Vikings Stadium
Encyclopedia
The Vikings Stadium is the working title of a proposed but unbuilt stadium
for the Minnesota Vikings
of the National Football League
(NFL) in Minneapolis, Minnesota
. An alternate title is Metrodome Next. It would be the franchise's third, replacing their current domed stadium, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
.
football stadium was proposed in 2002, but differences over how the stadium would be designed and run, as well as state budget constraints, led to the plan's failure.
. An unrelated 2008 study explains that the effect of the media
, in this case an uncritical Star Tribune, matters a great deal in helping a stadium initiative. As a result, once the negotiations for the Anoka County location had been put aside, the Vikings focused on proposing a stadium that would be the centerpiece of a larger urban redevelopment project.
Wilf's Vikings began acquiring significant land holdings in the Downtown East
neighborhood around the Metrodome in June 2007, the Vikings acquired four blocks of mostly empty land surrounding the Star Tribune headquarters from Avista Capital Partners
(the private equity
owner of the Star Tribune) for $45 million; it is also believed the Vikings have first right of refusal to later buy the paper's headquarters building. In May 2007, the Vikings also acquired three other downtown parking lots for a total of $5 million, and have made a bid for a city-owned, underground parking ramp next to the neighborhood's light rail station
.
As of 2007, the stadium would hold approximately 73,600 people and is expected to be complete by August 2011. The initial proposal did not have the final architectural design renderings, but did include key features that are to be included in any final plan, including the plans for neighboring urban development. These include demands for a retractable roof, an open view of the surroundings (particularly the downtown skyline), a glass-enclosed Winter Garden alongside the already-existing adjacent Metrodome light-rail stop, leafy urban square with outdoor cafés and dense housing around its edges, aesthetic improvements to roads connecting the stadium to nearby cultural institutions, and adaptive reuse of neighboring historic buildings. The roof would allow Minneapolis to remain a potential venue for the Super Bowl
and Final Four
, both of which have been held at the Metrodome. The proposed urban plan itself was received with cautious welcome.
The 2007 proposed cost estimate for the downtown Minneapolis stadium was $953,916,000. The total breaks down to $616,564,000 for the stadium, $200,729,000 for a retractable roof, $58,130,000 for parking, $8,892,000 for adjacent land right-of-way, and $69,601,000 to take into account inflation by 2010. The estimate compares to upcoming stadiums in Indianapolis
at $675 million (retractable roof, completed 2008), Dallas at $932 million (retractable roof, completed 2009) and New York at $1.7 billion (open-air, completed in 2010). In addition, according to Wilf, taking into account the costs for the surrounding urban developments put forth in the proposal would bring the estimated total to $2 billion. The estimated costs were based on projected 2008 construction and material costs, so it is possible that the stadium costs could hover near $1 billion if the Minnesota State Legislature does not approve the project in the 2008 session.
No proposals have been made, as of now, to how it would be paid for. The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission
and Vikings made initial pitches to the Minnesota State Legislature during the end of the 2007 session, however they expect to make a serious effort during the 2008 legislative session. The Vikings proposed creating a Minnesota Football Stadium Task Force, which they expect would take 24 months to plan the stadium.
-based design and local construction of a new stadium are expected in early 2009. Roy Terwilliger, who is a former Republican state senator from Edina, Ray Waldron, an AFL-CIO leader, and the Dome engineering expert and CEO, Bill Lester and Steve Maki, of the Sports Facilities Commission selected architectural firm HKS of Dallas and construction manager Mortenson of Minnesota over the objections of Paul Thatcher and Timothy Rose of Minneapolis-St. Paul, who preferred Ellerbe Beckett and Kraus-Anderson, both of Minnesota. Loanne Thrane of Saint Paul, the sole female member of the commission, voiced opposition and later voted with the majority.
In December 2009, commission chairman Terwilliger said, "We know what the art of the possible is at this particular location." A new proposal for 65,000 seats with a sliding roof was unveiled at 84 million less than the previous proposal, but with 50 million per year more scheduled for each year that construction is delayed. Vikings officials boycotted the presentation which estimated the total cost at 870 million, or 770 million if the sliding roof is omitted.
