In his latest column, Sid Hartman gives us a couple of interesting bits about the Vikings' new stadium. Let's look at these one at a time.
One person who might lose out when the Metrodome is torn down and the new Vikings stadium is opened is former Vikings GM Mike Lynn, who, as part of his contract, has been receiving $500,000-plus a year through profits on luxury suites. When the new stadium is built you wonder if Lynn might go to court and claim that his agreement continues with the new stadium.
Wait a minute here. . .the guy that foisted the trade on us for He Who Shall Not Be Named and who hasn't had an actual connection to the franchise for a very long time is still making half a million dollars a year off of this team? And Sid thinks he might take the team to court to get a piece of the new stadium?
To hell with that. . .Lynn should be charged with grand theft, because that's outright ridiculous.
There is a good chance that the architects who designed Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis will be hired to do the same job on the new Vikings stadium.
This one is interesting. I know that the buzz is that the Vikings want to model the new stadium after Lucas Oil, but I was of the impression that the contract for the new stadium would go to Populous, the company that had a hand in the design and construction of both Target Field (where the Minnesota Twins play) and TCF Bank Stadium (the home of Minnesota Golden Gophers football). The company behind Lucas Oil Stadium, among others, is a company called HKS. We'll have to see how that ends up going.
Once the Metrodome is torn down to make way for the new stadium, the word is that there is a market for the Dome's roof, which was replaced recently after the previous roof collapsed in a snow storm. It could be sold for around $20 million. The question is: Does the insurance company that paid for the roof share in the money?
Well, we know that there was a market for the old roof, but that was vintage, for lack of a better term. By the time the Dome gets torn down, the roof will only be about three years old. I don't know if there are any pieces of the old roof left, but I'd be much more interested in that than I would be in a piece of the new roof.