Vikings Stadium
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This article or section is about a planned or proposed stadium. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the stadium approaches. |
- For the Norwegian football (soccer) stadium, see Viking Stadion
| New Vikings Stadium (Working Title) |
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| Location | 900 South Fifth Street Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415 |
| Opened | 2012 (est.) |
| Owner | |
| Construction cost | $953,916,000 (est.) |
| Tenants | Minnesota Vikings (NFL) |
| Capacity | TBA |
The Vikings Stadium is the working title of the proposed stadium for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It would be the franchise's third, replacing their current domed stadium, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
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[edit] Proposals
[edit] Current Metrodome lease
The Vikings' current lease with the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, as signed by both parties in August 1979, keeps them in the Metrodome until 2011.[1] 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, which is usually around $3.5 million annually; 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 can't 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.[2] The Vikings were 30th out of 32 NFL teams in local revenues in 2005.[2] The Vikings, as well as the stadium's other tenants, have continually turned down any proposals for renovating the Metrodome itself.[2] A plan for a joint Vikings/University of Minnesota football stadium was proposed in 2002, but differences over how the stadium would be design and run, as well as state budget constraints, led to the plan's failure.[3]
[edit] Anoka County
Originally, under the ownership of Texas-based billionaire Red McCombs, the Vikings pursued a new stadium in the northern Twin Cities suburb of Blaine in Anoka County.[4] The process moved forward: the Vikings presented a full stadium and entertainment complex, and both they and Anoka County began lobbying for funding at the Minnesota State Legislature, resulting in a ballot measure for funding the stadium placed on the November 2006 election ballot.[1] The area had been nicknamed the "Northern Lights in Blaine", and had grown since its initial proposal in Spring 2005 to include 740 acres (3.0 km²) of total development featuring a 68,500-seat retractable-roof stadium, at least 800,000 square feet (70,000 m²) of retail shops and restaurants, a hotel, as well as undetermined quantities of housing and office space.[2] The stadium itself was initially projected to cost $675 million, of which $280 million was proposed to come from a county sales tax, $115 million from sales tax revenue the complex would generate, and $280 million from Wilf and the team's six other owners.[2]
However, just before the 2006 NFL season, McCombs sold the Vikings to Zygi Wilf, a New Jersey-based commercial property developer. Unlike McCombs, Wilf was more interested in the current downtown Minneapolis location.[2] After going along with the inherited Anoka County plan for a few months, Wilf caused the process to halt in its tracks when he also voiced interest in building a stadium in downtown and the Vikings agreed to cooperate in a study looking at building the stadium in downtown Minneapolis.[1] Anoka County withdrew its support and the ballot measure failed. Meanwhile, the two other major tenants of the Metrodome, the Minnesota Twins and University of Minnesota Golden Gophers were able to get approval of two separate stadiums, the Twins Ballpark and TCF Bank Stadium, in the summer of 2006.
[edit] Downtown Minneapolis
From the outset, Wilf had stated he was interested in redeveloping the downtown site of the Metrodome no matter where the new facility was built.[2] 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 Tribune.[2] 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.[2]
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.[5] 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, 1,700,000 square feet (158,000 m²) of office space and substantial retail space.[5]
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.[6] 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.[6]
[edit] Design
The initial proposal does 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 cafes and dense housing around its edges, aesthetic improvements to roads connecting the stadium to nearby cultural institutions, and adaptive reuse of neighboring historic buildings.[7] 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.[8]
[edit] Cost
The current proposed cost estimate for the downtown Minneapolis stadium is $953,916,000.[9] 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.[9] The estimate compares to upcoming stadiums in Indianapolis at $675 million (retractable roof, est. completion in 2008), Dallas at $932 million (retractable roof, est. completion in 2009) and New York at $1.7 billion (open-air, est. completion in 2010).[9] 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.[6] 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.[10]
No proposals have been made, as of now, to how it would be paid for.[5] 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.[4] The Vikings propose creating a Minnesota Football Stadium Task Force, which they expect would take 24 months to plan the stadium.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Tom Scheck, Anoka County walks away from Vikings' plan, Minnesota Public Radio, November 20, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i G.R. Anderson, Jr., Eye of the Beholder, City Pages, January 3, 2007.
- ^ Tom Scheck, Committee kills Vikings stadium plan,Minnesota Public Radio, February 18, 2002.
- ^ a b c Paul Levy, No Vikings stadium bill now, but next year, maybe?, Star Tribune, May 19, 2007.
- ^ a b c Paul Levy, Vikings stadium: Great view, but who pays?, Star Tribune, April 19, 2007.
- ^ a b c Paul Levy, Vikings, Star Tribune close land deal, Star Tribune, June 21, 2007.
- ^ The plan's key ingredients, Star Tribune, April 19, 2007.
- ^ David Peterson, Urban planners see sketches as first step, Star Tribune, April 19, 2007.
- ^ a b c Cost Comparison, Star Tribune, April 19, 2007.
- ^ Paul Levy, Stadium could cost $1 billion, Star Tribune, June 21, 2007.
[edit] External links
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