The new stadium debate was revived in the aftermath of the Metrodome's roof deflation on December 12, 2010; which forced the relocation of the Vikings' final two home games of the 2010 season and led to more calls for a new stadium from various sources in the local and national media. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton
plans to discuss the matter with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell
, but says "any new stadium must first benefit the people of Minnesota".
stopped their pursuit of a Vikings stadium, the city of Minneapolis submitted a plan for a Vikings' stadium at the downtown Metrodome site. The Minneapolis plan is for a fixed-roof stadium costing an estimated $895 million. The proposal also included funding solutions for $95 million in renovations to the Minnesota Timberwolves
' Target Center
. The team reacted with skepticism to the proposal and did not want to play at nearby 50,000 seat capacity University of Minnesota
TCF Bank Stadium
during three years of construction. Because the Minneapolis dome site is a cheaper option, football fans may return to the Minneapolis plan if the shortfall in the Ramsey County plan is not realized.
and to approval of a sales tax by the Ramsey County
Board. The site of the stadium would be the former Twins Cities Army Ammunitions Plant
in Arden Hills
, which is about 10 miles from the Metrodome
in Minneapolis and is a Superfund
clean up site. The agreement calls for an $884 million stadium and an additional $173 million for on-site infrastructure, parking and environmental costs.
Ramsey County said the Vikings would commit $407 million to the project, which is about 44 percent of the stadium cost and 39 percent of the overall cost. The county's cost would be $350 million, to be financed by a half-cent sales tax increase. The state of Minnesota's cost would be $300 million. This totals about $1.057 billion, leaving at least a $131 million shortfall. Minnesota Vikings and the State of Minnesota agreed the total of fixing roads would be $131 million.
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
for the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. An alternate title is Metrodome Next. It would be the franchise's third, replacing their current domed stadium, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, commonly called the Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Memorial Stadium on the University...
.
Current Metrodome lease
The Vikings' current lease with the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission (MSFC), as signed by both parties in August 1979, keeps them in the Metrodome until 2011. The lease is considered one of the least lucrative among NFL teams; it includes provisions where the commission owns the stadium, and the Vikings are locked into paying rent until the end of the 2011 season. For the past 9 seasons, however, the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission has been waiving the team's nearly $4 million rent. The Vikings pay the MSFC 9.5 percent of its ticket sales; the commission "reserves all rights to sell or lease advertising in any part of the Stadium" and the team cannot use the scoreboard for any ads and does not control naming rights for the building; the commission controls the limited parking and its revenue; and the commission pays the team 10 percent of all concession sales, which in 2004 and 2005, amounted to just over half a million for the team each year while the MSFC takes roughly 35 percent of concessions sold during Vikings games. The Vikings were 30th out of 32 NFL teams in local revenues in 2005. The Vikings, as well as the stadium's other tenants, have continually turned down any proposals for renovating the Metrodome itself. A plan for a joint Vikings/University of MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
football stadium was proposed in 2002, but differences over how the stadium would be designed and run, as well as state budget constraints, led to the plan's failure.
Downtown Minneapolis
From the outset, Zygi Wilf, the New Jersey billionaire and principal beneficiary of the publicly funded project, had stated he was interested in redeveloping the downtown site of the Metrodome no matter where the new facility was built. Taking into consideration downtown Minneapolis' growing mass transit network, cultural institutions, and growing condo and office markets, Wilf considered underdeveloped areas on the Downtown's east side, centered on the Metrodome, to be a key opportunity and began discussing the matter with neighboring landholders, primarily the City of Minneapolis and the Star TribuneStar Tribune
The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. A statewide version is also available across Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The...
. An unrelated 2008 study explains that the effect of the media
Media (communication)
In communications, media are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data...
, in this case an uncritical Star Tribune, matters a great deal in helping a stadium initiative. As a result, once the negotiations for the Anoka County location had been put aside, the Vikings focused on proposing a stadium that would be the centerpiece of a larger urban redevelopment project.
Wilf's Vikings began acquiring significant land holdings in the Downtown East
Downtown East, Minneapolis
Downtown East is an official neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States part of the larger Central community. Its boundaries are the Mississippi River to the north, Interstate 35W to the east, 5th Street South to the south, and Portland Avenue to the west. It is bounded by the Downtown...
neighborhood around the Metrodome in June 2007, the Vikings acquired four blocks of mostly empty land surrounding the Star Tribune headquarters from Avista Capital Partners
Avista Capital Partners
Avista Capital Partners is a private equity firm focused on growth capital and leveraged buyout investments in middle-market companies in the energy, healthcare and media sectors....
