Remember back during the brutal winter of 2010 when the roof of the Metrodome in Minneapolis caved in from the weight of the accumulated snow and ice? It was rather spectacular and made world-wide news reports.
The Minnesota Vikings spent 31 years in the Metrodome but now, it has to go to make way for a brand new facility promising to be “state of the art.” For $975 million, it should be. The new stadium will be constructed on the same site on which the Metrodome now sits.
Check a Larger Picture of the new Vikings Stadium
The Metrodome will continue to operate for the 2013-2014 season but will then be dismantled to make way for the new facility. The Vikings will be playing their home games at the nearby University of Minnesota until the new stadium is finished. It is scheduled to open for the 2016 season and will be used by the Vikings and the University of Minnesota Gophers as well.
You have to give the folks up there in Minnesota credit. When they set out to build themselves a new stadium, they pull out all the stops. $975,000,000!
Drawings for the new facility show it to be made mostly of transparent material in the entire upper part of the structure allowing natural sun light to penetrate the playing field. I wouldn’t work in Miami, the players would cook….but for Minneapolis, and it looks perfect.
After the embarrassment of the collapsed dome in 2010, Vikings will finally have a new stadium that they can be proud of. One that won’t collapse and one that will serve for a multitude of sporting events. It will also host public concerts and shows.
The new stadium, which has yet to be named, will hold around 65,000 fans and will feature the world’s largest transparent roof as well as 95-foot-tall pivoting doors down at the west end opening towards downtown Minneapolis. No retractable roof on this one.
The Vikings have gone all out and contracted the same architectural firm, HKS that designed the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Miller Park and the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. As we have already seen….these guys are good.
An HKS representative told the press at the design unveiling, “clear is the new retractable.” Part of the roof will contain ETFE which is the same transparent material used for the Beijing National Aquatics Center in the 2008 Olympics.
