McFeely: NDSU guaranteed $350,000 from game at U.S. Bank Stadium; could reach as high as $600,000

FARGO — The bar is high for North Dakota State to maximize revenue from its 2023 football game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

The university's athletic department is guaranteed a payment of $350,000 for the Sept. 2 game against Eastern Washington at the home stadium of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, according to a contract obtained by The Forum.

• Bison are heading to U.S. Bank Stadium, NDSU to play Eastern Washington in 2023 NDSU will play in the first college football game in the stadium's history
  

NDSU could earn as much as $600,000, but it would have to sell 60,000 tickets to get that amount, a near-sellout in the 66,860-seat stadium. That's a high bar, even for the most popular brand in the Football Championship Subdivision.

The Bison's most attended game came in 2019 when they hosted Butler at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis, home of MLB's Minnesota Twins. That game attracted a crowd of 34,544.

Like the contract NDSU signed with Target Field , its deal with the company that manages U.S. Bank Stadium calls for a tiered payment contingent on paid attendance.

NDSU will receive $350,000 as a minimum payment, based on selling 15,000 tickets.

The school's payout then elevates as ticket sales go higher. If the game sells 25,000 tickets, NDSU receives a $400,000 guarantee. If it sells 30,000 tickets, NDSU receives $450,000. If it hits 35,000 tickets, the school gets $475,000 and so on up to a maximum of $600,000 for 60,000 tickets sold.

U.S. Bank Stadium is owned by the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, a public body and political subdivision of the State of Minnesota. U.S. Bank Stadium is operated and managed by ASM Global, a stadium management company based in Pennsylvania. NDSU's contract is signed with ASM Global.

The contract provides insight into how large venues can profit off large fan bases and, according to athletic director Matt Larsen, why NDSU has been contacted by other large venues in major markets.

In addition to generating revenue off tickets, the prices of which will be set by ASM, the management company also retains 100% of all money generated by the sale of food and beverages — which will include alcohol — and parking lot fees.

ASM will receive a 20% fee from NDSU/U.S. Bank Stadium merchandise sold in the stadium during the game. NDSU will provide the merchandise and stadium staff will sell it, according to the contract.

ASM and NDSU can sell sponsorships to the game including levels of title sponsor, presenting sponsor or game sponsor. ASM will retain the first $25,000 in sponsorship revenue no matter who is responsible for selling the sponsorship. All sponsorship revenue above $25,000 will be split 60%-40%, with 60% going to the selling party and 40% to the other.

The Vikings have a list of exclusive corporate sponsors to which NDSU and ASM are not allowed to sell. They include U.S. Bank, Medtronic, MillerCoors, Hy-Vee, Land O' Lakes, CenturyLink, Polaris, Pentair, Mystic Lake and Verizon Wireless.

NDSU will receive 400 complimentary tickets and one complimentary "premium space" — a suite or similar area — for the game. NDSU's Gold Star Marching Band will also receive complimentary seating in the stands.

The contract stipulates that "if ASM is able to obtain a national television partner, NDSU can mutually agree to share broadcast rights with ASM. NDSU recently agreed to a three-year contract for local television rights with WDAY-TV, which like The Forum is owned by Forum Communications Co.

In a change from the contract with Target Field, which included both NDSU and its opponent Butler, ASM signed a separate contract with Eastern Washington. The Forum requested a copy of that contract from Eastern Washington but has not yet received one.

The contract does stipulate both teams get access to the U.S Bank Stadium field for 60 minutes for a "walk-through" on a mutually agreed upon day prior to the game. It would likely be the Friday before the game.

The game is an important money-maker for NDSU, which like all FCS teams relies on "guarantee games" against higher-level Football Bowl Subdivision teams to generate revenue. The Bison have had trouble getting FBS games in recent years because of high-profile victories over power-conference opponents like Kansas State and Iowa. Larsen has said NDSU has to look harder at neutral-site destination games to make up that revenue.

Games in the Twin Cities are also important for the school because the area is home to NDSU's largest alumni base. Games in Minneapolis also benefit the football program because Minnesota and the metro area are key recruiting bases for the Bison.

The Bison's only FBS games on future schedules are 2022 at Arizona ($425,000 guaranteed) and 2024 at Colorado ($700,000 guaranteed).

NDSU netted $565,442 from the game at Target Field in 2019. Total revenue generated from the game was $667,717, minus NDSU's expenses of $102,275. It resulted in a 57-10 Bison victory.