(the private equity
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
owner of the Star Tribune) for $45 million; it is also believed the Vikings have first right of refusal to later buy the paper's headquarters building. In May 2007, the Vikings also acquired three other downtown parking lots for a total of $5 million, and have made a bid for a city-owned, underground parking ramp next to the neighborhood's light rail station
Downtown East/Metrodome (Hiawatha Line station)
The Downtown East/Metrodome station is a light rail station on the Hiawatha Line in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the fifth stop southbound.The station, located on the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome plaza at the east end of downtown Minneapolis, is a side-platform station...
.
2007
On April 19, 2007, the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission and Vikings unveiled their initial plans for the stadium and surrounding urban area, with an estimated opening of 2012. The plan included substantial improvements to the surrounding area, including an improved light rail stop, 4,500 residential units, hotels with a combined 270 rooms, 1700000 square feet (157,935.2 m²) of office space and substantial retail space.As of 2007, the stadium would hold approximately 73,600 people and is expected to be complete by August 2011. The initial proposal did not have the final architectural design renderings, but did include key features that are to be included in any final plan, including the plans for neighboring urban development. These include demands for a retractable roof, an open view of the surroundings (particularly the downtown skyline), a glass-enclosed Winter Garden alongside the already-existing adjacent Metrodome light-rail stop, leafy urban square with outdoor cafés and dense housing around its edges, aesthetic improvements to roads connecting the stadium to nearby cultural institutions, and adaptive reuse of neighboring historic buildings. The roof would allow Minneapolis to remain a potential venue for the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
and Final Four
Final four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
, both of which have been held at the Metrodome. The proposed urban plan itself was received with cautious welcome.
The 2007 proposed cost estimate for the downtown Minneapolis stadium was $953,916,000. The total breaks down to $616,564,000 for the stadium, $200,729,000 for a retractable roof, $58,130,000 for parking, $8,892,000 for adjacent land right-of-way, and $69,601,000 to take into account inflation by 2010. The estimate compares to upcoming stadiums in Indianapolis
Lucas Oil Stadium
Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose sports stadium in Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The stadium celebrated its grand opening on August 24, 2008, and its ribbon-cutting ceremony August 16, 2008. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts. The stadium was built to...
at $675 million (retractable roof, completed 2008), Dallas at $932 million (retractable roof, completed 2009) and New York at $1.7 billion (open-air, completed in 2010). In addition, according to Wilf, taking into account the costs for the surrounding urban developments put forth in the proposal would bring the estimated total to $2 billion. The estimated costs were based on projected 2008 construction and material costs, so it is possible that the stadium costs could hover near $1 billion if the Minnesota State Legislature does not approve the project in the 2008 session.
No proposals have been made, as of now, to how it would be paid for. The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission
Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission
Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission is the owner and operator of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. The MSFC was established in 1977, by the Minnesota Legislature. The MSFC consists of seven members...
and Vikings made initial pitches to the Minnesota State Legislature during the end of the 2007 session, however they expect to make a serious effort during the 2008 legislative session. The Vikings proposed creating a Minnesota Football Stadium Task Force, which they expect would take 24 months to plan the stadium.
2008
Following the September 2008 Sports Facilities Commission vote to start feasibility studies for re-using the Metrodome, an unrelated study released for 38 U.S. cities found that "when a [NFL] team wins, people's moods improve," and that personal income for residents of a city with an NFL team with 10 wins increases about USD $165 per year. While true for NFL football, for comparison, professional baseball and basketball gain no personal income for residents.2009
Feasibility studies for Dallas, TexasDallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
-based design and local construction of a new stadium are expected in early 2009. Roy Terwilliger, who is a former Republican state senator from Edina, Ray Waldron, an AFL-CIO leader, and the Dome engineering expert and CEO, Bill Lester and Steve Maki, of the Sports Facilities Commission selected architectural firm HKS of Dallas and construction manager Mortenson of Minnesota over the objections of Paul Thatcher and Timothy Rose of Minneapolis-St. Paul, who preferred Ellerbe Beckett and Kraus-Anderson, both of Minnesota. Loanne Thrane of Saint Paul, the sole female member of the commission, voiced opposition and later voted with the majority.
