First there was Adrian Peterson and Jared Allen, now the Rochester Mayo High School Spartans will get the chance to compete on the same artificial grass.
The Rochester School Board unanimously approved a six-figure donation from the school’s booster club that will bring the artificial turf from the Metrodome to the high school’s sports field, according to the Rochester Post Bulletin. The school’s football, soccer and lacrosse teams, as well as the band, will all use the turf, the newspaper says.
The school’s booster club, the Touchdown Club, was vague in detailing how they scored the Metrodome’s turf, but the club points to unique connections to the Minnesota Vikings, the newspaper says. One major, anonymous donor led the way to secure the turf, the Touchdown Club said.
The Touchdown Club saved more than $300,000 by purchasing the 2-year-old turf from the Vikings, according to the Rochester Post Bulletin. The turf will last another 15-20 years and eliminate about $20,000 in annual costs associated with maintaining natural grass, according to MPR News.
The turf is being stored in southern Minnesota and will be shipped to the high school via several semitrailer trucks this summer. The Touchdown Club and local sponsors will cover the cost of the 8- to 10- week installation, according to FOX 47.
Other schools and businesses will put other parts of the Metrodome to good use – United South Central School District in Wells purchased 840 blue plastic seats from the former home of the Vikings and Twins. The public was also able to buy seats. Some of the dirt from the Dome was sent to a site in Blaine. Items from the pitching mound to generators were also sold.
The Dome is being demolished to make way for the new $975 million Vikings stadium, which is going up on the same site. The timeline calls for the Metrodome to be gone in April so construction of the new stadium can begin in the spring.
The Vikings plan to play two seasons at the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium until their new home is ready in late in the summer of 2016.
