Skyway linked to new Vikings stadium also will imperil birds, activists say

Bird lovers who have complained that the new Minnesota Vikings stadium will be deadly for migratory birds had a new target Friday — a proposed skyway that will connect to the facility.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, which is overseeing the new stadium's construction, said again Friday that it needs more time to assess how the stadium's large glass doors can be altered — perhaps with a film coating — to keep migratory birds from flying into the project.

But bird advocates said the problem for birds at the stadium also would extend to a yet-to-be-built skyway that would connect to the project. "Skyways are also bird killers," said Ann Laughlin of Minnesota Citizens for the Protection of Migratory Birds.

With the stadium 40 percent complete and its cost continuing to inch upward, bird advocates complained the project is moving ahead without addressing the problem. "It's hard for us to come here every month and just hear this list of millions more dollars being spent on this project," Elise Morton, a bird advocate, complained to the five-person authority.

Morton and others spoke Friday at the authority's meeting as a new set of unrelated changes and additions boosted the overall project past the $1.04 billion mark.

Michele Kelm-Helgen, the MSFA chair, said studies on how to prevent the deaths of migratory birds are ongoing, and a lawyer had advised the stadium authority that it would not face any fines for violating laws protecting migratory birds. She said she will also investigate whether the new skyway likewise posed dangers for birds.

"We obviously have some time, and I anticipate something maybe in the next couple of months," she told reporters. "I've been told by our [legal] counsel [that] that's not an issue," she said of any fines.

Mike Kaszuba • 612-673-4388