings game. On-street meters provide the lowest parking rate. A new option as of 2004 is the Downtown East/Metrodome station on the light rail Hiawatha Line. Many people also come by bus, whether on a charter or on the regular regional bus system. A shuttle from the University of Minnesota is available when the Gophers play games at the dome.

Tailgating has often been a popular pre-game activity for football fans, and many nearby parking lots have been available in the past for people who want to start early. However, in recent years, new development in the downtown region of Minneapolis has meant that these parking lots have begun to disappear. In 2004, some new options had to be considered for fans. The eventual result was setting up a new tailgating site quite a distance away, but with shuttle bus service provided.

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Trivia

  • After Kent Hrbek's infamous 1991 "T-Rex" tag of Atlanta Braves player Ron Gant, the Metrodome has been referred to as "The Scene of the Crime" by Atlanta fans.
  • Dave Kingman of the Oakland A's in 1984, apparently hit a ball up into one of the roof's drainage holes. There are different tales about whether the ball actually came down or not. One rumor apparently had the ball coming down, and consequently being sent to Cooperstown.
  • In 1986, a severe thunderstorm outside the Metrodome during a Twins game had winds of up to 65 mph. Near the bottom of the fifth inning, the wind tore a hole in the roof on the third base side of the stadium.
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External links

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