MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings sought an innovative and unique look for their new stadium that could be instantly recognized on national television.
To receive public funding, the place needed to be covered, and a retractable roof option was passed over for a translucent cover. It’s more cost-efficient and can make the interior almost feel like the outdoors when coupled with the top-to-bottom glass front of the asymmetrical, ship-shaped building.
As the construction process unfolded, the Vikings learned that their preferred design came with quite the benefit.
Loud noises.
The see-through plastic panels that account for 60 percent of the roof, a space-age material called ethylene tetraflouroethylene or ETFE, are considered more acoustically reflective than the Teflon cover over the old Metrodome.