The glass on this new stadium is reportedly a danger to local birds, who are at risk of flying into it and being injured or killed.
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The opening of the new Minnesota Vikings football stadium could be delayed for as much as a year due to the large amount of glass that could put local or migratory birds at risk.
Months ago, members of Audubon Minnesota pointed out that the stadium, which features hundreds of square feet of clear glass, could be “a death trap” to birds that fly directly into it – potentially injuring or even killing them.
In statement to the Associated Press, Michele Kelm-Helgen, the chairperson of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority claims that it could cost more than $60 million to use a special fritted glass, which birds would be less likely to fly into. Kelm-Helgen also said that the project could be delayed long enough to force the Vikings to spend a third season outdoors at the University of Minnesota.
“We’re talking about a billion dollar stadium here, and the cost to save perhaps thousands of migratory birds – and make the Vikings a global leader in green stadium design – is about one-tenth of one percent of that,” Audubon Minnesota Executive Director Matthew Anderson said in July of 2014. “Hundreds of millions of dollars of public money is going to build this stadium, and we know the people of Minnesota do not want their money killing birds. The Vikings recently approved spending millions and millions of additional dollars to make sure the stadium is ‘iconic’ – surely they also want to make sure it’s not a death trap. We’re asking them to change their minds and do the right thing.”
Bird-advocates have argued that the cost of the glass change will actually cost only about $1 million, and local manufacturers are trying to design special film for the glass to make it more avoidable.
The Vikings have used the University of Minnesota for all home games since the roof of the Metrodome collapsed due to snow accumulation in 2010.
You can view the roof collapse here:
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