Minnesotans Building the New Vikings Stadium

The new Vikings stadium is being built for Minnesotans, by Minnesotans, mostly. About 92% of those working on the new building are Minnesotans, with the rest being mostly from Wisconsin. Governor Dayton used the possibility of creating job opportunities for Minnesotans in his push for the public to pay for part of the stadium, and it seems this possibility has been realized. The construction manager, Mortenson Construction, is Minnesota-based as well. This has allowed for a higher rate of Minnesota contractors on the project, 92% again. Although this rate does not include professional and technical work, such as the stadium's design. In addition to a high percentage of Minnesota workers, the project has also met and surpassed its equity goals of 32% minorities and 6% women. Of the total work hours on the project, 9% is done by women while 33% is done by minorities. The beginning of projects such as these require specialized workers, often making it difficult to employ both minorities and Minnesotans. Experienced crews, typically white men, travel around the nation to kick off these large projects. These types of teams make up part of the non-Minnesotan 8%. One example of this is cranes that are currently being used on the site. They come from out-of-state and are manned by non-Minnesotans because there is no training available in the area. As the project progresses, the work will become less specialized. This means we will likely see a growth in both Minnesotan workers and minority workers. In addition to the Minnesota workforce, about 86% of the materials have been purchased from Minnesota businesses.   Photo via: Wikimedia Commons