Nancy Lindahl (B.S. ’68) congratulated former Gopher football coach Murray Warmath at the stadium bill–signing ceremony. Lindahl and her husband, John (B.S. ’68), are co-chairs of the campaign to raise private gifts for the stadium. Warmath, Gopher football coach for 18 years, and Richard “Pinky” McNamara (B.A. ’56), who played for Warmath and has made a gift to the stadium, are honorary campaign co-chairs. Photograph by Patrick O'Leary

Murray Warmath was all smiles when he entered Memorial Hall in the McNamara Alumni Center on May 24, and the Gopher fans gathered there parted reverentially to let him through. The legendary coach of the football Gophers from 1954 to 1971 had led his teams to a national championship, two Big Ten championships, and two Rose Bowl appearances, including a victory in 1962. His happy mood had little to do with past glories, however, and everything to do with possibilities.

Warmath, honorary co-chair of the “Back to Campus” stadium fund-raising campaign, wanted to see it for himself: the signing of the legislative bill that would secure $248.7 million in funding to bring Gopher football home. A few days earlier, the Minnesota legislature

An aerial photograph is assisting traffic engineers with stadium site plans. The stadium will be built to the east of Mariucci and Williams arenas on what are now parking lots. Several roads around the stadium will be rerouted beginning this summer. Image courtesy of SRF Consulting

had passed the bill (96–37 in the House, 43–24 in the Senate), and now it waited for Governor Tim Pawlenty’s pen.

“The stadium doesn’t happen because I sign the bill today, but because of the years of hard work” to make it happen, said Pawlenty (B.A. ’83, J.D. ’86), standing beneath the reconstructed Memorial Stadium Arch and surrounded by University officials and state legislators. The Gophers moved to the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis in 1982 and have played there the past 25 years.

If you want a successful, dynamic University, you need a successful, dynamic athletics program, Pawlenty said. “The U is one of Minnesota’s most important assets. The new on-campus stadium will bring visibility and excitement that will benefit the U, our state, and our citizens.”

Governor Tim Pawlenty (left), after the stadium bill signing, with Gopher football head coach Glen Mason, athletics director Joel Maturi, and University President Bob Bruininks. Photograph by Patrick O'Leary

The stadium will be called TCF Bank Stadium per a $35 million naming-rights agreement with TCF Financial Corporation. The bill calls for the state to pay $10.25 million per year for 25 years, 55 percent of the stadium cost. And the deal includes the transfer of 2,840 acres of undeveloped University land in Dakota County to the state for use as a metropolitan area nature preserve.

University fund-raising, game-day parking revenue, and student fees (a maximum of $25 a year) will cover the remainder of the price tag. The University is accountable for $111.5 million of the stadium project, and approximately 20 percent, $48.9 million, still needs to be raised.

President Bob Bruininks, who has been talking about building an on-campus stadium since 2002, noted the bipartisan makeup of the stadium bill’s passage, which had only a one-vote difference between Democrats and Republicans. He thanked the legislators in attendance for their across-the-aisle negotiations.

For years, the University has been the only Big Ten school without a football stadium on its campus, Bruininks said. “This new facility will have a huge, positive impact on our football program, recruiting, and all of our athletics programs.”

He acknowledged that kickoff at home is over three years away, however, and much work remained. “We still need to raise tens of millions of dollars,” Bruininks told the crowd, “so I hope you all brought your checkbooks.”