Glass is no new foe to birds, but the ongoing construction of the new Minnesota Vikings’ stadium—which will utilize approximately 190,000 square feet of glass in a migratory area—has gotten the fresh attention of activists and legislators alike. Since the glass that has already been ordered was not bird-friendly, window film may provide solution.

The new Minnesota Vikings stadium – set to open in 2016 – has upwards of 190,000 square feet of glass.

The new stadium will be located in downtown Minneapolis, next to St. Paul, Minn., headquarters of the 3M Company, a major player in architectural film. With the glass slated to go up soon, governmental and Viking officials have looked to 3M to provide solutions for the birds. The only problem is that 3M does not have such a product.

“It’s so preliminary, there’s not a product yet,” says Fanna Haile-Selassie, global media specialist, though she confirms 3M is working on a film that “the human eye cannot see once it’s put on,” but somehow birds will.

But while 3M works toward a solution, its Toronto-based distributor Convenience Group has one. Convenience Group is the parent company of Feather Friendly, which manufactures bird-friendly film out of 3M’s film. Since birds fly into glass’s reflections, Feather Friendly film contains negligible white dots and is applied to the exterior of glass structures so that birds can know the glass is there.

“There are solutions,” says Darin Martin, marketing manager, explaining that problems like these usually are discovered after the glass is already ordered, as it has been in this case. “The Feather Family product has created success as a retrofit solution. That’s where it’s been used most widely.”

Feather Friendly film has small dots evenly spaced throughout so that the birds will know the glass is there and avoid collision.

CollidEscape is another company that offers film “engineered to keep birds from hitting windows,” its website reads. Most of its film is a solid color on the exterior but transparent from the intereior.

A spokesperson for the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA), however, told Window Film magazine that it has no plans to utilize film with patterns on it.

MSFA chair Michele Kelm-Helgen released a statement saying the organization will continue to work with stakeholders and initial conversations with such entities have been “positive and productive.”

Window Film magazine will continue to track this story.