Designed To Beat A Blizzard - U.S. Bank Stadium - Home of the Minnesota Vikings

U.S. Bank Stadium is the sleek modern home of the Minnesota Vikings.The stadium opened in 2016 as a replacement for the aging Hubert. H. Humphrey Metrodome, which previously sat on the exact site of U.S. Bank Stadium. While the stadium was being constructed, the Vikings and their fans braved the cold and played outdoors at nearby TCF Bank Stadium, home of the University of Minnesota football team. U.S. Bank Stadium held its grand opening on July 22, 2016 and hosted its first regular season home opener on September 18th 2016 with a victory over the rival Green Bay Packers.

The stadium like many of its contemporary counterparts comes with a massive price tag. The total budget for the stadium was set at $1.061 billion dollars, with the cost fairly evenly split between the Vikings, the City of Minneapolis, and the state of Minnesota.

When planning for the stadium began, team owners requested an outdoor stadium. Local and state governments immediately rejected the proposal as it would mean events like the Super Bowl and Final Four would never be able to be hosted at the stadium. The team and governments compromised by agreeing to build an airy stadium with a lightweight translucent roof, glazed entrances with pivoting doors, and overall plans to get as much light into the stadium as possible. The design was implemented by HKS Inc, who also designed AT&T Stadium and Lucas Oil Stadium, both featured on other Archive of Everything videos.

After the roof of the Metrodome famously collapsed (another Archive of Everything video I might add), HKS made it a priority to design a roof that could easily and safely have snow removed without putting crews in danger. The snow accumulates in easily accessible areas and moves down a slanted roof to a heated gutter. The Water then drains into the nearby Mississippi River. The state of the art snow removal system is truly revolutionary and ensures a repeat of the famous roof collapse will never happen again.

The stadium seats a respectable 68,860 fans, although this can be expanded to 73,000 seats for events like concerts and the Super Bowl. When compared to the Metrodome’s previous maximum capacity of only 64,121 , U.S. Bank Stadium represents a huge upgrade and is much more appealing for larger sporting events.

Feasibility studies for the stadium began in 2007 when the Vikings proposed a billion dollar stadium complex that would have included the stadium, hotels, residential apartments, and nearly 2 million square feet of office space. The price tag and feasibility of the project scared off support of the state legislature and stadium planners were sent back to the drawing board.

Further plans with sliding roofs to be built at on the Metrodome site were shot down in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. The 2012 proposal is of note as the stadium concept would have used the existing footprint of the Metrodome, but would be heavily patterned off of Lucas Oil Stadium, which was designed by the same architecture firm as U.S. Bank Stadium. Finally in 2013 the newest and final stadium design was unveiled and met with a positive reception. Despite several lawsuits and funding shortfalls to fund the stadium, construction would start on time. Tragedy would strike the stadium during its construction when one worker died and another was injured while installing material on the roof of the stadium. The roofing company was fined for negligence for their part in the incident. The stadium naming rights were sold to U.S. Bank for $220 million dollars over a 25 year period. The stadium was also awarded the right to host Super Bowl 52 and the 2019 NCAA March Madness Final Four game.

Overall reception to the stadium has been extremely positive. Despite some funding controversies, the stadium's design has received rave reviews from fans and critics alike. The stadium is now constantly hosting large scale events, concerts, and will surely be on the shortlist for future Super Bowls.