If you’re like many of us at Strother Communications Group, you love Vikings football and are interested in the progress of the Metrodome roof repair. There’s perhaps no better view of the reconstruction project than from our office on top the Campbell Mithun Tower – and we wanted to share it with you.

Reconstruction efforts recently started and are expected to continue through July. We’ll post a progress photo each Monday (and perhaps more during the week if something significant happens), so be sure to check in weekly and feel free pass this link along to any of your friends.

July 11, 2011: We’re coming down the home stretch for the Metrodome roof repair project.  With just a few weeks left until they plan to inflate the roof, it appears everything is on schedule.  Last week they replaced the remaining pie-shaped pieces that read “America” and “Field.”

They plan to raise the roof at the end of the month, so stay tuned as we have some fun things in mind when they do.

July 4, 2011: Our office is closed for the holiday, but here are a few pictures from last week. You’ll see they have finally replaced the large triangular piece that once read, “Mall” and they’ve also filled in most of the center squares.  That’s it for now, Happy 4^th of July everyone!

June 27, 2011: Last week workers were able to replace the large triangular piece, and it appears they also have materials in position to begin replacing the three triangular pieces that read “Mall of,” “America,” “Field.” Once that’s complete there won’t be much left until it’s time to raise the roof. We’re hoping to get some great shots when they raise the roof, so stayed tuned.

Also, now that the Timberwolves chose Derrick Williams with the #2 pick and Ricky Rubio-mania has hit the Twin Cities, they might have to move T’Wolves games to the Metrodome.  Well, probably not, but one can always hope.

June 20, 2011: The other day we were trying to guess how much was left to finish on the Metrodome roof. We had a wide-range of estimates, but last week Jim Maki confirmed to the Pioneer Press that workers are 80 percent finished with repairs to the Metrodome roof.

With plans to inflate the roof scheduled for the last week in July, workers have five weeks to put the finishing touches on the project. While the story didn’t say it, this seems to be ahead of schedule. That is more than we can say for the new stadium bill, which wasn’t finalized by the end of last week as was hoped.

On Friday, workers removed a large piece shaped section of the roof.  Most of the small square sections have now been replaced.

June 13, 2011: After many wet weeks the workers on the Metrodome roof finally got a reprieve from the rain in the form of 100°F-plus temps on Monday and Tuesday. We imagine there are few things as uncomfortable as standing on a Teflon roof with no shade in that kind of sweltering heat!

Despite the heat, more progress could be seen last week as the workers continued to fill in the middle section of the Metrodome roof. In a way, it’s sort of like watching an odd form of Tic-Tac-Toe, with each square slowly being removed from play.

And while the workers are intent on getting the Metrodome ready for the first preseason game, it’s possible all their hurried, hard work will be for not. Last week it became known the NFL has plans in place for an 8-game schedule if the lockout drags into November. But let’s be honest, if the players and owners can’t come to an agreement before then, they may as well leave the Metrodome roof in the shape it’s in, because fans might be too fed-up to attend any games.

June 6, 2011: While the NFL is still in lockout mode and the status of a new stadium in Arden Hills continues to be in limbo, the workers on the Metrodome roof dutifully plug away in preparation for the upcoming Vikings season. Last week we began to see some visual progress, with the addition of more and different colored pillows to anchor the roof. They’ve also begun to add new square panels to the middle section of the Metrodome roof.

You’ll see they’ve added more pillows, including a large blue one on the side facing Washington Avenue. Quite frankly, with winds pushing upward of 40 mph last week it’s a miracle those pillows didn’t wind up somewhere in Wisconsin.

May 30, 2011: Our office is closed for the day, and you’re probably busy paying respects to those who have served our country (or firing up the grill), so we wanted to keep today’s post short and sweet.

There was a lot of work done toward the end of last week. Workers looked like ant colonies on Friday, adding the pillows and shimmying up and down the Teflon panels throughout the day. Here is how the Metrodome looked on Friday:

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

May 23, 2011: The roof of the Metrodome finally looks a little different. They’ve added some different colored pillows to the roof, which we learned a few weeks back anchor the panels when it’s windy. It stands to reason the green, white and yellow pillows represent different weights, but we joked they look like the world’s largest pieces of Chiclets®.

Last week everyone was saddened by the loss of Harmon Killebrew. Although he never played a game inside the Metrodome, it’s safe to say that if he did, Ben Oglivie wouldn’t hold the record for the longest home run hit in the Metrodome at 481 feet. Harmon’s longest blast was measured at 522 feet, and a chair at the Mall of America commemorates the spot where the ball landed.

