University of Minnesota Athletics
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
5/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
900 South 5th Street
Minneapolis, Minn. 55415
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In addition to serving as a home facility for the Golden Gophers, the Metrodome is home to the Minnesota Vikings and Twins. In 1989, it also served as home to the Timberwolves, who set the all-time NBA attendance record in their inaugural season.
The Metrodome is located in downtown Minneapolis, just minutes away from the University campus. Its seating capacity is listed at 64,172, but more than 65,000 fans have packed the place for Minnesota football, including a crowd of 65,089 for the game against border-rival Wisconsin last season. A stadium record 65,184 attended the Minnesota-Iowa game in 2002.
The noise generated by nearly 65,000 fans has given the Metrodome a nickname: The ThunderDome. Baseball fans around the country will remember the moment during the late innings of Game 6 of the 1987 Minnesota Twins-St. Louis Cardinals World Series when ABC-TV’s decibel meter broke because of the mind-numbing roar which bordered on illegal.
About the DomeThe Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, which opened in 1982, is financially self-supporting. It is the only public stadium in the country that does not rely on a continuing tax subsidy to finance operations, maintenance or debt payments.
The Metrodome is owned and operated by the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission (MSFC), but is home to the Minnesota Golden Gopher baseball and softball teams, the National Football League’s Minnesota Vikings and Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins.
The Metrodome is covered by more than 10 acres of Teflon-coated fiberglass. It is the only air-supported dome of its kind in the country, and fans enter the stadium through revolving doors that prevent release of the air that keeps the dome upright. The roof requires 250,000 cubic feet of air pressure per minute to remain inflated. In all, the Metrodome cost less than $75 million dollars to build.
| Metrodome Attendance | ||||
| Metrodome capacity: 61,218 (1982-90) • 64,172 (1991-pres.) | ||||
| Year | Att. | Gm. | Largest Crowd | Avg. |
| 1982 | 353,388 | 6 | Iowa (63,872) | 58,898 |
| 1983 | 243,674 | 5 | Wisconsin (62,689) | 48,735 |
| 1984 | 310,745 | 6 | Iowa (63,479) | 51,791 |
| 1985 | 426,989 | 7 | Wisconsin (64,571) | 60,985 |
| 1986 | 335,150 | 6 | Iowa (65,018) | 55,848 |
| 1987 | 371,919 | 7 | Wisconsin (62,412) | 53,131 |
| 1988 | 312,656 | 7 | Iowa (63,894) | 44,665 |
| 1989 | 237,642 | 6 | Nebraska (58,368) | 39,607 |
| 1990 | 243,511 | 6 | Iowa (64,694) | 40,585 |
| 1991 | 218,219 | 6 | San Jose State (47,914) | 36,369 |
| 1992 | 227,445 | 6 | Iowa (57,368) | 37,908 |
| 1993 | 239,973 | 6 | Wisconsin (64,798) | 39,996 |
| 1994 | 253,851 | 6 | Iowa (53,340) | 42,309 |
| 1995 | 291,443 | 6 | Wisconsin (64,016) | 48,574 |
| 1996 | 261,113 | 6 | Iowa (53,349) | 43,519 |
| 1997 | 269,385 | 6 | Wisconsin (57,563) | 44,898 |
| 1998 | 249,854 | 6 | Iowa (50,640) | 41,642 |
| 1999 | 318,086 | 7 | Wisconsin (63,108) | 45,441 |
| 2000 | 284,112 | 6 | Northwestern (59,004) | 47,352 |
| 2001 | 260,912 | 6 | Wisconsin (55,890) | 43,485 |
| 2002 | 292,492 | 7 | Iowa (65,184) | 41,785 |
| 2003 | 309,038 | 7 | Michigan (62,374) | 44,148 |
| 2004 | 285,438 | 6 | Iowa (64,719) | 47,573 |
| 2005 | 294,147 | 6 | Wisconsin (65,089) | 49,024 |
| 2006 | 313,236 | 6 | Iowa (64,140) | 52,206 |
| 2007 | 362,538 | 7 | North Dakota State (63,088) | 51,791 |
| 2008 | 342,075 | 7 | Iowa (64,071) | 48,958 |
| | | | | |
| Largest Metrodome Crowds | ||||
| 1. 65,184 vs. Iowa, 11/23/02 | ||||
| 2. 65.089 vs. Wisconsin, 10/15/05 | ||||
| 3. 65,018 vs. Iowa, 11/22/86 | ||||
| 4. 64,798 vs. Wisconsin, 10/23/93 | ||||
| 5. 64,719 vs. Iowa, 11/13/04 | ||||
| 6. 64,694 vs. Iowa, 11/24/90 | ||||
| 7. 64,571 vs. Wisconsin, 11/9/85 | ||||
| 8. 64,455 vs. Ohio State, 10/26/85 | ||||
| 9. 64,140 vs. Iowa, 11/18/06 | ||||
| 10. 64,129 vs. Michigan, 11/16/85 | ||||