Vikings Stadium Design Firms Could Be Narrowed Tuesday

The Vikings and the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority could narrow down the five bidders vying to design the state's new $975 million showcase stadium at a meeting between the two groups on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the process.

"It's going to be a tough call," Lester Bagley, spokesman for the Minnesota Vikings, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS after Sunday's 26-23 overtime victory over the Jaguars.

"There were two or three (architectural firms) that ran away with the competition," Bagley said. "It was pretty good. We had some really good presentations and I think we're going to try to narrow it down."

That winnowing of the field could come Tuesday. A spokesman for the MSFA said an update would be provided to the public on that day, but that the winning designer will "most likely" not be picked in time for the MSFA's regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Friday.

Bagley thought a decision could be made soon.

"Hopefully in the next two weeks we will be able to narrow it down and select the architect," said Bagley.

In addition, Bagley said a retractable feature - whether it be a window, wall, or roof - is the team's "goal" and "hope," if such a feature fits into the stadium's budget, which was set during a deal between the team, the Republican-controlled Legislature and the DFL governor in May of this year.

The stadium, according to the MSFA's website, would seat 65,000 people with an option to accommodate up to 72,000 fans for major events. The Vikings submitted bids last week to host the NFL Super Bowl in either 2018, 2019, or 2020. The seating requirement for the Super Bowl was recently raised to 73,000.

The new stadium, which will begin construction next year on the site of the current Metrodome, will be built to accommodate a Super Bowl, Bagley said.

The stadium is also meant to host other sporting, cultural, and entertainment events "355 days a year," according to the MSFA's project description.

Watch our story above to hear more from Bagley and what features fans want most in a new stadium.

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