MINNEAPOLIS — Ethylene-tetra-fluoro-ethylene.
It's not one of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater's audible calls, nor is it a term for a three-wide receiver set in the Vikings offense.
Look higher for the clues to this tongue-twister, all the way up to the roof of Minnesota's new stadium.
Sixty percent of the colossal venue, some 248,000 square feet of it, will be covered solely by this transparent material called ETFE. The space-age product, scientifically categorized as a copolymer plastic, lets in light like glass would. It's just lighter, cheaper and cleaner.
Public financial support for the project was never going to prevail unless the facility was usable year-round for a variety of events, so an open-air stadium wasn't a viable option.