Minnesota Vikings fans have a lot of opinions about what the new $1 billion downtown Minneapolis stadium should look like, and a few of them shared their thoughts Tuesday with the commission leading the effort to develop the project.
The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, along with Vikings executive Lester Bagley and John Hutchings, the manager of the design process for the stadium through the architectural firm HKS Sports & Entertainment, just completed a three-city listening tour to get fan input.
On Tuesday in Duluth, longtime fan Dave Zbaracki told the project leaders that the new stadium ought to reflect the spirit of Minnesotans, the Duluth News Tribune reports. The Metrodome doesn’t do that, he said – “It says we’re bland and we collapse under pressure.”
The newspaper reports that fans in the three cities sounded similar themes in their requests. They want good access to the stadium, Minnesota labor and products used in its construction, and some flexibility in its design so that it can have uses on non-game days. They have also asked that in-line skating be offered on some off-days in a concourse, as it is at the Metrodome.
