Construction Begins on New $975M Minnesota Multi-Purpose Stadium

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority   and the Minnesota Vikings, in partnership with Mortenson Construction and project associate Thor Construction, recently broke ground on the new $975-million multi-purpose stadium that will replace the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. The ceremonial groundbreaking signifies the start of construction on the 65,000-seat, 1.7-million-square-foot facility, scheduled for completion in July 2016.

Designed by HKS Sport & Entertainment Group, the stadium’s bold, progressive design combines efficient functionality with stunning architecture. With a soaring prow, the largest transparent roof in the nation, and operable doors that open to a three-acre plaza and the downtown skyline, the facility’s openness and sleek geometric exterior will make it unlike any other stadium in the country. While serving as the home for Vikings football, the facility will also be capable of hosting as many events as any other large stadium in the world, including NCAA tournaments, BCS Championships, a Super Bowl, as well as a variety of other events. Despite its versatility, the stadium will put football fans closer to the field than any other NFL stadium.

Construction of the new stadium will require nearly 4.3 million work hours and will involve 7,500 tradespeople from 19 different trades and hundreds of local subcontractors and suppliers. In addition, the MSFA and the Vikings have established a Targeted Business Program that sets an 11 percent and 9 percent goal for construction contracts for the project to be awarded to women – and minority-owned business enterprises, respectively. The stadium project has also set construction workforce goals for utilization of women and minorities during construction of 32 percent minority and 6 percent women participation.

Already a number of subcontracts have been executed, many of which are going to Minnesota-based companies:

• Ames Construction of Burnsville will complete mass excavation, utilities and demolition of the Metrodome, working with Frattalone Companies of Little Canada for demolition services.
• Veit Companies of Rogers will construct the drilled pier foundations.
• LeJeune Steel Company of Minneapolis will provide steel fabrication, and Danny’s Construction of Shakopee, a certified women-owned business, will handle steel erection for the new stadium.
• Tarraf Construction, a certified minority-owned company from Eden Prairie will be providing container services for excavation and demolition.

“Today we celebrate the start of building this amazing facility that will serve the community and generations of fans for years to come,” said John Wood, senior vice president at Mortenson Construction. “Built for Minnesota by Minnesotans, thousands of workers and hundreds of companies will have a hand in building this project over the next 31 months.”