The Minnesota Vikings do not set foot in the new Minneapolis stadium until the 2016 NFL season but ticket sales for seats and suites at that new stadium are exceeding goals. The team is even adding suites to accommodate the demand.
"The response from Vikings fans since we began this process in March has been overwhelmingly positive," said Executive Vice President Steve LaCroix. "We expected a strong fan reaction, but this is a true testament of the passion and loyalty Vikings fans have for this team and the excitement they have for the new stadium."
The team reports sales of 30,000 seat-builder licenses for the $1.1 billion stadium. Three out of four seats require the purchase of licenses for the 64,500-seat facility. The team had set an overall goal of $125 million from seat licenses. $80 million of that has been raised. The goal for this year alone was $37 million. The most expensive seat-builder licenses have already sold out. Those are the Field Club seats at $9,500 per seat, Valhalla Club at $7,000 per seat, and Vikings Club at $4,500 per seat. The Vikings need to rethink the names for these "pricey" seats. The Valhalla Club has to be at the top of the seat food chain.
The team has contacted all current season-ticket holders as they get first priority for the new stadium, but that opportunity expires at the end of the year. The next group to be contacted are the 6,000 new season-ticket holders who bought seats at TCF Bank Stadium for this season. The general public will have a chance some time this spring. The team has recently been offering a plan that puts fans on a waiting list for tickets at the new stadium if they purchase season tickets for next season.
The team also announced strong suite sales. So strong that they are offering two new categories. Early next year, the Vikings will offer 15 new 10-person Norseman Lounge Seats. That brings the new stadium's suite total to 131. 74 of the 108 suites up for sale have been sold at prices ranging from $110,000 to more than $300,000. Oh my. It wasn't too long ago that the only seating options available in an NFL stadium were a seat/bench or the press box. Suite buyers have to sign a four-year agreement. Five suite styles were originally offered: Loft, Turf, Valhalla, Norseman, and Touchdown. Of the original suites, only Loft and Turf remain.
It's great to see that the seats and suites are selling at a brisk rate. It took a very long time and a lot of work to get legislative approval for this stadium. It would be a real shame if the Vikings failed to fill what will be a beautiful stadium. It has become tremendously expensive to attend an NFL game. No matter the location or comfort of the seat. These new "palaces" that teams are building will only push that price higher. The Minnesota Vikings have to put an appealing football product on that new field to keep people paying those rising prices. With head coach Mike Zimmer and rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater the Vikings should be able to draw in the fans for the immediate future and beyond.
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