The clock is now officially officially officially ticking on the Metrodome. If you’ve never seen it, better get yourself a ticket and see it. The Vikes will play there in 2012 and almost certainly 2013 but after that all bets are off. They could spend the 2014 and 2015 seasons in TCF Bank Stadium. Or they could only spend the 2015 season there. Nobody knows. At maximum, the Metrodome has three years of life left. And then…kaboom.

Or maybe they’ll demolish it with a wrecking ball since the new stadium will be right next to it and an explosion could hurt it. Or maybe by then there will be robots with lasers doing demolition. Oh man that would be awesome. Pew pew pew. Die Metrodome! Okay this whole stadium process has made me a little loopy. Imma go lie down.

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But it’s not yet certain that a retractable roof is even financially feasible for the Vikings, especially after the legislature made them kick in an extra $50 million to cover stadium costs. I can already hear a few people grumbling that if the Wilfs can kick in an extra $50 million they should surely be able to scrape together whatever it would cost to put a retractable roof on the stadium. Especially when you consider that they would be getting their own MLS team in the bargain.

I’m not going to speculate on how much money the Wilfs may or may not have in the bank. All I know is that they want a retractable roof and that the fans are behind the idea. Right now however, the Wilfs aren’t promising anything. They best they can say is that they’ll make an effort to get the retractable roof.

In describing the team’s plans for the new facility, Mark Wilf told Sid Hartman, “We’re going to have features that people are going to want to come to the game with their families and make it a full-day experience. We’ll work very hard at getting that done. Whether it has a retractable [roof] of some kind, that’s yet to be determined, but we’re going to try if we can.”

Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis continues to be thrown out as a model for what the Vikings are shooting at. Wilf said, “Certainly in terms of the types of amenities and the way it feels inside [it will be like Lucas Oil]. I think this past Super Bowl got rave reviews in terms of the people that attended from all over the world and all over the country. I think it’s the right sensibility.

“We want to have something exciting but also is going to fit the Minnesota market and be something that has a Minnesota flavor to it. That’s the sensibility that we’re going to shoot for, the type of features that Lucas Oil has — big screens, technology, comfortable seating, club areas, public plazas, the whole nine yards.”

And fireworks. Don’t forget the fireworks.

Whether the roof ends up being fixed or retractable, one thing is certain: the new stadium will not be a giant dump like the Metrodome. They should throw a parade the day that place gets imploded.

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On the surface we appear to be in for a stand-off between the state and the team over the team’s share of the stadium cost. Didn’t the Vikings declare $427 million to be the highest they would go? And isn’t the legislature dead-set on making them pay more? But the experts assure us there are plenty of ways for the Vikings to find the extra money without Zygi Wilf having to pay out of his own pocket. They could take the money out of whatever naming rights deal they strike for the new facility, for instance. Or they could take out a loan from the NFL.

For what it’s worth, the Vikings’ rhetoric regarding their increased share of the stadium bill has softened since Monday. In the wake of the House vote, Lester Bagley called the bill “unworkable.” But Bagley’s words were more conciliatory after the Senate handed down their own number. Bagley said the Vikings would stand behind their original pledge but admitted “it has to be a package deal and a negotiation that works for all parties — the Vikings, the state, the city.”

We won’t know the final numbers until after the committee does its work. Passage of the bill through said committee should be a relatively smooth process given that all six members are folks who already voted yes to the bill. And when the committee’s done the bill goes back into the process for more voting. This was all explained by a singing document on Saturday morning TV years ago, if you recall.

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