Minnesota Vikings Hold Ceremony for Start of Stadium Construction

The Minnesota Vikings held a ceremony to mark the start of construction on their new stadium, which is set to open in 2016.

For the next two seasons the NFL franchise will play away from the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome whilst it is torn down and their new venue is built.

The Vikings say the stadium will hold 65,000 fans and will be one of the most futuristic looking stadia in the world.

At $975m, the stadium will boast the largest transparent roof in American and despite being  a 1.7 million square foot facility, the Vikings have said fans will be closer to the field than in any other NFL stadium.

Vikings Owner Mark Wilf said: “This is a monumental day for the Vikings, our fans, and the entire State of Minnesota.

“We are grateful for the hundreds of hours of hard work that have been committed to this project by so many people. Today we have a chance to celebrate putting thousands of people back to work in building one of the best facilities in the world.”

“This is a special day that will go down in Minnesota history,” said star running back Adrian Peterson at the ceremony. “It’s going to be exciting for the state of Minnesota and the city of Minneapolis and I’m looking forward to it.”