Minn. Fans Talk On Imminent Dome Deflation
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Love it or hate it, the white-domed roof is soon to be gone. By Saturday night, the teflon bubble that's been a part of the Twin Cities skyline for more than 30 years will likely be gone.
Weather permitting, crews plan to deflate the Metrodome early Saturday. The old building is coming down to make way for a new Vikings stadium in downtown Minneapolis.
Benson Hardy works at Periscope, an ad agency that backs up to the stadium.
"It's gonna be kinda weird to look at it and first see it without a dome," he said.
Hardy's office overlooks the dome. He parks his car right in front of it.
"What I plan on doing is coming back Monday and standing in this exact same spot and taking the exact same picture," he said.
It should look different.
Workers will cut off the electricity, open the doors, the roof will deflate into stands where no one will sit again.
"I'm kind of a Colts fan," Hardy said. "But I'm a Vikings fan also, but really for me, it's just the nostalgia."
But for Deb Eaton, it's all about the Vikes. Her friend Ruth Tita says Eaton is the kind of fan who can't be disturbed during games, and who's known to yell.
Eaton's got a reputation for being the team's biggest fan, and her bedroom in her Crystal group home supports that notion. On the wall hangs a pair of Adrian Peterson's cleats.
She says it's time for change, and she's cautiously optimistic that will trickle down to the field.
"I'm not holding my breath," she said.
Saturday won't be about the game. It'll be about saying goodbye to a place where so many Minnesotans played.
Cameras will be inside to watch the roof fall, WCCO-TV will have that footage Saturday night. People are being asked not to come out.
Officials say crowds might make the construction zone dangerous.
No specific time for the deflating has been announced.