Subject :MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings said Friday they will increase their contribution to a downtown
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings said Friday they will increase their contribution to a downtown stadium to more than $500 million to make sure the project has everything they want as construction of their new home rapidly approaches. Chad Williams Youth Jersey . The team had been scheduled to pay $477 million of the stadiums nearly billion-dollar cost. But bids coming in higher than expected made the Vikings worry about losing distinctive design features and having to settle for less than top-end technology, such as ribbon scoreboards and high-definition televisions in concourses. "The only options were to whack the project, cut significantly back in the building, step back and redesign and try to redraw to a lower number or have the team put in more money," team vice-president Lester Bagley said. "Thats what our owners decided to do." Reconfiguring the stadium design to significantly cut costs would have delayed the project by a year or more, officials said. The stadium cost could now top $1 billion -- with $498 million in public money -- if builders need to use the entire pot of available money. Legislators approved the new stadium to replace the Metrodome out of concern that the Vikings could leave the state. Ceremonial groundbreaking is set for early next month, with the projected opening in 2016. John Wood, a senior executive at Mortenson Construction, said fences will go up around the Metrodome next week and heavy equipment will be moved in. Orders for steel for the new stadium will go in soon, with some specialized beams for the see-through roof coming from Luxembourg. The Vikings play their last game in the Metrodome on Dec. 29, ending a three-decade run for the Teflon-topped stadium that has hosted the Super Bowl, the Final Four, the World Series and countless monster truck rallies. A three-month demolition phase will start in mid-January. The Vikings were closing on their private financing Friday. They are using loans, seat license sales, a naming rights deal and other private revenue streams. The Vikings extra contribution comes in the form of a letter of credit guaranteed by owner Zygi Wilf, a real estate mogul. The contingency would be tapped if construction officials cant find savings elsewhere. But the attempt to shave costs has been unsuccessful so far. Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority chairwoman Michele Kelm-Helgen said the rising costs are a sign of an improving economy. "The good news: Construction is up. The bad news is construction is up and some of our bids were coming in higher than anticipated," she said. Aside from the Vikings $26.4 million letter of credit, the team is also forgoing $15 million in breaks it was due to receive as part of a deal to play two seasons at the University of Minnesotas on-campus stadium during construction. Wood said builders will still look for cost savings as the project proceeds over the next three years. But he noted that 16,000 man hours went into designing and pricing out stadium features, so planners are confident they will keep to the budget, including the contingency accounts. "Its there to spend," he said. Overall, the materials and labour for the stadium will cost $763 million. The remainder of the stadium price tag goes for things like architecture, legal fees and insurance. Budda Baker Jersey . The 25-year-old McIlroy, who is from Northern Ireland, was eligible to play for either Ireland or Team GB when golf makes its return to the Olympics in Brazil for the first time since 1904. Dorian Johnson Cardinas Jersey . At times during a solid but not spectacular season, they looked all three. Still the defending AFC champions persevered, riding their top-ranked defence and key contributions from younger players to a 12-4 record and their eighth playoff appearance since 2000, remarkable consistency in a league where change is the only constant.OMAHA, Neb. -- Terence "Bud" Crawford stopped Yuriorkis Gamboa in the ninth round Saturday night to successfully defend his WBO lightweight belt in a match of unbeatens. Crawford wobbled Gamboa with a left and knocked him down with another left earlier in the ninth, then connected with a right to the chin at the 2:53 mark, prompting referee Gino Rodriguez to call the fight. As Rodriguez waved his arms, Crawford ran to a neutral corner and jumped on the shoulders of co-manager Brian McIntyre. "I hurt him plenty of times," Crawford said, "so when I hurt him the last time, I was looking to finish." The 26-year-old Crawford (24-0, 17 knockouts) was fighting in his hometown for the first time as a professional, and more than 10,000 showed up at the CenturyLink Center, many of them chanting "Craw-ford! Craw-ford!" throughout. "I imagined everybody screaming, supporting me," Crawford said. "It was everything I thought it was going to be." It was his first title defence since his 12-round unanimous decision over Ricky Burns in Glasgow, Scotland, in March. He said he plans to move up to junior welterweight after this fight. The 32-year-old Cuban-born Gamboa (23-1, 16 knockouts), a 2004 Olympic champion, was fighting for the first time in a year. Crawford took control in the middle rounds. In the fifth, Crawford knocked down Gamboa with a left to the side of his head. Crawford staggered him just before the bell with a flurry of shots, bringging the crowd to its feet. Haason Reddick Jersey. The 5-foot-5 Gamboa, with a 5-inch reach disadvantage, had trouble working inside against Crawford. When Crawford moved in, Gamboa used his superior speed to duck under him. Crawford landed a right to Gamboas cheek in the second round. As the fighters went into a clinch, Gamboa put a couple quick rights to the back of Crawfords head, drawing a warning from the referee. Gamboa landed a couple stinging shots in the third, but that he never was able to hurt Crawford. "He caught me with a good shot in the ninth, at the beginning," Crawford said. "It got my attention and buzzed me a little." Omaha hadnt been site for a world championship fight since 1972, when Joe Frazier successfully defended his heavyweight title against Ron Stander, who was in the crowd Saturday night. In the co-main event, WBO No. 1-ranked middleweight Matt Korobov remained unbeaten with a unanimous decision over Jose Uzcatequi for that organizations intercontinental title. Korobov (24-0) landed a hard left to the previously unbeaten Uzcatequis nose in the first round, knocked him down twice in the fifth and put him on his knees with a body blow in the ninth. The 23-year-old Uzcatequi (22-1), who had stopped his previous five opponents, was in his first professional fight outside Mexico. In another fight, unbeaten Canadian Mikael Zewski stopped Prince Doku Jr. of Ghana in the third round of a scheduled 10-round bout for the NABF welterweight title. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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