It's nearly halftime in Vikings construction bowl

A year after the Metrodome was demolished, the new Vikings stadium is almost halfway complete. Mortenson Construction, the lead contractor for the new stadium, says it will reach that milestone by the end of April.

The stadium has been under construction since Dec. 3, 2013, and is scheduled to open in July 2016.

It has a projected cost of $1.061 billion. The state of Minnesota is paying $348 million of that and the city of Minneapolis an additional $150 million. The taxpayer contribution was capped in the stadium legislation signed by Gov. Mark Dayton nearly three years ago. The team is contributing more than $550 million.

MPR News host Tom Weber recently got a tour of the construction site from John Wood, the top executive from Mortenson on the project, and Dave Mansell, the project superintendent.

3 tidbits about the new stadium

1) They're serious about completing construction on time. The contract requires Mortenson to be finished by July 29, 2016. In Mortenson's temporary office across the street from the new stadium hangs a clock that's counting down, to the second, to that day.

2) The highest point, the so-called "prow" that protrudes from the main support beam across the roof and gives the stadium a look that hints of a Viking ship, stands 313 feet from where the field will be (about 31 stories), about twice as high as the Metrodome's roof stood.

3) At approximately 1.75 million square feet, you could easily fit the Dome inside the new stadium, with room to spare. Consider that the easternmost 30-yard line on the field will be the spot where the eastern exterior side of the Metrodome building used to stand. In other words, the old Dome ended where the new 30-yard line will be.