After a quarter century of Golden Gophers football games played indoors at the Metrodome, the team returned to the outdoors and the elements at Huntington Bank Stadium. From 1982 until 2008, the Golden Gophers played at the multipurpose Metrodome, sharing the facility with the Minnesota Twins (MLB) and the Minnesota Vikings (NFL). Prior to moving to the Metrodome, the Golden Gophers had played at Memorial Stadium for 57 seasons. With an aging stadium and the opening of the Metrodome, university officials decided to move the Golden Gophers to downtown Minneapolis. Although the Metrodome allowed the Golden Gophers to play in an NFL stadium, it lacked the atmosphere of an outdoor college football stadium. Furthermore, the Metrodome was located off campus and provided little revenue for the university.
By 2000, the University of Minnesota began studying the possibility of building a new stadium for its football program. An initial proposal called for a shared stadium for the Golden Gophers and the Minnesota Vikings. This idea was eventually abandoned because of disagreements over the design and management of the stadium. In December 2003, the university unveiled plans for a new stadium to be built on campus near the site where Memorial Stadium once stood.
In 2005, TCF Financial Corporation purchased the naming rights to the new stadium for $35 million over 25 years. Construction of Huntington Bank Stadium began in July 2007. The $288.5 million stadium has a seating capacity of 50,805, which can be expanded to 80,000 for larger events. Huntington Bank Stadium features 39 luxury suites, 59 loge boxes and 300 indoor seats. The stadium has a traditional college football design with a horseshoe shaped grandstand that is open on the west end. A 48 foot high by 180 foot wide HD video scoreboard is located at the open end of the stadium. Through the opening, fans can see the University of Minnesota campus and the Minneapolis skyline.
The Golden Gophers opened a new chapter in their history on September 12, 2009, when they played their first game at Huntington Bank Stadium against the Air Force Falcons. In 2021, the stadium was renamed Huntington Bank Stadium after Huntington Bancshares acquired TCF Bank.
For two seasons, in 2014 and 2015, Huntington Bank Stadium was also home to the Minnesota Vikings while U.S. Bank Stadium was being constructed on the former site of the Metrodome.
