New Stadium Vision

MSFC Advances New Stadium Vision for Metrodome Site

“Metrodome Next” project envisions a new world-class, retractable-roof facility; revitalized neighborhood; and year-round, multi-purpose facility that benefits the entire State

MINNEAPOLIS (April 19, 2007) – The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission (MSFC) today reviewed the redevelopment potential of the H.H.H. Metrodome site as the location for a new year-round, multi-use, retractable-roof facility that will keep the Vikings in Minnesota through 2041 and can help spur a broader redevelopment of the Downtown East neighborhood around the Metrodome.

Commission staff presented its recommendation in an interim report on redevelopment of the Metrodome stadium site. The report is based on extensive research into current and future stadium costs, ancillary development potential and the program needs of the Minnesota Vikings. The Commission voted unanimously to receive the report and directed staff to continue to move forward toward .

“There is urgency to the question, ‘What’s next for the Metrodome site?’ Our goal is to come up with the right answer,” said Roy Terwilliger, Chairman of the MSFC. “We believe a new stadium on the Metrodome site is the right answer because of the benefits it can deliver to the people of Minnesota. We need a year-round, multi-purpose facility in the Twin Cities, one that can attract and host everything from the nine-man football championship to a Women’s World Cup Qualifier to the Final Four.”

The report received by the Commission estimates that the cost of a new facility constructed on the Metrodome site with a retractable roof will be approximately $954 million and that it would be a positive driver of development beyond the Metrodome site, particularly in conjunction with other factors, such as the naming of a master developer for the area. The report also provides information on stadium projects in other communities.

The Vision of Redevelopment

As part of the meeting, the Commission received a presentation from the ROMA Design Group, which was charged with envisioning how the stadium development could help spur ancillary development in the surrounding neighborhood. Boris Dramov, a world-renowned urban design authority from San Francisco represented ROMA. ROMA has done extensive master planning in San Francisco near AT&T Park (San Francisco Giants) and in San Diego near PETCO Park (San Diego Padres).

The vision of a redeveloped Metrodome site, created by ROMA and the Hoisington Koegler Group of Minneapolis, knits together a redeveloped Downtown East, with the stadium as the anchor, with the surrounding neighborhoods: the Downtown core area, Elliot Park and the Mills waterfront district. The area is further anchored by a “Winter Garden” light rail train station adjacent to the new stadium that is a destination in itself. Their vision is consistent with the City’s current master plan.

This vision is compatible with current growth patterns in the area, which suggest that growth in downtown Minneapolis over the next several decades will be to the east of the current core area. The ROMA vision is not to create a new downtown, but to infill the Downtown East area with a new medium-density, mixed-use, live-work neighborhood. It includes:
 
- The realignment of the downtown area through the creation of new east-west and north-south streetscapes that connect better the downtown core to the Mississippi River and to other neighborhoods
- Adaptive reuse of historic buildings
- A stadium design that provides a new “front door” to the City, a continually active plaza and new development opportunities on the stadium site
- An enhanced transit hub with a Winter Garden that will feature destination entertainment and an intermodal facility, completing the City’s front door and providing an additional catalyst for Downtown East redevelopment
- A new in-town “live-work” neighborhood
- A revitalized Chicago Avenue
- The extension of Washington Avenue redevelopment to the east to forge a connection with the Riverfront and Mills districts.

“Today, we saw a vision for what can be next – a world-class, retractable-roof stadium that can make Minnesota a year-round host to major events – and a driver for development that enhances our quality of life. We have the opportunity to secure the benefits of an NFL franchise and those of a year-round, multi-use facility for the next 30 years,” Terwilliger said.

Financial Considerations

The estimated cost of a new, retractable-roof multi-purpose stadium on the existing Metrodome site is approximately $954 million. This cost estimate is in line with the projected costs of similar stadium projects that have been built or are currently in the planning phases such as:

The cost of the redevelopment project – as currently envisioned – breaks down as follows:

A significant advantage of the current site is that it uses existing infrastructure in the form of roadways, access ramps, surface streets, parking ramps, transit lines and stations, sewer, power and telecommunications, an infrastructure worth “billions of dollars,” according to SRF Consulting Group, an infrastructure planning firm. Duplicating this infrastructure in a suburban location would add hundreds of millions of dollars to the cost of a comparable project.

Beyond the inclusion of existing infrastructure and a substantial investment by the Vikings, the assumption is that the balance of the redeveloped alternative will be paid with public monies. The staff believes that the redevelopment option offers the best alternative that will serve the State for decades to come.

An Opportunity for Minnesota

“For 25 years, our State has been well-served by the Metrodome, but it no longer meets the needs of the Vikings and the NFL, or the expectations of sports fans in terms of amenities or fan experience. Now is the time to secure these benefits for our next generation,” Terwilliger said. “In three years, the Minnesota Vikings will be the only major sports team playing in the Metrodome, and its use agreement with the facility expires in 2011. We look forward to the opportunity to discuss these recommendations and to move the public debate forward on what will be an important investment for the future of our quality of life in Minnesota.”

NEW STADIUM VISION

New Stadium Aerial Fly Video (Real Player)

New Stadium Aerial - Image 1
New Stadium Inside - Image 2
New Stadium Plaza - Image 3