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For the second time in the history of the Super Bowl, the NFL
placed the game in a cold weather city, in Minneapolis and the Metrodome in
1992. After
spending more than two decades at Metropolitan Stadium, it was time for a
new stadium for both the Minnesota Vikings and the
Twins (MLB), who both played at the stadium. Built in the mid
1950s, Metropolitan Stadium was beginning to deteriorate after
two decades of existence. Throughout the 1970s, the Vikings were
one of the best teams in NFL and regularly sold out the 48,000
seat Metropolitan Stadium. Due to the deteriorating condition of
Metropolitan Stadium, the Vikings began discussing building a new
stadium in 1971. Talk of a new stadium for the Vikings continued
throughout the decade. The Metropolitan Sports Facilities
Commission was formed in 1977 and stadium politics dominated the
Minnesota State Legislature the same year. Two years later in 1979,
a new dome stadium was approved to be built in downtown
Minneapolis. On December 20, 1979, construction began on the
multipurpose dome stadium. A dome multipurpose stadium was chosen
because of the extreme cold and wintertime weather. Named after
former Vice President, Hubert H. Humphrey, the H.H.H. Metrodome,
was completed in just over two years. The Minnesota Twins (MLB)
played the first game ever at the Metrodome on April 6, 1982.
Over
64,000 seats in two tiers circle the entire field when the
Metrodome is in football configuration. When the Vikings shared
the Metrodome with the Twins, it was one of the easiest stadium to
be converted from baseball to football. The entire process only
takes around four hours. A section of 7,600 retractable seats
formed the 23 foot high right field wall during a baseball game.
However, theses seats are pulled out, allowing the capacity to be
increased during football games. The dome roof consists of over
ten acres of Teflon-coated fiberglass. It is the only
air-supported dome and fans enter the park through revolving doors
that prevents the release of the air and keeps the dome
upright. In order to remain inflated, the roof requires 250,000 cubic feet of air pressure per
minute. The roof has snow melting ducts to
prevent a collapse.
However, since its opening the roof has collapsed four times due
to heavy snow, the most recent in December 2010. This caused the Vikings/Giants
NFL game to be postponed and moved to Detroit and the Vikings final
home game of the season to be moved to TCF Bank Stadium, home of
the Minnesota Golden Gophers (NCAA). This game was the
Vikings first home game outdoors since playing at Metropolitan
Stadium in 1981. The roof has since been replaced. Since its opening in 1982, there
have been several changes to the Metrodome. They include
LED Boards, new color replay screens, a new
Plaza outside the stadium, new rows of seats behind home plate for
baseball, new Terrace Suite, re-construction of all concession
stands and new concourse televisions. After the 2003 season,
the Astroturf field was removed and replaced with Fieldturf.
Currently, the Vikings are lobbying to receive funding to
construct a new stadium because the Metrodome lacks many amenities
found at other stadiums throughout the league. However, in recent
years they have failed to receive support from the State of
Minnesota. The Vikings are now the only tenant at the Metrodome after
the Twins moved to their new ballpark,
Target Field, in April 2010.
On January 26, 1992, the Metrodome hosted the biggest sporting
event in the world, Super Bowl XXVI, between the Washington
Redskins and the Buffalo Bills.
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