Stadium Management
The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission (MSFC) is the owner and operator of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
The MSFC was established by legislative charter in 1977 and was responsible for the construction of the Metrodome. The very existence of the MSFC attests to the desire of various interests – urban, suburban, statewide, business, labor, and the general public – to find common ground and work together on issues related to stadium infrastructure in Minnesota.
The MSFC consists of seven members. Six are appointed by the Minneapolis City Council. The chair is appointed by the Governor and must reside outside of Minneapolis. MSFC members have always represented a broad cross-section of the community.
Commissioners are appointed for four years and their terms may be renewed. Commissioners are not paid a salary or retainer but receive a per diem of $50 per day when attending official meetings or doing other Commission business. William J. Lester has been the executive director since 1987. Ted Mondale was appointed chair by Governor Dayton in 2011. Past MSFC chairs are: Dan Brutger (1977-1983); Ron Gornick (1983-1991); Bill Hunter (1991-1993); Henry J. Savelkoul (1993-1999); Kathryn Roberts (1999-2002); Roy Terwilliger (2003-2010).
The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission was established under Chapter 89 of Minnesota Laws of 1977 and operates under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 473, as amended. "The Legislature finds that the population in the metropolitan area has a need for sports facilities and that this need cannot be met adequately by the activities of individual municipalities, by agreements among municipalities, or by the private efforts of the people in the metropolitan area. It is therefore necessary for the public health, safety and general welfare to establish a procedure for the acquisition and betterment of sports facilities and to create a Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission.
Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission
List of Commissioners and Administrative Officials
|
Commissioners |
First Appointed |
End of Term |
|
Ted Mondale, Chair |
January 2011 |
|
|
Loanne Thrane, Vice Chair |
January 1985 |
January 2013 |
|
Peggy Lucas, Secretary |
January 1993 |
January 2013 |
|
Ray Waldron, Treasurer |
January 2005 |
January 2013 |
|
Charles T. Lutz |
October 2006 |
January 2015 |
|
Paul Rexford Thatcher, Sr. |
January 2007 |
January 2015 |
|
Timothy Baylor |
January 2011 |
January 2015 |
Executive Director
William J. Lester
Director of Facilities/Engineering
Steve Maki, P.E.
Director of Finance
Mary C. Fox-Stroman, CPA
Ted Mondale
Mr. Mondale is the Chair of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission. The MSFC manages the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, which serves not only as the current home of the Minnesota Vikings, but also as the host of many collegiate and youth sporting events and family activities.
Previously, Mr. Mondale founded and was CEO of Nazca Solutions, an IT services company in the mortgage/title vertical. He successfully completed the sale of Nazca in November of 2010 to First American Financial Corporation.
In 1999, Mr. Mondale was appointed by Governor Ventura as Chair of the Metropolitan Council, a 4,000 employee, $500 million regional operating agency in the Twin Cities. Under his leadership, the Council undertook several key initiatives, including the Hiawatha light rail line, which was awarded the best new start award from the Federal Transit Administration. Mr. Mondale also served two terms in the Minnesota State Senate. Two of the laws he chief-authored have won national "best of" awards from the Ford Foundation and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Mr. Mondale currently serves on the board of Housing Link and the Advisory Board of the Friends of the Mississippi River.
Loanne Thrane
Ms. Thrane, a former teacher and political consultant, has served on the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission for 23 years.
Prior to the MSFC, she worked as the State Chairwoman of the Republican Party of Minnesota from 1977 to 1980 and was the Minnesota Chief of Staff to former U.S. Senator Rudy Boschwitz from 1980 to 1991. Ms. Thrane has been involved in various civic and community organizations and was on the board of regents for the University of Minnesota and Concordia College, Moorhead and served on the boards for the State Council on Quality Education, the Minnesota Educational Computer Consortium, the Minnesota Private College Council, and currently serves on the board of directors of Ecumen.
Ms. Thrane has a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota and has done graduate work at the University of Hawaii and the University of California (Berkeley).
Peggy Lucas
Ms. Lucas is a partner in Brighton Development Corporation, a Minneapolis-based development company specializing in residential development. The company has projects throughout Minnesota, but specializes in inner-city redevelopment. Prior to working at Brighton, Ms. Lucas served in the Peace Corps in Iran and worked as a caseworker on the Navaho Indian Reservation.
Ms. Lucas is a member of the advisory committee for the University of Minnesota Athletics; a member of the Minnesota Women's Forum and the Minnesota Women's Economic Roundtable. She has served on the National Board of the League of Women Voters and currently serves on the advisory committee for the League of Women Voters of Minnesota. She also serves on the board of directors of Art Space, Ecumen and the University of Minnesota Alumni Association.
