According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, five different firms have submitted renderings and plans for the new home of the Minnesota Vikings. The finalists will appear at a public forum on September 6 to make their cases for their firms, and the decision is expected to be made on the stadium committee's September 14 meeting.
The leader in the clubhouse at this point is probably the Kansas City-based firm Populous. Populous has had a hand in all of the recent Twin Cities stadiums (Target Field, TCF Bank Stadium, and the XCel Energy Center). I'm not an insider, but I think it would be a bit of an upset if Populous didn't end up with the deal.
Other firms that have submitted bids on the new stadium are:
-HKS, Inc., a Dallas-based firm that designed Jerryworld down in Dallas, and also designed Lucas Oil Stadium, which the Wilf family has said they would like the new stadium to be modeled after.
-HNTB Corp, another Kansas City-based operation. They are the company that designed the new stadium for the San Francisco 49ers that will begin construction shortly, if it hasn't already.
-AECOM, a Los Angeles-based company that designed CenturyLink Field, the current home of the Seattle Seahawks (which, in my opinion, might be the NFL's nicest stadium)
-Ewing Cole, a company based in Philadelphia that designed MetLife Stadium, the new venue that is shared by the New York Giants and the New York Jets
Interestingly enough, the article says that the Vikings have also submitted a bid to host the 2018 Super Bowl (which would be Super Bowl 52, or LII for you Roman types). It would be pretty cool to see that come to fruition.
But, two weeks from today, we will know who will be building the Vikings' new home. . .and, hopefully, get some idea of what it will look like.