Minnesota Vikings Concept Stadium

[South of South Street]

If you've seen my previous posts you will know I am an Architect from Philadelphia with a passion for stadium design. So, after reading the several blogs and Minneapolis newspaper articles about what people want in the new Vikings Stadium I decided to make a go at a domed stadium design myself.

I saw alot of talk about how Minnesotans wanted either a "Viking Ship" or a sleek modern dome. In my design I tried to accomodate both. I set up the stadium as a "ship" is the boldest sense of the word. Then I pulled the pieces apart and reconstructed them as I needed for the stadium portions to work. The hull is gone but the bow and stern appear as visual markers, while the port and starboard sides "hold in" the main seating areas. The roof is a set of ribs that shrink in proportion as they approach the endzones. The end zone upper seating is removed to allow the fans to see the bow and stern "masts". The exterior is "wood" (actually would be wood laminate or metal patterned panels) set in a shiplap style with the boards going vertical in lieu of the actual horizontal. Streel "oars" roind out the sides and act as structural support. In my opinion it is both campy and cool/ traditional and modern/ in your face and accomodating.

The location is on the existing Metrodome site with an orientation 90deg to that of the Metrodome.

South of South Street

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[hugevolsfan]

Pretty cool design I like the boat shape alot.

[South of South Street]

Pretty cool design I like the boat shape alot.

Thanks!

[GriffinM6]

This is amazing. You are great at making stadiums. One thing though. I don't like the bowl shape. I think in the NFl, you need to have as much seating as possible. I would extend the seating as close as possible to the endzone.

[Shumway]

I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't feeling the first pic. It looked a bit like a thanksgiving turkey from that angle. However, as I went through the renaining shots, I started to like it a lot more. I love the glass ceiling, although the way it shadows on the field seems like it might be distracting. Oh, and I dig the "Norse Gate". Land O'Lakes field would most definitely be referred to as "The Butter Tub". I like it.

Great stuff again. Your work's always interesting and fresh to see on here.

[South of South Street]

Your right about the turkey. Its tough when the ship wants to be longer and thinner but the stadium requires a rounder shape. Its what you get. So yes its a bit wacky from afar but does get cool as you get closer. Thanks for the comments.

[rtrich11]

I love the way the ceiling looks with the natural light coming in. One thing to think about with that is glare, especially on kicks. The Astrodome initially had glass window panes, but the players had a hard time seeing pop flies. They ended up painting the glass, thus killing the grass, and astroturf was introduced.

Still, a cloth retractable "drape" could be cool, if it worked in the cold weather. The other events there could enjoy the sunlight.

Nice work again!

[jonrohlf]

Love the entrances, but from the wide view (pic 1), the bow and stern make it look very bulgy and awkward.

[Darth Brooks]

I like the internal space and the roof but worry that the wind would play havoc with the "bow" sheets. If you took off the gray sheeting the concept would be better I think.

[WarriorFight]

this is sexy...just maybe fix the bow and stern ends, looks kinda awkward...really great on the inside though.

[raysox]

Fund it! Great job, man. I'm with Shumway who was skeptical at first, but it turned out great.

[tBBP]

This is some cool stuff.

Up until my senior year of high school, I had my heart and mind set on being an architect—but that dream fell apart once I finally realized that me and math just weren't destined to get along. That said, I have a serious appreciation for the time and effort that goes into something like this.

I really like the whole idea of the stadium as a "ship"—that's some out the box thinking. I too am curious as to how the "bow" would hold up in the wind—and Lord knows Minneapolis can get gusty. I'm not sure if certain structural steel supports would be able to hold it—but I wouldn't doubt they'd have to be anchored into the frame of that building pretty well to be able to hold up...but then again I ain't the architecture student here, so that's just my best guess. As to the roof, like Shum I don't know about the glass—Lucas Oil can get some funky shadows going on in there when they do open the windows, and it seems like this place would have a similar issue. (I know it gets cold as all get-out up there, but I still wonder why the team is so dead-set on a closed roof. I mean, Minnesotans are used to the weather, I'm sure they can handle it.) I also like the idea of the seats in the inner bowl—but I also have a suggestion: to kinda get around the distance of the closest seats from the sidelines and endzones, might it be possible to stick just a few rows in the empty space you have there now, and just make them a different color, either gray or green so they wouldn't be as noticeable, and then continue the bowl idea around those? (In reality, I'm sure the organization could probably try to place a premium on those field seats..haha.)

All in all, this is a great piece of work

[Raysfan12]

Seriously, tell the Vikings organization to fund the design. It is awesome!

[NCCoachArete]

My goodness! This looks awesome!!! I like how the shape of the building really ties into the Viking logo and history.

[thespleenenator]

Absolutely fantastic. I agree about the glass roof though. Even in the picture, there are some weird shadows that might affect the players.

[South of South Street]

I am still trying to shape this thing so its less turkey like. But its only really that one angle that it looks so awkward. But I really appreiciate the nice comments.

[jlentz823]

great concept!

is it possible to integrate the design of the Oars more: so to say create entries from the concourse to the stadium bowl the where the oars would be placed. (circulation maybe)

but it truly is a great approach.

[Philsphan]

All the praise I had has been taken! This is truly amazing! I was also skeptical when I saw the first picture, but as I moved on and saw the ceiling of the stadium and the "Norse Gate" I was convinced of it's awesomeness! Great work.

[TheOneAndOnlyMau]

Great work! However as a landscape architecture student i cant help but be mad at your flat, static lawns!

All joking aside, awesome concept. I love the idea of having the stadium shell being the hull of the ship and exposing some of the structural support as the oars. very creative. Maybe a little cheesy but really, really cool

What kind of software are you using for the 3d modeling, rendering etc? Ive often wanted to try and build one of my imagined stadiums in rhino and render it but i just cant find the time. Great to see some really unique sports concepts on here that aren't just uniforms.

[JackieMoon]

Pretty nice design! Seems like the Metrodome is the last 70's era stadium left. They need an overhaul.