Opened in 2009 and built at a cost of $288 million, the 50,800-capacity stadium brought Gopher football within a short walk of campus—and, maybe more importantly, allowed the program to once again play its games outdoors. Before the arrival of TCF Bank Stadium, the Gophers had spent a quarter century playing its games indoors at the charmless Metrodome, a facility that never seemed a good fit in college football.
The Gophers opened their beautiful new home with a 20-13 win over Air Force on Sept. 12, 2009.
The stadium, the first new Big Ten stadium to be built since 1960, incorporates the same red brick that once decorated old Memorial Stadium, which hosted Minnesota football games up until 1981.
TCF Bank Stadium is a key facet of a planned 75-acre redevelopment and expansion of Minnesota’s campus. Along with the stadium, the plan could include the addition of up to 10 new academic buildings by 2015.
