Metrodome, former home of Vikings, Twins, deflated for final time
The Metrodome was home to the Vikings for 32 seasons. (Matthew Hintz/Getty Images)
The 32-year-old Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the former home of the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Twins, was deflated for the final time on Saturday morning.
Video of the deflation can be seen here.
The eventual demolition of the building will make way for the construction of a new $1 billion stadium for the Vikings, which is scheduled to open in 2016. They will play at the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium in 2014 and 2015.
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The Twins, who moved to Target Field in 2010, won two World Series at the Metrodome, the Vikings played 10 playoff games there, and the building also housed the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first season of existence in 1989. It also hosted 10 NCAA basketball tournaments, including the 1992 and 2001 Final Fours.
The final deflation took 35 minutes, much longer than it took to collapse a portion of the roof during a 2010 snowstorm. Saturday was the fifth time the roof has collapsed, but only the first time it was done intentionally.
The roof will reportedly be cut up and used for future construction projects.
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