This Is The New Vikings Stadium

Last night, at a formal presentation at Minneapolis's Guthrie Theater, the Vikings released the first renderings of their new billion-dollar stadium.

$975 million does not buy the Vikings a retractable roof, as many had suspected. But this is the next best thing: a happy medium between the claustrophobic Metrodome and the exposed-to-the-elements Target Field. The new Vikings stadium will feature the world's largest transparent roof, and giant pivoting doors at the west end that open up onto downtown.

It's about what you'd expect from HKS, the architectural firm whose signature is making the enclosed feel airy. HKS is responsible for Cowboys Stadium, Miller Park, and perhaps the Vikings stadium's closest analogue, Indianapolis's Lucas Oil Stadium.

The stadium is set to open in 2016, built on the ruins of the Metrodome. Barring any unforeseen holdups, this will be the Vikings' last season in the Metrodome—they'll play two years at UM's TCF Bank Stadium during construction.

More drawings of the giant glass Viking longship, complete with Adrian Peterson on the "prow":