Stadium plan would reuse parts of Dome

By HERÓN MÁRQUEZ ESTRADA, Star Tribune

Last update: July 21, 2008 - 8:58 PM

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Concept plans for a new $853 million open-air stadium for the Minnesota Vikings, complete with a retractable roof, were unveiled Thursday at a meeting of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission.

The plan by the architectural firm of Ellerbe Becket, by reusing parts of the existing complex, would cost about $100 million less than a previous proposal for an all-new stadium to replace the 27-year-old Metrodome.

The commission is not committed to either approach, Chairman Roy Terwilliger said. The renderings and studies were completed to get a sense of how much a new stadium might cost and what it might look like.

The information will be presented to the Legislature next year during the session to try to obtain funding. Terwilliger said the commission also is seeking bids from architects interested in building a stadium. The Ellerbe plan will be among those submitted, he said.

The Vikings' lease at the Dome ends in 2011, and the commission, which owns and operates the facility, believes it needs to break ground on a new multipurpose stadium within the next 18 months to complete it in time for the 2012 season.

The Ellerbe proposal was prepared and supposed to be unveiled last summer, in late July or early August, but the 35W bridge collapse put that on hold, Terwilliger said Thursday.

What makes the Ellerbe idea different is that it would reuse some of the original Metrodome foundation as part of the new structure, as well as some of the seating bowl.

But Terwilliger said that almost the entire stadium would be new, with wider concourses, thousands of new seats, more suites and state-of-the-art features throughout. The new facility would bring in about $32 million in additional revenue per year, the commission said.

The field orientation would change from north-south to east-west to make the sun less of a factor, Terwilliger said.

The previous proposal for a new stadium called for the demolition of the Dome. The pricetag on that plan was $954 million, Terwilliger said.

Heron Marquez Estrada • 612-673-4280