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University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Sending Special Gift to Fans
9/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
University of Minnesota Athletics has partnered with panoramic photography firm Blakeway Worldwide Panoramas of Eden Prairie to thank its season ticket holders for supporting Gopher football and playing an instrumental role in helping make TCF Bank Stadium a reality.
Less than a week after the facility's inaugural game between the Golden Gophers and Air Force on Sept. 12, more than 12,000 season ticket account holders will receive a personal letter of thanks from the Gophers accompanied by a complimentary panoramic photograph of the opening game taken from the 50-yard line and produced by Blakeway.
"It is important to us that we recognize the role our fans played in helping bring Gopher football back to campus," said Director of Athletics Joel Maturi. "We are pleased to be able capture our first game in TCF Bank Stadium in such a spectacular way while providing a gift to our season ticket holders that displays the beauty, tradition and pageantry of our new outdoor, on-campus home."
Blakeway Worldwide Panoramas photographs, produces and markets its high-end panoramas worldwide in art stores and galleries and has photographed a myriad of live sporting events in large stadiums and arenas in the past. However, the company had never before attempted to photograph, produce, and mail panoramas to a group this large in such a short period of time. They had less than one week's time from the first clicks of the camera shutter to fans receiving their panorama in their mailbox before the following weekend's game.
Photographer James Blakeway said, "The University's athletic department was extremely committed to pulling off this project and getting the historic opening game photo produced and mailed within one week after the game. Their strong desire to recognize season ticket holders and their commitment to Gopher Football really drove this project."
"Some people have questioned why we pushed so hard to get this photograph into their [season ticket holders] hands so quickly. To us a herculean effort seemed appropriate given the strong support we've received from Gopher fans through this process" said Maturi.
About Blakeway Worldwide Panoramas
Established in 1989, Eden Prairie-based Blakeway Worldwide Panoramas is the leader in fine art panoramic prints of the world. The company photographs, produces, and markets photographic, panoramic prints of cities, colleges, sporting events, NASCAR, and other sites of interest from around the world. All photography is done in-house by either founder James Blakeway or long-time partner Chris Gjevre. They travel over 200 days of each year to capture images, often shooting out of helicopters with the door removed or open. The company's current portfolio of images includes 285 images that span 6 continents, 34 countries, and 44 U.S. states.
