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Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis

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Color image of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, 2007.

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, 2007.

As enthusiasm for professional sports grew in Minnesota during the mid-twentieth century, Metropolitan Stadium, designed for baseball, became too small and had too few amenities to continue to attract professional teams. By the early 1970s, Minnesota's teams, seeking greater profits, began to demand a bigger and better venue. The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome ("The Dome"), a covered, multi-purpose stadium built in downtown Minneapolis, served this purpose for thirty-one years.

In 1973, a Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce Stadium Task Force studied options for a new facility. The city of Bloomington made its case for keeping the stadium there. State legislators, however, were reluctant to approve financing; they felt taxpayers would be unwilling to pay for a new ballpark.

The threat of the Twins and Vikings leaving Minnesota when their use agreements expired in 1975 prompted the legislature to reconsider the project. In 1977, State Representative Al Patton (DFL-Sartell) sponsored a no-site stadium bill. The bill authorized Governor Rudy Perpich to appoint a seven-member Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission (MSFC) to choose a location and design for a new stadium. The commission had three options: to spend up to $25 million to remodel Met Stadium for all sports; to spend up to $37.5 million to remodel it for baseball and build a new football stadium adjacent to it; or to spend up to $55 million to build a domed stadium in a new location.

The Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce Stadium Task Force created the Industry Square Development Corporation, which purchased a twenty-acre site on the east side of downtown Minneapolis for $14.5 million. The site strengthened the city's bid for the stadium.

The MSFC fielded eight proposals for the new facility. In December 1978, the commission voted 4–3 to approve the Minneapolis downtown site.

The architectural firms of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Setter, Leach & Lindstrom, Inc. won the building design contract. The engineering firm of Geiger Berger Associates designed the roof. Construction began in December 1979; Minnesota workers performed most of the labor.

The ten-acre, air-supported domed roof took four months to build. Crews inflated it for the first time on October 2, 1981, using twenty ninety-horsepower fans. Made of two layers of woven fiberglass fabric separated by a cushion of air, the Teflon-coated roof proved to be no match for the heavy snow and ice of Minnesota's winters. It collapsed four times, the first just six weeks after its completion.

The completed structure, financed through bond sales and hospitality taxes, cost $55 million. Officials named the stadium in honor of former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, an avid sports fan.

On April 6, 1982, the Twins played their first regular season game inside the Metrodome against the Seattle Mariners. The Vikings’ first indoor season opened September 12 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Metrodome hosted many premier events, including the 1985 All-Star Game and, on October 17, 1987, the first World Series game ever played indoors. The Dome will always be associated with the Twins' 1987 and 1991 World Series wins. The Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team played their 1989–1990 inaugural season there. The Dome welcomed Super Bowl XXVI and two National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four basketball tournaments.

Local college and high school athletes also played at the Metrodome. The University of Minnesota's Golden Gophers played football, baseball, and softball there. Many high school games moved to the Dome when the Halloween Blizzard of 1991 closed outdoor fields. Rollerbladers, runners, and walkers took advantage of the stadium's concourse during the winter months.

The Metrodome served as a music venue for concerts by Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, and many others. It became a movie set in 1993 for the film "Little Big League."

By the late 1990s, the multi-purpose Metrodome no longer met the needs of Minnesota's professional teams. The Twins played their last game on October 11, 2009, against the Yankees, moving to Target Field the following season. In 2009, the MSFC and the Vikings agreed to name the field, "Mall of America Field." The Vikings won their last game at the Dome on December 29, 2013, against the Detroit Lions. Crews demolished the Metrodome in 2014 to make way for U.S. Bank Stadium.

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Ballparks.com. Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
http://football.ballparks.com/NFL/MinnesotaVikings/

Baseball Almanac. 1987 World Series.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/yr1987ws.shtml

Baseball Almanac. 1991 World Series.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/yr1991ws.shtml

ESPN Baseball. Griffith Dies After Developing Kidney Infection.
http://static.espn.go.com/mlb/news/1999/1020/124107.html

Haven, Chris. "Mission Accomplished." Minneapolis Star Tribune, February 24, 2014.

Klobuchar, Amy.Uncovering the Dome: Was the Public Interest Served in Minnesota's 10-Year Political Brawl Over the Metrodome? Minneapolis: Bolger Publishing, 1982.

Mona, Dave, comp. The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Souvenir Book: A Pictorial History of the Twins, Vikings, Gophers, Millers, Saints–and Metrodome! Minneapolis: MSP Publications, 1982.

Mason, Tyler. “Remembering the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome: 1982–2013.” Fox Sports, December 29, 2013.
http://www.foxsports.com/north/story/hubert-h-humphrey-metrodome-1982-2013-122913

Metrodome Opening Souvenir Section. Minneapolis Tribune, March 28, 1982.

Minnesota Legislature. Metrodome History.
https://www.leg.state.mn.us/webcontent/lrl/issues/FootballStadium/MSFC_metrodome_history.pdf

The Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Laws of Minnesota for 1977: Chapter 89.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/?id=89&doctype=Chapter&year=1977&type=0

Setlist.fm. Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Concert Setlists.
http://www.setlist.fm/venue/hubert-h-humphrey-metrodome-minneapolis-mn-usa-3bd62414.html

Thornley, Stew. “Building the Metrodome.” Construction Bulletin 241, no. 10 (March 5, 1993): 8–10, 12, 19.