Ms. Lucas holds a Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Minnesota.
Ray Waldron
Ray Waldron is recently retired from the Minnesota AFL-CIO, a federation of over 1000 unions.
Mr. Waldron is also active in the community, including his role as a director at the Harriet Tubman Center, who’s mission is to change lives by working to end violence in relationships through prevention and support services and to change communities through information, education and advocacy. Mr. Waldron is a director of Union Bank and Trust Company and a board member at Hennepin County Medical Center.
Mr. Waldron was born and raised in Minneapolis and currently lives in St. Anthony Village with his wife, Carol.
Charles T. Lutz
Charles T. (Chuck) Lutz is the Deputy Director of the Community Planning and Economic Development Department of the City of Minneapolis, a position he's held since 2003. Mr. Lutz has held a variety of positions in the public sector, including interim Executive Director of MCDA (2002), Deputy Director for Special Initiatives at MCDA (2000-2002), Director of Section 8, Property Management and Special Projects at the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (1991-2000), and Project Manager for Downtown Development at MCDA (1986-1991). Some of the major projects that Mr. Lutz has had primary responsibility for include the Target Center, the Federal Courthouse, the Hennepin Avenue theaters, the Heritage Park redevelopment on the city's north side and the Midtown Exchange redevelopment on the city's south side. He holds an MBA from the University of St. Thomas in Finance and lives in Minneapolis.
Paul Rexford Thatcher, Sr.
Mr. Thatcher has a varied career as a leader in the corporate, civic, cultural, religious, and political life of the community, state and nation.
Mr. Thatcher served for decades as the executive chairman (now Emeritus) of the board of MEC Corporation, a Kansas-based manufacturer and global supplier of agricultural processing plants and industrial equipment for the forest products industry.
Currently, Mr. Thatcher serves as: a founding director of Avenet, LLC, Saint Paul; as the founder, chairman, CEO, and director of BothEnds Data Convergence, LLC, Minneapolis; founding chairman and CEO of B2G Global Growth, LLC, Minneapolis; as a founding member (now in his 19th year) of the University of Minnesota Regents Candidate Advisory Council; and is in his 18th year as a commissioner of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, and 16th year as chairman of its Finance Committee.
Earlier, Mr. Thatcher was: the chairman, CEO and principal owner of Trussbilt, Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of prison, security and specialty doors; executive chairman of the board of Bauer Schwietzer Malting Company, San Francisco; president of Interoceanic Commodities Corporation, Minneapolis; the founding chairman, CEO and director of Protein Technology, Inc., Petaluma, California, a high-tech developer of specialty proteins in an international collaboration with Fonterra of New Zealand, the world's largest, globally-operated milk processor; and president of First Interoceanic Corporation, subsequently known as National City Bancorporation of Minneapolis.
Mr. Thatcher began his career as an associate at Touche, Ross, Bailey and Smart (NKA Deloite Touche Tomhmatsu), Certified Public Accountants, Minneapolis.
For decades, Mr. Thatcher served as an officer and trustee of the Minnesota Orchestral Association and also serves as a member of its Government Liaison Committee. Mr. Thatcher has also been a life member of The Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Mr. Thatcher served for many years as a founding trustee and treasurer of The Worth Bingham Memorial Fund, Washington, D.C., as a member of the Cathedral Chapter (its governing board), as chairman of the Finance Committee of the Episcopal Cathedral of Saint Mark, and as a founding trustee of its foundation. Mr. Thatcher previously was a trustee of the Minnesota International Center, a founding director of the Minnesota World Trade Board and a founding member of The American Constitutional Society-Minnesota.
Mr. Thatcher has been involved in various facets of U.S. political life, including service as the chief deputy to the national chairman and national treasurer of the Hubert H. Humphrey presidential campaigns of 1968 and 1972, respectively. In the decade of the 1970s, Mr. Thatcher was significantly involved in the campaigns and public life of Governor Wendell R. Anderson. Active in the Democratic Leadership Council, Mr. Thatcher became acquainted with Governor William Jefferson Clinton and was subsequently involved in both of his presidential campaigns in Minnesota. In 2008, Mr. Thatcher served as a member of the Minnesota Finance Committee of the Barack Obama Presidential Campaign and currently serves as a member of the Finance Committee of Mark Dayton for a Better Minnesota, the 2010 gubernatorial campaign of Mark B. Dayton.
In the 90s, Mr. Thatcher was co-founder and a member of the board of trustees of Students with Children, a secular program established by the Episcopal Cathedral of Saint Mark to serve the daily care of children of students attending the institutions of higher learning proximate to Loring Park in Minneapolis, principally single black mothers who were attempting through education to emerge from the dependency of public welfare to a career providing economic self-sufficiency.
