This is completely unsourced, so don’t take it too seriously yet, but Pioneer Press sportswriter Charley Walters writes that while the Minnesota Vikings’ new stadium won’t have a retractable roof, “there is a better chance … that the stadium that will be built on the site of the Metrodome will have a partially removable covering that would allow for a view of downtown Minneapolis.”
Continues Walters:
A partially removable roof would be expected to cost between $25 million and $50 million. One problem, though, remains: who would pay for it, the Vikings or the authority. Both sides are reluctant.
Um, yeah — which is the whole reason why the Vikings stadium isn’t getting a fully retractable roof in the first place. Or, I dunno, custom-woven Persian rugs for all fans. It seems hard to picture the Vikings going back to the state legislature for more money, and equally hard to picture the team owners paying the cost of a non-essential like this out of their own pockets. But presumably Walters isn’t just making this up out of whole cloth … well, actually, it was a Saturday and the Twins were busy losing to Seattle out on the West Coast, so maybe he was just stuck for a column idea.
Speaking of hard to picture, meanwhile, anyone care to guess what “a partially removable covering that would allow for a view of downtown Minneapolis” might look like? The only precedent I can think of is the St. Louis Rams‘ demand for a sliding roof panel, but even that would have provided a view of just the sky, not the surrounding terrain. Maybe Walters really meant a partially retractable wall? Or as it’s better known, a window?
Well, why not? You’ve already got the rubes on the hook, and the local pols have shown they’ll roll over for you. Hell yes, keep going back for more. Sqeeze the patsies for all you can get.
(I think the polite way of stating the above is “Effective Public-Private Partnership”)
A partially retractable roof may be something along the lines of BC Place where the CFL’s BC Lions play. Only a squarish centre section of the roof actually opens.
Or maybe it refers to a retractable roof that gets stuck about half-way through the retraction process?
Montreal would know all about that keith!!
Neil,
How very apropos to mention the Rams. ‘Dynamic’ new plan from the CVC to the Rams released today: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-receive-dynamic-new-plan-to-renovate-edward-jones-dome/article_a2c1e2ac-eaed-11e1-9314-001a4bcf6878.html
Lacks a cost comparison to the original CVC-proposed $124 million renovation beyond “”It’s not doubling or anything like that…”
Why do you post about the Vikings. You need to get approval from Master Zygi first.
The whole “partial retractable roof” thing has been completely misunderstood… and for good reason: it’s not part of the roof. The plans call for the stadium to face east-west (instead of the current north-south of the Metrodome). Most of the renderings that were pitched show a glass wall, showing the downtown skyline. Obviously, this “partial roof” thing is a sliding glass panel. In fact, most news articles on the subject have clearly said this, but people seem to get caught up on the “roof” part of it and stop reading. Either way, it should be on the team to fund that since it will add absolutely nothing to the fan experience. Then again, Zygi keeps talking about adding a full retractable roof and leaving it open in the winter. That’s funny, because he doesn’t seem to understand that people won’t go freeze their butts off to watch mediocre football. It’s easy for him to say, since he’ll be watching the game in a heated suite.
“Zygi keeps talking about adding a full retractable roof and leaving it open in the winter.”
Absolutely backwards. If you’re thinking that way, why have a roof at all? Other than to host the Final Four?