U.S. BANK STADIUM THE NEW HOME OF THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS STEVE BERG Foreword by ALAN PAGE Published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press, in association with the Minnesota Vikings MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page ii 09/25/16 MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page iii 09/25/16 Text copyright © 2016 by Steve Berg. Photo copyrights indicated at back of book. Other materials copyright © 2016 by the Minnesota Historical Society. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, write to the Minnesota Historical Society Press, 345 Kellogg Blvd. W., St. Paul, MN 55102-1906. www.mnhspress.org The Minnesota Historical Society Press is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. International Standard Book Number ISBN: 978-1-68134-015-9 (hardcover) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request. MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page iv 09/25/16 MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page v 09/25/16 CONTENTS FOREWORD by Alan Page . viii PREFACE A Letter from the Owners . x INTRODUCTION A New Stadium Sparks Memories and Expectations . xii 1 Kickoff: Opening Day at U.S. Bank Stadium . 1 2 Going to Overtime: The Eighteen-Year Journey to a Stadium . 17 3 Imagining the Legacy: Creating a Daring Design . 61 4 Stadium Rising: Constructing U.S. Bank Stadium . 103 5 The Fan Experience: In and Around U.S. Bank Stadium . 149 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND PHOTO CREDITS . 208 MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page vi 09/25/16 MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page vii 09/25/16 KICKOFF OPENING DAY AT U.S. BANK STADIUM 1 MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page xvi 09/25/16 MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page 1 09/25/16 t is hours until kickoff but already thousands of revelers gather in the grassy park celebratory. Bands play bluegrass and just outside the sparkling new Vikings football palace on the east end of downtown rock music. Kids toss footballs. Dogs “ This is a beautiful place. The views Minneapolis. This will be U.S. Bank Stadium’s first regular-season NFL game, and pause to kneel and pant on a grassy Ithe league couldn’t have concocted a better script. The Vikes are matched against their slope. Cars clog the nearby streets. are amazing. It’ll help us in recruit- archrivals, the Green Bay Packers, in the 112th “border battle” between neighbors who Trains disgorge streams of passengers. ing, that’s for sure.” don’t always see eye to eye. Food trucks dispense their tempta- The cheese-wedge hats favored by the Green Bay faithful are abundant in the tions. Amber liquids flow at the beer festive crowd but nearly lost in a sea of Vikings purple. Scattered among the ordinary- garden across the way. LINVAL JOSEPH, defensive tackle, looking fans in numbered jerseys are those in scary costumes: caped marauders, Bob Tarud and Angela Alfieri have Minnesota Vikings purple-faced zombies, winged Valkyries with flowing purple hair, and various furry flown in from Philadelphia to meet creatures horned and armored for battle. Michael Richards and his young son, Still, the overall mood is less testy than campy. This is a giant family picnic late on Mikey, from Tampa. All are decked out a breezy mid-September afternoon. The temperature is eighty, the crowd smiley and A Vikings–Packers game always brings out playful ribbing between friends and mixed couples. in Vikings garb and eager to see their favorite team’s new digs. “It looks gor- U.S. Bank Stadium’s geous from here,” Alfieri says. “I can’t regular-season christen- ing came with an always wait to get inside.” Gazing at the glassy, highly anticipated match angular shape three blocks away, against the archrivals purple- faced Mikey describes the sta- from across the border. dium as “a big, beautiful piece of art.” Standing nearby are Andrew and Collin Austreng and Michael LaPaglia, all newly arrived from San Diego and eager to see the stadium’s giant glass doors swing open. Will this place some- day be as legendary as Green Bay’s hal- lowed Lambeau Field? “You need a team for that to happen,” LaPaglia says. “We’ll have to wait and see.” Fans decked out in all manner of Families traveled from far and wide to be a part of It’s easy to spot hand-holding cou- Vikings swag filled the streets of the festivities. ples or clumps of friends with split Minneapolis’s East Town district prior to game time. loyalties. Jane and Rob Stevenson from Marshfield, Wisconsin, are a mother and