Vikings-Bears MNF to be Played at TCF Bank Stadium

TCF Bank Stadium

It's official.  Next weeks Monday Night Football matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears will be played in Minnesota.  But not in the relative comforts of the Metrodome, but outdoors in the nearby University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium. It's reported that the Vikings and the NFL will split the $700,000+ bill required to "de-winterize" the stadium, which has been shut down since the Golden Gophers triumphant win over Iowa on November 24th.

Although any playoff hopes were shot down with the Vikings 21-3 embarrassment at the hands of the Giants, this is still a huge win for the Vikes.  Although they'll have to foot some of the bill (which should be significantly more than their usual $250K gameday budget), they will once again get the true homefield advantage they missed last week at Ford Field.  More importantly, they'll get the opportunity to get Minnesota fans excited about a new outdoor stadium, and this game should teach them they need a retractable roof above all else.  Zygi Wilf wont miss this opportunity to highlight how the Metrodome is not a respectable venue for professional sports.

If handled right, this nightmare could turn into just the thing the Vikings have been wishing for.  At the very least, discussion for a new stadium HAS to start up again.

Now the only question I have left is, are you going to go?  It is the first Vikings home game played outdoors since 1981.... but the forecast is not so pretty:

                                                          Temperature

                                                           8 degrees 

                                                           Feels like

                                                           2 degrees

                                                           Wind

                                                           NW at 8 mph
                                                           Gusts: 11 mph

Good luck out there Vikes fans... don't freeze to death.  In fact, send us your pics via email or tweet them to @SportsBank and we'll post our favorite!!