The Minnesota Vikings upped their stadium contribution Friday by $518,000, adding an eighth elevator, two concession stands and nothing for the birds.
Boisterous birders dismayed by the team's decision not to include bird-safe glass overshadowed the announcement at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority. Some carried signs in Vikings' purple and gold that read "Never too late to do the right thing." The protesters want the team and/or the authority to spend an estimated $1 million extra for fritted glass, which would help birds shift course and avoid untimely deaths by colliding with the stadium's soaring glass exterior as they migrate along the nearby Mississippi River corridor.
Two bird advocates spoke during an open forum at the end of the meeting. Another stopped Chair Michele Kelm-Helgen as she tried to leave the room after the meeting.
The meeting otherwise went smoothly and quickly as Ted Mondale, the authority's executive director, announced the increase in the team's portion of the $1 billion project.
The Vikings' tab started at $477 million and has inched up to just shy of $527 million in the months since construction began. The remainder of the $1 billion cost is covered with $150 million from Minneapolis and $348 million from the state.
Other new enhancements paid for by the Vikings: two mobile concession stands and redesigns of a skyway and the press box. The Vikings and the facilities authority will split the $44,818 cost of the press area redesign, using money from its contingency fund.
At the public comment portion of the meeting, Lisa Venable of Minnetonka read a statement that included a mention of her favorite bird — the warbler — and a plea for compassion. She held up a mock newspaper headline that read "Minneapolis Kills Birds in Crystal Stadium" and said, "This is not who we are. This is not Minnesota."
She told members that the authority was created to represent the public. "This is not just the Vikings stadium, this is our stadium," Venable said.
