Minneapolis stiffed as the 2012-2016 championships are awarded.

It’s not a surprise: the Metrodome is older than four of the winning facilities (Atlanta, new Dallas Cowboys stadium, Indianapolis and Houston) and smaller than the fifth (the Superdome).

Our moment has clearly passed; the Dome, which hosted the big games in 1992 and 2001, will be be 35 years old the next time the Final Four window opens — if the building even exists then. The Vikings’ and Sports Facilities Commission’s headlong pursuit of a new stadium on the site had to hurt; would you award your marquee event to a place its owners want to tear down?

The Strib’s story says the NCAA will dole out preliminary rounds to the losers; if the Dome gets one in the 2012-16 window, will that guarantee the building’s survival until then?