A Fridley firm is ready to remove and sell many of those blue seats at the Metrodome, as the sports stadium nears its final days.

Albrecht Sign Co., a family- and minority-owned firm, is one of five bidders for the job, but the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, the public body in charge of the new $1 billion stadium's construction, says no contract has been signed yet.

However, the MSFA's request for proposals (also known as an RFP) states that the selection of the firm to remove the seats is Dec. 23. Proposals were due at 1 p.m. on Dec. 20.

Removal of the "riser mounted chairs in the seating bowl" -- as the RFP puts it -- calls for about 64,000 seats to be removed from 8 a.m. Dec. 30 to noon Jan. 17, 2014. The heat in the Dome will be turned off beginning Jan. 15.

The price of the seats is not to exceed $50 each for designated public organizations and charities interested in buying them. But the price could be higher for anyone else.

Since talk of the Dome's imminent closure and roof deflation (set for Jan. 18) surfaced, many folks have wondered about buying seats.

Details will be forthcoming, once the contract is signed with a vendor to remove the seats. The Vikings' final home game is this Sunday, against the Detroit Lions.