RFPs For New Vikings Stadium Expected To Be Issued In July
By Don Muret, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal
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MSFC Next Month Expected To
Issue RFPs For New Vikings Stadium |
The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission (MSFC) in Minneapolis expects to issue separate proposals in July to architects and general contractors to design and build a new NFL stadium on the site of the Metrodome. The RFPs should be available July 17, the day the commission's board meets to approves the documents. After interviews in mid-August, the selections would be announced August 21 at the group's next meeting, said MSFC Exec Dir Bill Lester. The intent is to have an architect and builder in place when the MSFC goes to the state Legislature in January. The MSFC will give an update for what it would cost to start building a retractable-roof facility for the Vikings in '09, given the current economic conditions. The project's fate rests in the hands of state politicians, who must approve public funding for the stadium. Vikings Owner Zygi Wilf has committed to spending $250M in private money. "We could save a year of construction if a project is approved in 2009," Lester said. "The objective is to be in better position to get the project done and save some money." The MSFC's early '07 plan to build a new downtown stadium initially pegged the price at $954M when a barrel of oil was selling for $45 to $75, Lester said. Midway through '08, crude oil has tripled in price to about $140 a barrel. Considering all the petroleum-based products used for construction, coupled with the higher fuel costs subcontractors pay for transporting materials, stadium developers would be hard-pressed to stick to that budget without modifying the design, Lester said.
Temporary Housing: The Vikings' lease agreement at the Metrodome expires after the 2011 season. The team and the commission have each had talks with the Univ. of Minnesota about playing the 2010 and 2011 NFL seasons at TCF Bank Stadium while the new facility is under construction. HOK Sport and Mortenson, a Twin Cities company, are designing and building TCF Bank Stadium, opening in '09, and the Twins' new ballpark, debuting in 2010. HOK and Turner Construction consulted on the most recent new Vikings stadium plan, introduced in April '07.
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