Vikings Stadium Miscellaneous Discussion

[Dalgar]

-The whole roof should be ETFE
-Improve roof structural support design to minimize shadows on the field
-Energy usage? This building needs to be designed net zero energy
-Solar energy on south wall
-ETFE,glass,zinc are good -- more detailed design needed to building facade (stone? vines?)
-Needs a lot more work integrating with the neighborhood
-Add waterfall,plants inside. green stadium, inside and out
-Allow those windows near the nosebleed seats to open

[lordmoke]

Bold, unique and modern without being too eccentric and gimmicky. That's not easy to do. I'm a fan.

EDIT: It also looks like a viking ship, which is what I was hoping for from the get-go.

[Andrew_F]

My initial reaction was unsure, but after letting it sink in for a few hours I am confident it will turn out well. The west elevation and interiors are winners for sure, and I am really warming up the the other elevations. The north elevation in particularly will depend on the details, how the curtain walls meet the ground, landscaping, and how the zinc really ends up looking in person, but I am thinking it will be significantly better than it appears at first glance.

Enjoy your Ice Palace, Ziggy, because we're not buying you another one.

[ECtransplant]

I like the angles. Definitely see the influence of the library. Can't bring myself to be optimistic about big, blank, gray walls though.

[Mdcastle]

Should be good enough to last 20-30 years anyway, about the amount of time teams go before whining for a new stadium. I haven't been to a sports event in Minneapolis since the 1990s, but I'll probably go once to see it. I hated the design at first, but now it seems OK. I'm not sure spending money on the revolving windows was needed, there's still not going to be much cross-ventilation with windows only on one side and it can probably only be open for half the games.

I noticed there hasn't been any talk about connecting it to the skyway system, or that implied one way or the other, or does that depend on how the other block develop. I know Rybak wants people to freeze and compete with cars down on the streets, but if you're going to have a skyway system you'd want it to anchor the east end.

[Nick]

I noticed there hasn't been any talk about connecting it to the skyway system, or that implied one way or the other, or does that depend on how the other block develop. I know Rybak wants people to freeze and compete with cars down on the streets, but if you're going to have a skyway system you'd want it to anchor the east end.

There in fact was a mention of that, and it will be connected to the overall skyway system. There was a picture during the in person presentation, not sure if that made it online.

[TWA]

The new stadium grows on me each time I look at the photos. Remember how massive this structure is- it is very difficult to blend this into the neighborhood. The beauty is in the "smaller" details. Like how they manipulate light and heat in the design to keep the snow off the roof. I love the pivot doors, the southern roof, the open concourses, and the angular west entrance. I like the ship like design that recalls nordic architecture. It really adds to the modern architecture in Minneapolis. The entrance is memorable.

Compare this stadium with the new NY stadium, the SanFran stadium, Indy, Dallas, etc. You may not like this in absolute terms. But this stadium is far superior relative to other stadiums.

-1
I understand the criticism but these are initial renderings and unfortunately a 65,000 seat stadium will be a behemoth regardless. I am not 100% in love with it, but I think it is an interesting shape and definitely unique and given what recent stadiums look like, that counts for something. Also, do a quick google image search of Zinc walls and you will see that there are different styles and textures to it. Could be interesting depending on which direction they go at the end

[aguaman]

lousy layout. 4th street is still screwed up. along with two lrt lines. this design should straighten out 4th.
this was a great opportunity to fix that problem created from the metrodome. now minnesota is stuck with that mess for another 50 years.

[sanchopanza]

My first thought was "Are you serious?", but it is growing on me. The west side view is nice, but the other 3 sides interaction with the street/neighborhood is poor IMO.

Not sure how they are claiming to connect to the downtown skyway. The only connections I see are to the parking ramps for the VIPs.

[minntransplant]

I'm not wowed but not really disappointed. Was expecting a more playful design based off the conceptual renderings. This thing is going to be massive though!

[mullen]

there will be louver openings on the east side also, per Vikes Lester Bagley.

west end windows will only take a couple minutes to open.

[Didier]

Lester Bagley was on KFAN briefly this morning.

Of note he was asked about parking and implied that the Star Tribune development will likely come into play, which in my opinion is a positive. He kind of seemed to back off after starting to talk about the Star Tribune blocks, as if he knew he probably shouldn't talk about it before the announcement today, but he did mention there would be two corporate-use towers there, for what that's worth.

That said, he also emphasized that as part of the agreement with the city/state, there will be increased space for tailgating around the stadium.

[bapster2006]

I heard "many more bathrooms" and was instantly in love. Someone designed the Metrodome bathrooms to have one stall? My local park has two stalls.

Standing in front of that west wall will be fantastic. I am more concerned with the inside and think it will turn out to be a lot of fun just like Target Field.

[seanrichardryan]

Lester Bagley was on KFAN briefly this morning...
... he also emphasized that as part of the agreement with the city/state, there will be increased space for tailgating around the stadium.

Read: Empty lots most of the year.

[nickmgray]

Not at all what I was expecting, but I do like the design. There's always room for improvement, but architecture is an art, not a science. I'm a bit surprised at the overall height of the stadium design. If the massive glass doors are 90 feet tall, the highest point of the stadium will be over 200 feet.

As far as being "skyway connected to downtown", I don't think we'll be seeing any connections any time soon. The design allows for connections at certain points, but the closest connection would be the HCMC which doesn't actually connect to the downtown system. It'll probably be 10-15 years before you can walk from the Target Center to the new Vikings stadium without stepping outside.

[fehler]

I like it. Parts from the Walker Art Center, parts from the Central Library. Even if the sloop looks like the Best Buy HQ. Selling point for naming rights? Don't like the little twig skyways on either side. VIP parking should be invisible, if that's what they're for. Public parking bridges will need to be much bigger to handle crowds.

[lvanhendrix]

it looks like a suburban megachurch

[ztr421]

It's not at all what I expected, and I'm happy with it (despite not being a VIkings fan and probably never attending a game). I'm pleased that they recognized Scandinavian architecture and the heritage of the area. In addition to the Viking ship and viking long house influences, I see influences from the Oslo Opera House. I'm very pleased there is no beige kasota limestone. It's a nice warm stone, but I don't think we need it on every building. The slate grey stone is a nice alternative (that is what it is, right?).

Regarding the skyways... My experiences after concerts at Orchestra Hall (granted - a much smaller number of people and much older) are: avoid the skyways! It is a shuffling dirge-like procession! Multiply that by the number of attendees at the stadium and those skyways are going to be worse than a ride line at Disney World. I also worry that they'll effectively bypass any street-level developments that will crop up around the stadium. Hopefully the bottleneck they create will drive people to use the sidewalks, and maybe they'll add some access points to the street.

[Rich]

I'm pretty sure this building has the largest main entry of any enclosed structure on planet Earth. We probably shouldn't worry about folks using skyways too much.

[Viktor Vaughn]

Are people saying the skyways will extend from the CBD to the stadium? What is that based on?