MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A prominent ornithological group says the forthcoming Vikings stadium will be a serious threat to birds unless its glass is changed.
The Audubon Society said that they are calling on the team and the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority to modify the stadium’s current specs in order to “make sure it’s not a death trap” for “thousands of migratory birds.”
The group’s Minnesota executive director said that the state guidelines require bond-funded projects to protect birds from window collisions, but claimed the team and MSFA recently rejected Audubon’s requests to use a safer type of glass.
“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,” Matthew Anderson said. “We know the people of Minnesota do not want their money killing birds.”
Construction plans call for the new Vikings stadium to feature nearly 200,000 square feet of glass.
The society said that a Minneapolis City Council committee earlier recommended that the stadium adopt the group’s suggestions to make the stadium more bird-safe, using glazing techniques and special lighting.
Source: CBS Minnesota
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