BY WENDY HAAN, MINNESTOA CITIZENS FOR THE PROTECTION OF MIGRATORY BIRDS
Bird advocates went before the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority Friday morning, Oct. 10, urging the panel to order bird-safe, energy efficient glass for the new Vikings stadium under construction on a major migratory bird corridor. Experts agree the 200,000 sq ft glass wall surrounded by park land will attract migrating birds to a death trap.
Though Audubon MN has been strongly advocating for the bird-safe glass for over 15 months, MSFA chairwoman, Michele Kelm-Helgen, dismissed their recommendation and ordered highly reflective, transparent glass.
The Minneapolis City Council passed a resolution calling for the installation of bird-safe glass on the new stadium. In addition, the glass chosen by MSFA does not meet the MN Sustainable Building law put in place shortly after the Vikings stadium design was approved, therefore irresponsible glass choice was grandfathered in.
Kelm-Helgen said the construction would proceed as planned, without a change in the glass. “It’s about the design of the building … a significant point of the design was to try to have this transparency as you look in and as you look out,” Kelm-Helgen said.
Both the Vikings and MSFA are on record stating that it is not a question of money. There is currently over $40 million in construction contingency funds available. This bird-safe glass would be 1/10th of 1% of the total cost.
MSFA board members were appointed by our governor, Mark Dayton. They are supposed to represent the interests of the people of Minnesota. Though 93,000 petition signatures have been presented to Dayton in support of saving our declining bird populations, he has avoided taking a stand.
The Minnesota Citizens for the Protection of Migratory Birds urges all concerned citizens to call on Governor Dayton to stand behind his commitment to our environment. We do not want the Vikings stadium, funded by $498 million from taxpayers, to be known as the Bird Graveyard. The current glass choice does not reflect Minnesota values. Minnesot-ans care about the protection of our environment and want to do better than this! The aesthetic preference for highly transparent glass is not worth killing thousands of migratory birds. Change the Glass Now!!
Preaching to the choir here, but democracy went out the window when Rybak and Dayton let this fiasco go to the legislature, and dodge the bullet of a City referendum, which would have stopped this ripoff in its tracks.