May 16, 2011: The more things change, the more they stay the same. We’re still waiting for some visual progress on the Metrodome roof. Every so often we will see a crane stick out of the hole in the roof for a bit, sort of like the Whack-a-Mole game. They’re still working on the one side of the Metrodome where we don’t have a good angle, but we’re sure progress is being made.

Speaking of Whack-a-Mole, decisions on the new stadium seem to pop up and get struck down almost by the hour. As you’re likely aware, last week the Vikings announced a deal to build a new retractable-roof stadium in Arden Hills. While it was all smiles at Tuesday’s press conference, the deal is far from over, with the additional road and infrastructure costs a potential linchpin that could unhinge the deal. In fact, on Friday Gov. Mark Dayton told the Star Tribune the stadium deal may not be in the best interests of Minnesotans. It seems this issue has taken more twists and turns than the support beams of the Metrodome roof when it collapsed. Stayed tuned for more progress and more information on the stadium plans.

May 9, 2011: Hey, did you hear the Vikings drafted a quarterback?  Seriously, there’s not much for us to report on the Metrodome this week as not much has changed. The bigger discussion about the Vikings last week centered on the potential location of a new stadium. While nothing is finalized, it appears to be down to Arden Hills or the current site of the Metrodome. If it winds up being the current site, we’ll have a lot fun documenting the new construction.

But as we mentioned, not much visually changed last week. Here, compare Friday’s photo to the previous Tuesday’s.

See, it looks nearly identical.  We’re sure everyone is working hard over there.  It’s just that they’re fixing the one side of the Metrodome roof that isn’t visible from our perch atop the Campbell Mithun Tower.

However, MPR posted a great close-up of some of the Metrodome workers.

May 2, 2011: Wow, last week was an exciting time for our Metrodome Monday blog. It was mentioned in a Star Tribune story, and traffic shot through the roof. It even got the attention of the folks at the Metropolitan Sports Facility Commission. They’ve invited us over for a visit, and hopefully we’ll have a chance to take them up on their offer soon.

As you can see, they’ve started to remove the long panels on the Metrodome, which are 40ft x 229ft. It should be interesting to watch how long it takes to replace such large panels.

Doug Radcliffe, the senior site manager at Birdair, wrote us to say safety is their top priority, particularly as the Teflon panels are even more slippery than usual due to the rain we’ve been having.

It must have been a miserable week for the construction workers. Rain and cold made for some tough days. The interior of the Metrodome has to be soaked as well. The roof is basically an inverted umbrella at this point with a hole in the middle, so a ton of water must have poured in, especially on Tuesday and Wednesday when it seemed to rain all…day…long!

April 25, 2011: Last week must have been miserable for the workers, dealing with rain, snow and cold. Still the crews persevered and are said to be working six days a week, 10 hours a day.

Workers have replaced 32 of the 64 square panels that make up the center of the roof. Soon they will begin to replace the long panels, when the real fun will begin. Some of those panels are 40ft x 229ft.

At least the mystery of the yellow “balloons” has been solved.  According the Star Tribune they anchor the panels when it gets windy. That’s good to know. We were beginning to think they were taking a cue from the movie “Up” and using the balloons to transport the Metrodome to wherever they decide to put the new stadium.

And for those wanting an interior photo, the Pioneer Press posted a great shot last week.

April 18, 2011: Last week workers started the process of replacing the square panels that make up the center of the Metrodome roof. It’s almost like watching a quilt being sewn, with each square meticulously woven into place. Surprisingly, the new pieces of fabric don’t appear to be any brighter than the old fabric.

We still have no idea what those yellow “balloons” are for. We’d love to hear your thoughts on what they are – or at least your best guess.

Ironically, the Vikings first preseason home game will be against the Dallas Cowboys, whose home field was actually designed to have a “hole in the roof.”

April 11, 2011: Construction efforts really picked up last week. They’ve removed many more panels since last Monday. We have no idea what those yellow things on the roof are for, but workers drag them out flat and inflate them once they’re in place. Perhaps they take some of the stress off the remaining panels? Either that or they’re parachutes used to base jump into the dome.

Trevor thinks the remaining long panels would make an awesome Slip-N-Slide.

Orange cranes occasionally poke out of the dome like giant octopus arms. They are used to lift workers to the top of the Metrodome roof. We zoomed in so you can see people walking on the roof. Jeron calls “dibs” if they ever find the ball Dave Kingman got stuck in the roof.

April 4, 2011: There’s a big draft running through the Metrodome right now. No, not the NFL Draft. From our perspective it appears 14 panels are currently being replaced.

The Vikings take the field to the Led Zeppelin’s iconic Immigrant Song, but who knew its famous lyrics, “We come from the land of the ice and snow,” would describe the exact elements that ruined their field. Here’s how it all started on December 12, 2010:

 (Tap to select a star. Tap star again to vote.)