Lawmakers look to 3M to make stadium bird-safe, but solution not clear

Updated: 5 p.m. | Posted: 8:30 a.m.

Two state lawmakers hope 3M may be able to engineer a way to keep birds from smashing against the glass on a new Minnesota Vikings stadium.

3M, though, says that's only a theory.

The Maplewood-based manufacturing giant on Wednesday afternoon tamped down hopes of an off-the-shelf fix to the bird collision question. There is no product that actually exists right now, a spokeswoman said, adding that it's simply a question that's been posed to 3M for research.

The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority and the Vikings said Wednesday that they were going ahead with the glass they'd always planned. It was ordered last summer and it'll start being installed in early 2015.

The MSFA says it's talking with 3M about the possibility of applying a window film to the glass on the new stadium that could help birds see the glass better. But the product doesn't actually exist right now.

The glass controversy has been brewing for more than a year, since an environmental analysis of the new stadium noted that glass surfaces in the design could prove fatal for birds, particularly since the downtown Minneapolis stadium is near the Mississippi bird migration corridor.

• More: Stadium Watch

The analysis prompted the Audubon Society chapter in Minnesota to meet with stadium builders and ask to redesign the stadium with special "fritted" glass that would be easier for birds to avoid.

The Vikings and the stadium authority declined a request to put the so-called "bird-safe" glass on the stadium saying it would interfere with the transparency and add $1 million in costs.

The authority offered to turn off lights inside the stadium that might attract birds and take other measures, but bird advocates haven't been satisfied with the effort. They have held protests at the construction site and at MSFA meetings.

DFL state Sen. Scott Dibble said a few lawmakers believe 3M was working on some glass that is bird safe, I think would also preserve the transparency the Vikings say is key to the fan experience.

State Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, cited the Jacob Javits Center in New York City as a good example. "You look at that building, and they're changing all of the glass in that building to bird-safe glass," she said earlier in the day.

Even if it is possible, an MSFA spokeswoman said they wouldn't consider it for the entire stadium, and neither the MSFA nor the Vikings are ready to commit to either installing more film or changing the actual glass if there are still bird strikes.