son who see football through 2 CHAPTER 1 KICKOFF 3 MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page 2 09/25/16 MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page 3 09/25/16 Perhaps the biggest “wow” factor at U.S. Bank Stadium is the massive different lenses. “I don’t know where I went wrong,” she says, poking her purple-clad “ We’ve come year after year operable glass doors that welcome boy. His answer is diplomatic: “We had to come and be part of history.” visitors and blur the lines between The Freirmuth clan from Elmwood, Wisconsin, is a mishmash of purple and green, to Vikings games, and this inside and out. owing to a move across the river decades ago. “I was born Minnesota, I’ll die Minne- is unbelievable.” sota,” says Jamie, a woman strongly fastened to her roots. Indeed, the stadium’s regular-season debut marks an important moment for Min- JOAN KNUDTSON, fan, Minnetonka nesotans whether or not they are football devotees. Never before have they had a truly state-of-the-art gathering place for major events year-round. The Metrodome, the last of the inflatable stadiums, always came across as a bargain basement. But U.S. Bank Sta- dium is a wholly different creature. This is a significant building, locally and nationally. The stadium’s striking and innovative archi- tecture sets it, and its city, apart from other stadiums around the league, the country, and the world. “ U.S. Bank Stadium is one of the nation’s most distinctive and identifiable buildings. Everyone who sees it will recognize it as the home of the Minnesota Vikings.” LENNY WILF, vice chairman, Minnesota Vikings Football LLC 4 CHAPTER 1 KICKOFF 5 MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page 4 09/25/16 MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page 5 09/25/16 The stadium—along with the Twins’ Target Field—puts the Twin Cities back into the national picture for hosting high-profile sports and other big events and, in the process, raises the region’s visibility and competitive chops at a time when its image has taken a hit. Despite a strong economy and a vibrant, sophisticated cultural scene—and thanks, perhaps, to the biting humor of Garrison Keillor and the Coen broth- ers—people tend to see Minnesotans as naïve, small-town eccentrics in puffy jackets who talk “kinda funny.” left: Workers in the stadium’s production control room get ready for “We have some repair work to do,” says Maureen Bausch, the show to start for the carefully choreographed pregame ceremony. CEO of the committee bringing the Super Bowl to Minneapo- below: Let the festivities begin! lis in 2018. Also significant is the distinctive architecture of the build- ing. It breaks new ground. Unlike any stadium in the United States, its see-through roof offers patrons the illusion of being outdoors while enjoying the climate-controlled comfort of an indoor venue. Its giant operable glass doors add to the indoor-outdoor effect. Joan Knudtson of Minnetonka stands marveling in the gaping doorway while her brother, Steve Barnett of Minne- apolis, snaps photos. “We’ve come year after year to Vikings games, and this is unbelievable,” she says. Asked if fans like her “deserve this,” she replies, “Don’t make me cry.” Up in the NBC booth, the TV commentators gush over these new digs. “I love how it makes you feel outside when you’re inside,” says Cris Collinsworth. “What a buzz in downtown Minneapolis,” says Al Michaels, as the boisterous crowd gathers before kickoff. “This is a mad- house.” Shifting to an exterior shot of the stadium’s glassy front, glowing against the setting sun, Michaels adds, “What The energy inside the stadium was electric a sight it is, the reflection of downtown on U.S. Bank Stadium. as the teams got ready to kick off. Beautiful.” 6 CHAPTER 1 KICKOFF 7 MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page 6 09/25/16 MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page 7 09/25/16 Hall of Famer Bud Grant sounds the cere- monial gjallarhorn from the second-level perch on the west end of the stadium. “ It was electric. This is a great venue, awesome. We’re pumped.” ERIC KENDRICKS, linebacker, Vikings Two longtime rivals go head-to-head on a historic night. Viktor the Viking takes it all in. The 2016 Minnesota Vikings head onto the field for the first regular- season home game at U.S. Bank Stadium. 8 CHAPTER 1 KICKOFF 9 MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page 8 09/25/16 MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page 9 09/25/16 IMAGINING THE LEGACY CREATING A DARING DESIGN 61 MNHS_Berg_U.S. Bank Stadium page 60 09/02/16 MNHS_Berg_U.S.