The construction of the new Minnesota Vikings stadium has been given a further boost after the venue was awarded the 2018 NFL Super Bowl.
Expected to be complete by 2016, the Vikings Stadium has been designed by architects HKS, along with a Vikings Stadium Consortium made up of Studio Hive, Studio Five & Lawal Scott Erickson Architects.
The 65,000-capacity stadium, thought to be running up a cost of around US$1bn (€733.9m, £594.7m) is to be the first NFL venue with a fixed roof since the Detroit Lions opened Ford Field in 2002.
The venue will have a translucent roof and movable front windows, with these considerations allowing natural light to enter the stadium, as well as giving fans a view of downtown Minneapolis.
The site’s architects have also incorporated features to enable the stadium to experience some of the outdoor elements, while providing protection from the snow, rain and cold weather that can often plague NFL games in the winter.
Although the stadium will be the principle home of the Vikings, an expandable seating plan will turn the venue into a 73,000-capacity space to cater for large-scale events, such as the Super Bowl or the Final Four.
Not only has attention been paid to NFL intricacies at the site, but it has also been mooted that the stadium could potentially be fit to accommodate football matches.
The possibility of making the field larger has been discussed, as this would potentially allow the venue to host domestic football games, international friendlies and maybe even attract a Major League Soccer (MLS) team.
The awarding of the 2018 Bowl will see the city of Minneapolis host the event for only the second time in its history.
