Design
The initial proposal does not have the final architectural design renderings, but did
include key features that are to be included in any final plan --including the plans for
neighboring urban development. These include a popular demand for a
retractable-roof, an open view of the surroundings (particularly the downtown skyline),
a glass-enclosed Winter Garden alongside the already-existing adjacent Metrodome
light-rail stop, leafy urban square with outdoor cafes and dense housing around its
edges, aesthetic improvements to roads connecting the stadium to nearby cultural
institutions, and adaptive reuse of neighboring historic buildings. The proposed urban
plan itself was received with cautious welcome.


Cost
The current proposed cost estimate for the downtown Minneapolis stadium is
$953,916,000.  The total breaks down to $616,564,000 for the stadium, $200,729,000
for a retractable roof, $58,130,000 for parking, $8,892,000 for adjacent land
right-of-way, and $69,601,000 to take into account inflation by 2010. This estimate
does not take into account the costs for the surrounding urban developments put forth
in the proposal. The estimate compares to upcoming stadiums in Indianapolis at $675
million (retractable roof, est. completion in 2008), Dallas at $932 million (retractable
roof, est. completion in 2009) and New York at $1.7 billion (open-air, est. completion in
2010)