Vikings’ stadium executive Lester Bagley told Sports Headliners he expects to know this spring if the new $975 million downtown stadium that will be home to the local NFL team will have a retractable roof, or fixed roof. “In the next 60 days we should know the fate of a retractable feature,” he said.
Knowledgeable observers are pessimistic that the state-mandated $975 million budget is large enough to pay for a retractable roof, likely to cost $25 million to $50 million. But Bagley doesn’t describe the chances of a retractable roof as a “long shot.”
The Vikings, the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, the architects (HKS) and the construction management firm (Mortenson Construction) are considering options to provide enhanced amenities in the new facility scheduled to open in 2016. Those options include not only a retractable roof, but a window opening to the skyline and a moveable wall providing proximity to the game day outdoor plaza. “We think it’s a pretty decent opportunity for the retractable feature (of some kind),” Bagley said.
While neither the Vikings, state or city of Minneapolis are expected to commit any more money to the stadium budget, Bagley is already encouraged by cost savings for the project. “It (a retractable feature) is going to be a budget issue but we’ve been able to have an architect and builder (Mortenson) come in under budget,” Bagley said.
The expertise of HKS and Mortenson is also expected to maximize the best outcome for a retractable feature. HKS was the architect for the acclaimed football stadiums in Dallas and Indianapolis that have multiple retractable features including roofs. Mortenson built Target Field and TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Bagley didn’t identify the amount of the cost savings with HKS and Mortenson but it’s been reported the HKS fee will be $34 million and the Mortenson fee $12.5 million with incentives that could reach $15 million.
Bagley said the Metrodome will be demolished on February 1, 2014. Ground for the new stadium—to be located adjacent to the Metrodome—is expected to be broken this September or October.
The 2013 season will the Vikings last at the dome, and then the team will play at TCF Bank Stadium in 2014 and 2015. The Vikings and University of Minnesota are expected to have an agreement finalized within about 30 days, according to Bagley.
Sports Headliners believes the Vikings will pay in excess of $2.5 million per year to use TFC Bank Stadium. In addition, the Vikings will pay for costs to make the stadium acceptable for them. This includes paying for a new field with heating coils under the artificial turf, and then replacing that turf after the 2015 season. TCF Bank Stadium was built for fall football but Bagley said the Vikings need the facility to be suitable for the team and its fans through January.
Stadium capacity for Gophers games is 50,805 but will be expanded to nearly 53,000 by the addition of temporary seating in TCF Bank Stadium’s west end, according to Bagley. That figure was targeted to accommodate Vikings’ total season ticket holders.
The Gophers’ baseball program and other amateur baseball teams in the state have annually played games in the Metrodome when the weather otherwise forces them to be in warmer states. Leaders of those programs have been concerned about an initial field design for the new stadium that will have a baseball foul line of less than 300 feet. The Vikings are determined to build a fan-friendly football stadium that includes seats with close proximity to the field.
Bagley said design work regarding the issue is now on “option six” and he’s hopeful a solution will be finalized within a week or so. “I don’t know exactly what the foul line dimensions will be but they should accommodate the baseball community,” he said.