University of Minnesota Athletics
University Unveils County Signs at TCF Bank Stadium
5/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Since the beginning of the project, University of Minnesota officials have said that TCF Bank Stadium would be the state of Minnesota’s stadium. That connection to the rest of the state became a lot more visible Thursday afternoon.
With a little help from crew members from Mortenson construction, Golden Gopher Director of Athletics Joel Maturi unveiled the first five of the 87 cast stone signs, which will honor each county in the State of Minnesota. The signs are located on the outside wall of the stadium and will be just inside the colonnade that will surround the facility.
The five county signs revealed Thursday were Pope, Ramsey, Red Lake, Redwood and Renville. The signs are 16 feet wide by 5-feet 4-inches tall and they weigh 6,500 pounds each. Despite a few questions, there was no real significance to which counties were unveiled at Thursday’s event. They were simply the first five to be put in place, according to the construction schedule.
Seven Gopher football players were on hand, representing their respective counties: Damola Ogundipe, Ned Tavale and Adam Weber Ramsey; Jeff, Nathan and Nick Tow-Arnett- Redwood; and Ben Kuznia Renville.
TCF Bank Stadium is set for completion in the summer of 2009. The Gophers are slated to play their 2009 home-opener in the new facility, hosting the Air Force Academy on Sept. 12.
