The Minnesota Vikings have announced that the Metrodome, their home since 1982, will not be available for Monday night’s game against the Bears.
“With Mall of America Field at the Metrodome now unavailable, we have turned our full attention to the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium,” the Vikings said in a statement released tonight. “We have been in close contact with the University and the NFL office since last weekend. Preparation of the stadium is fully underway and University officials have told us they will make every reasonable effort to ensure the stadium will be ready for Monday night.
“The league office is assisting our staff and the University to ensure the stadium is safe for our fans and meets the primary technical requirements for an NFL game. We appreciate the tremendous cooperation of the University of Minnesota and look forward to completing preparations for the game and turning this into a memorable experience for the State of Minnesota and Vikings fans.”
The statement says that "[m]ore information will follow” for those who have tickets to the game. Barring a loaves-and-fishes-style miracle, the information will include the plan for breaking the news to roughly 14,000 people who have tickets to the game that, in reality, they don’t.