——— . Society for American Baseball Research. Metrodome (Minneapolis).
http://sabr.org/bioproj/park/b6255f4d

Twinsbaseball.com. History of the Metrodome.
http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/ballpark/min_ballpark_history.jsp

Weiner, Jay. "Vikings' Mall of America Field: A Story of Branding, Regionalism and Historic Irony." MinnPost, August 27, 2010.
https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2010/08/vikings-mall-america-field-story-branding-regionalism-and-historic-irony

Related Images

Color image of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, 2007.
Color image of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, 2007.
Black and white photograph of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, 501 Chicago Avenue, Minneapolis, 1982.
Black and white photograph of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, 501 Chicago Avenue, Minneapolis, 1982.
Black and white photograph of a panorama of the field from the stands during the 1985 MLB All-Star Game at the Metrodome on July 16, 1985.
Black and white photograph of a panorama of the field from the stands during the 1985 MLB All-Star Game at the Metrodome on July 16, 1985.
Color image of a Ticket stub for the Paul McCartney World Tour concert at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, 1993.
Color image of a Ticket stub for the Paul McCartney World Tour concert at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, 1993.
Color image of a Felt Minnesota Vikings pennant commemorating the team's final season at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, distributed at the final football game at the Dome on December 29, 2013.
Color image of a Felt Minnesota Vikings pennant commemorating the team's final season at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, distributed at the final football game at the Dome on December 29, 2013.
Color image of a Cotton bandana given to volunteers when the AIDS quilt was shown at the Metrodome, 1988.
Color image of a Cotton bandana given to volunteers when the AIDS quilt was shown at the Metrodome, 1988.
Color image of a Ticket to the final Minnesota Twins game played at the Metrodome, on October 4, 2009.
Color image of a Ticket to the final Minnesota Twins game played at the Metrodome, on October 4, 2009.
Color image of a Superbowl XXVI admission ticket for the AFC-NFC World Championship Game, January 26, 1992 at the Metrodome.
Color image of a Superbowl XXVI admission ticket for the AFC-NFC World Championship Game, January 26, 1992 at the Metrodome.
Color image of a Minnesota Timberwolves ticket to the Chicago Bulls game during the inaugural season of 1989-90, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
Color image of a Minnesota Timberwolves ticket to the Chicago Bulls game during the inaugural season of 1989-90, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
Color image of a pair of Metrodome row seats, in use from 1982–2013.
Color image of a pair of Metrodome row seats, in use from 1982–2013.
Color image of a sample from the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome's air-supported, ten-acre, Teflon-coated fiberglass fabric roof, which deflated to a snowstorm Dec. 12, 2010.
Color image of a sample from the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome's air-supported, ten-acre, Teflon-coated fiberglass fabric roof, which deflated to a snowstorm Dec. 12, 2010.
Color image of a section of turf used in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome baseball field, 2013.
Color image of a section of turf used in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome baseball field, 2013.
Color image of the last home plate used for baseball games at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2013.
Color image of the last home plate used for baseball games at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2013.
Color image of the interior of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, 2008. Photograph by Dean Shareski.
Color image of the interior of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, 2008. Photograph by Dean Shareski.
Color image of the last Minnesota Twins game at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, 2009.
Color image of the last Minnesota Twins game at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, 2009.

Turning Point

In 1977, the Minnesota State Legislature approves a no-site stadium bill, which ends years of debate and permits plans to be made for a new indoor sports facility.

Chronology

1977

The Minnesota State Legislature passes a no-site stadium bill, replacing the Metropolitan Sports Area Commission with the seven-member Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission appointed by Governor Rudy Perpich.

1978

The Industry Square Development Corporation purchases a twenty-acre site on the eastern side of downtown Minneapolis for $14.5 million.

December 1979

General construction of the Metrodome begins.

April 6, 1982

The Minnesota Twins play their first regular season game in the new Metrodome, against the Seattle Mariners, losing 7–11.

September 12, 1982

The Minnesota Vikings play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their first indoor game at the Dome, winning 17-10.

1985

The Metrodome hosts the All-Star Game. The National League won 6–1.

October 17, 1987

The Dome hosts the first World Series game to be played indoors.

October 25, 1987

The Twins win the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Twins win all four games played in the Metrodome.

1989

The Minnesota Timberwolves professional basketball team plays their first season games at the Dome while the Target Center is under construction.

1991

The Twins win their second World Series title against the Atlanta Braves. The Twins win all four games played in the Metrodome.

January 26, 1992

The Dome hosts its first Super Bowl game. The Washington Redskins beat the Buffalo Bills.

March 1992

The National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Final Four basketball tournament is held at the Dome.

March 2001

The Dome hosts its second NCAA Final Four tournament.

October 2009

Early in the month, the Vikings strike an agreement with the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission to name the playing field "Mall of America Field."

October 11, 2009

The Twins play their last game at the Dome, losing to the New York Yankees 4–1 in an American League Division Series game.

December 29, 2013

The Vikings play their last game at the Dome, beating the Detroit Lions 14–13.