Vikings put in $518,000 more for stadium; project's total cost at $1.024 billion

By Doug Belden / St. Paul Pioneer Press The Minnesota Vikings opened their wallet again Friday for some additional changes to the stadium project. The team’s putting in an additional $517,977 for more concession areas, an additional elevator and design changes to the skyway and press area. These were features that either weren’t in the original plans or had been eliminated early on, said team spokesman Jeff Anderson. The changes raise the team’s contribution to $526 million and the total cost of the project to $1.024 billion. The rest of the funding is coming from the state of Minnesota ($348 million) and Minneapolis ($150 million). The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, the public body overseeing stadium construction, is paying for half the cost of redesigning the press area, which comes to $22,414. The money will come from the owners contingency fund, leaving a little more than $21 million in that fund, officials said. The Vikings previously had agreed to chip in an additional $48.6 million on top of their original contribution to cover rising costs and design changes. The project is nearly one-quarter completed, the stadium authority heard at its Friday morning meeting. More than $180 million worth of work has been performed; about 600 workers are on the site daily. The 65,000-seat stadium is expected to be open in time for the 2016 season. About 20 people attended Friday’s Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority meeting to argue for the addition of bird-safe glass to the project. They carried signs with pictures of birds and phrases such as “Avian death trap” and “Change the glass now!” Advocates said it would take about $1 million to install fritted glass, which would reduce the risk of bird-glass collisions. They suggested the authority might be legally compelled later to install the bird-safe glass, which would be much more expensive. Michele Kelm-Helgen, the authority’s chairwoman, reiterated that the authority had agreed to lighting changes requested by environmentalists but that changing the glass would affect the transparent design that officials want for the new facility. She said the stadium will not be the tallest glass building in the downtown Minneapolis, St. Paul and Bloomington areas, and will not have the most glass. She said other buildings have managed the problem by turning off lights during migratory periods. The Pioneer Press is a media partner with the Forum News Service
By Doug Belden / St. Paul Pioneer PressThe Minnesota Vikings opened their wallet again Friday for some additional changes to the stadium project.The team’s putting in an additional $517,977 for more concession areas, an additional elevator and design changes to the skyway and press area.These were features that either weren’t in the original plans or had been eliminated early on, said team spokesman Jeff Anderson.The changes raise the team’s contribution to $526 million and the total cost of the project to $1.024 billion. The rest of the funding is coming from the state of Minnesota ($348 million) and Minneapolis ($150 million).The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, the public body overseeing stadium construction, is paying for half the cost of redesigning the press area, which comes to $22,414. The money will come from the owners contingency fund, leaving a little more than $21 million in that fund, officials said.The Vikings previously had agreed to chip in an additional $48.6 million on top of their original contribution to cover rising costs and design changes.The project is nearly one-quarter completed, the stadium authority heard at its Friday morning meeting. More than $180 million worth of work has been performed; about 600 workers are on the site daily.The 65,000-seat stadium is expected to be open in time for the 2016 season.About 20 people attended Friday’s Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority meeting to argue for the addition of bird-safe glass to the project. They carried signs with pictures of birds and phrases such as “Avian death trap” and “Change the glass now!”Advocates said it would take about $1 million to install fritted glass, which would reduce the risk of bird-glass collisions.They suggested the authority might be legally compelled later to install the bird-safe glass, which would be much more expensive.Michele Kelm-Helgen, the authority’s chairwoman, reiterated that the authority had agreed to lighting changes requested by environmentalists but that changing the glass would affect the transparent design that officials want for the new facility.She said the stadium will not be the tallest glass building in the downtown Minneapolis, St. Paul and Bloomington areas, and will not have the most glass. She said other buildings have managed the problem by turning off lights during migratory periods.The Pioneer Press is a media partner with the Forum News Service