For most of two decades Mr. Thatcher co-led Monday Night Youth Supper, a secular program established by the Episcopal Cathedral of Saint Mark. Mr. Thatcher was responsible for establishing menus and was the principal provisioner and preparer of foods prepared served weekly by a team of ten to 125 youth living on the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Timothy Baylor
Tim Baylor is a franchisee of the McDonald's Corporation, operating three restaurants in the Minneapolis metropolitan area. Prior to becoming a franchisee, Mr. Baylor worked for the corporation as a real estate representative, with responsibilities in market/location analysis, asset management, land acquisition, site plan design, and municipal approval coordination.
Mr. Baylor also owns the JADT Group, a real estate development and consulting firm specializing in land, retail and multi-family housing development. Active in several civic and professional organizations, Mr. Baylor received the 2005 Business and Philanthropy Award from the National Center for Black Philanthropy. He has provided leadership in the Regional Leadership Council for McDonald's Corporation, the National Association of Minority Contractors, the West Broadway Coalition, and the Monitors, an African American men's social/civic group.
A native of Washington, D.C., Mr. Baylor attended Morgan State University. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1976 and began his career in the National Football League with the Baltimore Colts, playing later with the Minnesota Vikings.
Mr. Baylor served the city of Minneapolis as a planning commissioner and ran for Lt. Governor in the Minnesota gubernatorial race with candidate State Senator Becky Lourey. He currently serves on the board of the Greater Twin Cities United Way, the North Memorial Hospital System, the NFL/NFLPA Research & Education Foundation, and the advisory board of Summit Academy OIC.
William J. Lester
Bill Lester has served as the executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission since June 8,1987. Mr. Lester has also served as an adjunct professor in the Masters of Business Administration (MBA) Program at the University of St. Thomas from 1997 - 2006.
In the community Mr. Lester currently serves as a member on the board of directors of Meet Minnesota. Meet Minnesota functions as the convention and visitors' association for the greater Minneapolis area. Mr. Lester is a former president and member of the Stadium Manager's Association (SMA). SMA is the trade association comprised of the managers of the hundred largest stadiums in North America. In October 2005 Mr. Lester was named to the board of trustees of Carroll College, Helena, MT, where he is an alumnus.
Mr. Lester is also the past president of Twin Cities Dunkers (a business and community leader group) and serves on the Twin Cities Communications Council.
He is also an active participant in the Inter-City Leadership Program sponsored by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Chamber. Mr. Lester, is an overnight volunteer at St. Stephen's Shelter in Minneapolis and head basketball coach of Special Olympics Maplewood Monarchs.
The Metrodome serves as the home for the Minnesota Vikings football team. The Metrodome also hosts approximately 200 additional events each year, including amateur girls and boys soccer, softball, baseball, football, motor sports events, charity events, and every other manner of event up to and including NCAA Final Four. The Metrodome has also served as host to the Billy Graham Crusade, Promise Keepers, Rolling Stones, U2, and numerous other large capacity venue events. The Metrodome remains the only stadium to have hosted the Super Bowl (1992), NCAA Final Four (1992 and 2001) and the World Series (1987 and 1991). The all-time season attendance record was set in the Metrodome by the Timberwolves in 1989-90.
In November 2002, Major League Baseball announced its intention to "contract two teams". Their objective was to eliminate the Minnesota Twins thus denying the people of the state of Minnesota one of its most treasured assets. The Commission was able to thwart this effort through a Hennepin District Court case, a decision that was sustained by the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
The next significant challenge for the Commission is to secure the Vikings long term future in Minnesota. The MSFC will play a significant role in the stadium debate. Its expertise in design and financial analysis of potential new stadiums has been utilized by the public sector, the team and the Minnesota Legislature.
Key Staff
Ted Mondale, Chair of the MSFC
Telephone: 612-335-3315; e-mail: mondalt@msfc.com
William J. Lester, Executive Director
Telephone: 612-335-3316; e-mail: lesterb@msfc.com
Mary Fox-Stroman, CPA, Director of Finance
Telephone 612-335-3311; e-email: foxstrm@msfc.com
Steve Maki, P.E., Director of Facilities & Engineering
Telephone: 612-335-3313; e-mail: makis@msfc.com
Julie Millikan, Executive Assistant
Telephone: 612-335-3310; e-mail: millikj@msfc.com
Leo Pidde, Manager Building Services
Telephone: 612-335-3327; e-mail: piddel@msfc.com
Bobbi Ellenberg, Events Services Manager
Telephone: 612-335-3318; email: ellenbb@msfc.com