In December 2009, commission chairman Terwilliger said, "We know what the art of the possible is at this particular location." A new proposal for 65,000 seats with a sliding roof was unveiled at 84 million less than the previous proposal, but with 50 million per year more scheduled for each year that construction is delayed. Vikings officials boycotted the presentation which estimated the total cost at 870 million, or 770 million if the sliding roof is omitted.
2010
The most recent Vikings stadium proposal was dealt a setback on May 5, 2010, when a Minnesota State House panel defeated the proposal by a 10-9 vote.The new stadium debate was revived in the aftermath of the Metrodome's roof deflation on December 12, 2010; which forced the relocation of the Vikings' final two home games of the 2010 season and led to more calls for a new stadium from various sources in the local and national media. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton
Mark Dayton
Mark Brandt Dayton is an American politician, the 40th and current Governor of the state of Minnesota. Dayton previously served as United States Senator from Minnesota from 2001 to 2007 in the 107th, 108th, and 109th Congresses...
plans to discuss the matter with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell
Roger Goodell
Roger S. Goodell is the Commissioner of the National Football League , having been chosen to succeed the retiring Paul Tagliabue on August 8, 2006. He was chosen over four finalists for the position, winning a close vote on the fifth ballot before being unanimously approved by acclamation of the...
, but says "any new stadium must first benefit the people of Minnesota".
City of Minneapolis Proposal
After Hennepin CountyHennepin County, Minnesota
Hennepin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. As of 2010 the population was 1,152,425. Its county seat is Minneapolis. It is by far the most populous county in Minnesota; more than one in five Minnesotans live...
stopped their pursuit of a Vikings stadium, the city of Minneapolis submitted a plan for a Vikings' stadium at the downtown Metrodome site. The Minneapolis plan is for a fixed-roof stadium costing an estimated $895 million. The proposal also included funding solutions for $95 million in renovations to the Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Founded in 1989, the team is currently owned by Glen Taylor...
' Target Center
Target Center
The Target Center is an arena in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is sponsored by Target Corporation. The arena has a capacity of 20,500 people. It contains 702 club seats and 68 suites....
. The team reacted with skepticism to the proposal and did not want to play at nearby 50,000 seat capacity University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
TCF Bank Stadium
TCF Bank Stadium
TCF Bank Stadium, sometimes referred to as either "The Bank" or "The Gopher Hole," is the football stadium for the Minnesota Golden Gophers college football team at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota...
during three years of construction. Because the Minneapolis dome site is a cheaper option, football fans may return to the Minneapolis plan if the shortfall in the Ramsey County plan is not realized.
Ramsey County Proposal
In May 2011, Ramsey County officials announced they had reached an agreement with the Minnesota Vikings to be the team’s local partner for a new stadium, subject to approval by the Minnesota LegislatureMinnesota Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is the legislative branch of government in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is a bicameral legislature located at the Minnesota Capitol in Saint Paul and it consists of two houses: the lower Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate...
and to approval of a sales tax by the Ramsey County
Ramsey County, Minnesota
Ramsey County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, founded in 1849. As of 2010, the population was 508,640. Its county seat is St. Paul, which is also Minnesota's state capital. The county is named for Alexander Ramsey , the first governor of the Minnesota Territory...
Board. The site of the stadium would be the former Twins Cities Army Ammunitions Plant
Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant
The Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant is an inactive United States Army ammunition plant located in the Ramsey County, Minnesota in the suburbs of Arden Hills and New Brighton, bounded by County Road I to the north, Interstate 35W to the west, U.S. Route 10 to the southwest, County Highway 96 to...
in Arden Hills
Arden Hills, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,652 people, 2,959 households, and 2,228 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,087.3 people per square mile . There were 3,017 housing units at an average density of 339.9 per square mile...
, which is about 10 miles from the Metrodome
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, commonly called the Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Memorial Stadium on the University...
in Minneapolis and is a Superfund
Superfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...
clean up site. The agreement calls for an $884 million stadium and an additional $173 million for on-site infrastructure, parking and environmental costs.
Ramsey County said the Vikings would commit $407 million to the project, which is about 44 percent of the stadium cost and 39 percent of the overall cost. The county's cost would be $350 million, to be financed by a half-cent sales tax increase. The state of Minnesota's cost would be $300 million. This totals about $1.057 billion, leaving at least a $131 million shortfall. Minnesota Vikings and the State of Minnesota agreed the total of fixing roads would be $131 million.