And what a way to begin 2007, with the firing of Minnesota Gophers Football Coach Glen Mason 2 days after his loss to Texas Tech in the Insight Bowl which has been stated at the biggest come back defeat in bowl History. Not to worry since the rest of the Big Ten hasn't been doing so hot in bowl games this year.
This has been a topic of much discussion at the Wambach house along with the discussion of who the University of Minnesota Athletic Director Joel Maturi should hire when it comes time to hire a new Head Coach for the Gophers. I'd keep an eye on my brothers blog in the next few days, as he is the expert of all things college football and a Minnesotan that bleeds Maroon and Gold.
With all of this talk surrounding the Gophers, The Star Tribune had a good article on the TCF Bank Stadium also known as the Vault.
Photos were released Yesterday by HOK architects designers of the Vault, and photos appeared in the Star Tribune article I have linked above.
 |
| From Blog Photos |
 |
| From Blog Photos |
 |
| From Blog Photos |
The stadium, although requiring significant investment, will be a great new addition to campus and to the region. But most importantly for the Gophers, it will help land (hopefully) a new and exciting coach, improve recruiting, generate more revenue, and increase attendance at games. I, like many others, have liked the new East-West orientation with the open bowl that provides great views of the University of Minnesota's important neighbor Downtown Minneapolis and its signature skyline. Minnesotan's will once again have to be prepared to face the elements though with an open air stadium after enjoying the luxuries of indoor football provided at the dome, but with the way Global Warming or Global Climate Change has affected Minnesota (especially in the fall) I think we'll survive.
An added note to tack onto this post, recently in the comments a friend of mine asked how the Central Corridor would be tied into the site plan and where a possible station would go...
To answer this question I am posting the site plan that was posted on the development forum: Minnescraper by user blocksi.
 |
| From Blog Photos |
In the bottom right corner, there is a large structure to the rear of the stadium with the words: University Development Transit Hub, and on the Southwestern corner of that building is labeled a potential CC LRT station. Now, whether the CC LRT will follow this implied alignment is debatable but it is good to see the University of Minnesota is actively planning and participating with the future of CC LRT. Hope that answers the question :-D
Lot's of links with this post I guess, but oh well. Things that are new in my neck of the woods include the decision to stay at home for my final semester at the University of Minnesota. I finished Thomas E. Rick's book Fiasco. And have started reading books on Public Transportation to help with my senior thesis which for the moment I am undecided as to what to write about, however, the two topics at present are: (1)Public Transportation Policy in Minnesota and comparison to Scandinavian Public Transportation: My ISP while I was participating in the SUST program (see old posts) and possibly (2) The need for investment in High Speed Rail in the Midwest. The second topic follows closely with a string of discussion: High Speed Trains - the 21st Century Freeway System? from the Minnescraper development forum that I often frequent. Also, we are getting closer to the start of Spring Semester which means time to buy textbooks!!
On the fun side of reading I am almost finished with Eric Nyland's third book of his series involving the Halo Universe this one titled Halo:Ghosts of Onyx. I also got some books for Christmas that I am hoping to plough through including a new book by Jared Diamond as well as a book on the Cholera epidemic that plagued London in 1854 (let's hope that doesn't happen to us).
Cheers for 2007 blogoshpere!
No comments:
Post a Comment