The man that played a vital role in getting the bill for a new Minnesota Vikings' stadium passed through the state legislature will now be in charge of overseeing its construction.
Ted Mondale, who was formerly the chairman of the Minneapolis Sports Facilities Commission, was named as the executive director of the newly-former Minneapolis Sports Facilities Association. The vote was taken at the Association's first meeting on Friday.
As the executive director, Mondale will be overseeing pretty much every aspect of the day-to-day operations of the construction of the Vikings' new home. The project will be one of the biggest construction projects in the history of the state of Minnesota, with a price tag totaling just short of $975 million.
Mondale stated that the team was still hoping to break ground on the new stadium this coming spring, and that the stadium will be ready to go for the opening kickoff of the 2016 NFL season. To the best of my knowledge, the current plan for the team is to play the 2012, 2013, and 2014 seasons at the Metrodome, with the 2015 season being played at TCF Bank Stadium (home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers) before moving into their new digs in 2016.