Fansided
The Viking Age

Bird Safe Glass Could Cost $80 Million On New Vikings Stadium

By Adam Carlson

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Environmental activists have been concerned about the design of the new Vikings stadium in Minnesota since the concept was unveiled.  Since then, their biggest complaint about the facility was that birds could crash into the glass walls or roof and perish.

Taking their criticism into account, the Vikings and other stadium officials have looked into the cost of fitting the new stadium with glass that would deter birds from crashing into it.  The study came back with some results that were a bit surprising, not only in the cost associated with the project but the time it would add to the construction.

Here is what the cost breakdown of the bird-safe glass would be for the new Vikings stadium according to the Pioneer Press:

"“Starting over on the new Vikings stadium with bird-safe, “fritted” glass would cause a delay of 2-6 months and incur at least $40 million to $80 million in costs, the head of the public stadium authority said Friday.Officials had previously said the new glass itself would cost about $1 million, but Michele Kelm-Helgen, chair of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, said Friday the delay would cost about $10 million in foregone rent if the Vikings couldn’t play the 2016 season in the new facility, plus another $6 million from other events, plus $25 million to $60 million related to extending the construction work.”"

There are other alternatives to using the bird-safe glass.  There is a film that can be placed over the glass that birds would notice but seem invisible to the human eye.  So although there are other methods of dealing with this problem, each one will come with a cost and time frame.

The new stadium for the Vikings already has a $1.037 billion price tag.  While over half of the money to fund the project is coming from the Minnesota Vikings and other sources, the state of Minnesota and other public sources will pick up the price tag.  At this time, it’s not known where the funding where the new bird-safe glass would come from.

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