Target Center Renovation Tied to VIkings Stadium Plan?

[Krapinsky]

Does anybody know whether the $150M Target Center Renovation funds were still tied to the Vikings stadium plan when the deal passed the house last night?

http://www.targetcenterrenovation.org/

[EddyCool]

I wondered the same thing immediately. It appears that they were.

Our bill passed!!! Thank you to everybody for your help and support. On to the Senate!!! #buildit #stadium #Twolves #stribpol #ReviveTC

https://twitter.com/#!/tc_renovation

That's the Twitter account linked to http://www.targetcenterrenovation.org/.

[Krapinsky]

Sweet! Target center needs it. Seems like a good idea to me.

[Basti]

Target Center is roughly 20 years old, right? It's about time it gets renovated.

I wish they brought back the trees on the sidelines, too. Or the old court pattern. That was sweet.

[Esohny]

Sweet! Target center needs it. Seems like a good idea to me.

You can say that again. Target Center is pretty sub-standard at this point.

[Mattya]

I really like this. I hope it passes, the gallery of what it would look like, look great.

[Calinks]

Well my dream of the wolves playing in St. Paul is dead (Then again maybe during renovations..... XD) Anyway, it looks great.

[Krapinsky]

My hunch is that it doesn't pass and the crap really hits the fan.

[Klomp]

Ted Johnson ‏ @WolvesCMO

Score one for the #vikings supporters. Many thanks to Senators that reassembled to fix! TC Renovation back in the bill #twolves #loslynx

[jade_hippo]

I'd love a return to the parquet flooring.

[Klomp]

On to the governor's desk!

[Yes We Kahn]

Sweet

[Krapinsky]

Can't believe it.

[Klomp]

Can't believe it.

Suck it, Los Angeles!

[The J Rocka]

Can't believe it.

Suck it, Los Angeles!

[Klomp]

Privately, there already are plans on how to spend the $150 million for Target Center's renovation, which is part of the Minnesota Vikings stadium proposal awaiting Minneapolis City Council approval.

Target Center's major overhaul is expected to finish as early as 2014, but no later than 2015, and the Timberwolves and Lynx should be able to play there during remodeling.

Among the changes:

-- The box office will move from its current location -- in the center of the building, facing east, on First Avenue -- to the corner of First Avenue and Sixth Street. The new box office will be in the heart of pedestrian traffic, near the entrance to Target Plaza on the way to the Twins' Target Field. That side of Target Center will have all-glass facing showing the expansive arena lobby, the box office and the concourse levels.

-- The current box office area will be used for an 800-seat arena club, tantamount to Target Field's posh Champions Club.

-- Seating will be increased and improved. About 1,400 premium lower-level seats will be added.

-- A state-of-the-art scoreboard will be added.

http://www.twincities.com/vikings/ci_20690570/

This was a previous artist rendering:

[MitchInMinny]

I'm a big fan of that rendering.

[Klomp]

I'm a big fan of that rendering.

Its a slight improvement over this:

[Klomp]

No more votes are needed. The Target Center will be renovated, and the Vikings are officially getting their new stadium!

[Klomp]

The proposed renovations to the 20,500-capacity Target Center will be funded with unused entertainment taxes that are not being directed to help finance the Vikings' stadium. In addition, both Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which manages the Target Center, and the Minnesota Timberwolves have also pledged to contribute funds.

At this point, it's less a question of whether this will happen but rather to what extent. Timberwolves chief marketing officer Ted Johnson, who's been the team's point person throughout the legislative process, said he thinks the proposed $150 million number is a good estimate of what will be pledged toward the facility, but details will become much clearer in the coming weeks.

Next up, Johnson and those involved with the renovations will meet with representatives from the city of Minneapolis – an implementation committee that has yet to be named – and begin to negotiate a term sheet. That sheet will finalize the total amount of money that will be spent on renovations, using the broad parameters of the proposed changes and the public and private contributions to draw up a budget. The term sheet would likely go before some kind of city council vote once if not several times before final approval, Johnson said.

Target Center representatives have been working with the city for 14 months to iron out the plans for the renovations, and Johnson said contract negotiations should move quickly because the base structure is already there. Once the city gives its final approval of the terms of the renovations, Johnson estimates that the design phase should take six to nine months and that construction will last another 14 to 18 months.

This result is a long time in the making. The city of Minneapolis has owned the Target Center, which broke ground in 1988, since 1995; the Timberwolves were the original owners. Twice in the past decade, large-scale renovations proposals were discarded in favor of smaller fixes, and with the impending destruction of the Metrodome, the Target Center will be the oldest facility in the Twin Cities.

"Twenty-three years ago, we were built, and it was really the Metrodome and Target Center," Johnson said. "The amenities that fans experienced were relatively the same. But over the years, as Xcel has been built and Target Field and TCF Bank, fans' expectations have really changed."

http://www.foxsportsnorth.com/05/25/12/ ... eedID=3697