Vikings stadium to have designer by Friday

The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority has announced that a meeting has been scheduled for this Friday to pick a designer for the new Minnesota Vikings stadium. Chairwoman Michele Kelm-Helgen told reporters that the group has yet to pick a finalist or even eliminate one of the groups, but she believes a decision will be chosen by Friday.

Once the firm is chosen, its bid will be made public, which includes its rendering of the new stadium. That said, the new stadium will not necessarily end up looking like the chosen proposal, Kelm-Helgen said. That's because the designs do not include potential cost.

There are five firms competing to design the stadium: AECOM (Los Angeles), Ewing Cole (Philadelphia), HKS (Dallas), HNTB (Kansas City) and Populous (Kansas City). Kelm-Helgen also said that the winning firm won't necessarily be picked because of the submitted proposal, as the Facilities Authority is looking more at general qualifications.