As the Minnesota Vikings work on building a new stadium to be complete by the 2016 season, the franchise increased the amount of money they'll have to put in to accomplish the design the team has in mind.
According to CBS Sports, the state of Minnesota will contribute $500 million and the city of Minneapolis will pay $150 million for the new stadium. The Vikings already committed to paying $477 million, but now they will need to put in an additional $41.4 million, putting the total expense for the stadium at over $1 billion.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the only way to keep the new stadium's design the way the team wants it, complete with ribbon boards, glass siding, HD TVs throughout the stadium and a high-tech scoreboard, is to increase the team's spending on the project.
"From Day one, our goal has been to build a stadium that benefits the entire state of Minnesota and provides the best game day experience possible for our fans," said Vikings president Mark Wilf in a statement. "This additional commitment is to ensure several of the features that are so important to all users of the stadium remain in this project."
Construction for the new stadium will begin Dec. 3. Until its completion in 2016, the Vikings will continue to play in TCF Bank Stadium.
Take a look at the new stadium design below.
Image: YouTube screen shot