In Minneapolis, Janet Moore notes the groundbreaking for the Vikings' new stadium "is now scheduled for Dec. 3, more than a month later than originally planned." But Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority Chair Michele Kelm-Helgen said that the 65,000-seat stadium "will still be ready" for the '16 NFL season. The date of the groundbreaking "was released after the authority, the team and the project’s construction manager, Golden Valley-based Mortenson Construction, agreed on how to reach the $737.7 million 'guaranteed maximum price' (or GMP) for the stadium’s total construction costs" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/20).
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGHER: Denver-based KDVR.com noted the Broncos yesterday broke ground "on a major expansion and renovation" of team HQs at Dove Valley. The team said that the two-part project "will include the construction of an indoor practice facility, as well as upgrades to the existing Paul D. Bowlen Memorial Broncos Centre." A new 115,000-square-foot indoor practice facility, which "will be built to the west of the current practice fields, will include an 85,000-square-foot field house as well as a 30,000-square-foot support space." A larger public viewing area "will also be built" (KDVR.com, 11/19).
THE GOLDEN GATE: In S.F., John Cote writes game nights at the new Warriors arena "will create a transportation disaster." But some city officials said that a solution "may already be in hand." During the America's Cup, "augmented transit service moved more people roughly the same distance along the Embarcadero with few major problems." Paying for that "over the long term, however, will require an investment that the cash-strapped Municipal Transportation Agency doesn't have." So city officials are "looking at a string of development projects along the city's eastern shoreline, including the Giants' plan" for a $1.6B new neighborhood across McCovey Cove from AT&T Park and the Warriors' $1B arena-hotel-condominium project, to "help cover their expected toll on the transit system" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 11/20).
ROAD WORK AHEAD: In Indianapolis, Curt Cavin notes the "paving of the infield road course was completed" yesterday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Turns 1 and 2 of the course include "a slight elevation change that officials estimated to be 3 feet." Meanwhile, several corners "have been widened to 46 feet for a better flow, with the area behind the IMS Hall of Fame Museum opened up." The section of oval track used "is 50 feet wide" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 11/20).
