The Minnesota Vikings are 73 days away from the ribbon-cutting on their new stadium, and 85 days from the first event — an international soccer game between Chelsea and A.C. Milan. With most of the exterior work done, most efforts are now focused on the inside of the stadium, primarily the concourses and the field itself. Tuesday, the Vikings invited reporters inside the new palace to check out the progress.
Click each picture for a brief description.
The murky Tuesday weather didn’t showcase the great natural light this stadium will let in, nor does this dark iPhone photo, but this view looking out the back of the east end zone is one of the best the stadium has to offer.
A view of the opposite side of the stadium. That’s what the nosebleeds will look like. They’re really not too bad.
Here’s a closer look at the turf the crew is laying, with the yard lines outlined on the asphalt beneath. The field-laying process will take three to four weeks. The Vikings are using UBU Sports’ Speed S5-M synthetic turf surface that will be infilled with a compound of particles that is 70 percent rubber, 30 percent sand and will make the turf bouncier.
Here’s a different view of the turf. Once installed, the Norseman logo at midfield will be stitched into the ground rather than painted on. When other events or concerts take place at US Bank Stadium, the field will be covered, and in some cases a new field will be placed over it. When A.C. Milan and Chelsea play Aug. 3, a natural grass field will be brought in to cover the current setup.
There’s the scoreboard that looks like a Chevrolet logo. There are matching scoreboards at each end of the field.
You’re not going crazy if these seats look discolored to you. Several thousand seats have been covered with plastic bags, presumably to avoid dust. There are thousands of exposed seats, however, that will need to wiped down before the season. Imagine having that job.
Here you see the stadium’s retractable seating, sort of like the Metrodome had behind the famous “Baggy” out in right field. These seats will be collapsed for high school or college baseball games, and you can vaguely see (in yellow) the distance marker on the purple fence that represents the number of feet the fence is from home plate.
The ink-stained wretches and broadcasters will be seated in the press box just above the second level. The new design is actually a welcome change from TCF Bank Stadium, where the press box was contained behind glass that prevented journalists from taking in the sounds of the game. Even cynics like us enjoy hearing the roar of the crowd.
From the outside, US Bank Stadium looks nearly 100 percent complete.
In an alternate universe, the Minnesota Vikings aren’t entering the week of the 2024 NFL Draft with a heightened urgency behind the most important position in sports. […]
