The Minnesota Vikings’ home venue of U.S. Bank Stadium is seven years old, which is awfully young compared to the vast majority of other sporting venues across the country.
So it’s not exactly ideal for the historic franchise to hear that their stadium will need close to $300 million in maintenance over the next 10 years. U.S. Bank Stadium only opened its doors in 2016, after all.
Per Rochelle Olson of the Star Tribune, an architectural assessment shared on Friday revealed that U.S. Bank Stadium “will require some $280 million in maintenance to remain in top condition over the next decade.” This includes approximately $48 million for next year alone.
Here’s what Michael Vekick — the chair of Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority — had to say, per Olson:
“Is there sufficient money to cover these? The answer to that is no. That is the work that we have to do collectively with (stadium operator) ASM, the Minnesota Vikings and…the governor and the Legislature.”
The Vikings played at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome from 1982 to 2013; the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball played there from 1982 to 2009. The Vikings then played home games for the 2014 and 2015 seasons at TCF Bank Stadium (now Huntington Bank Stadium) before moving into U.S. Bank Stadium.
Among all current NFL stadiums, U.S. Bank Stadium is the third-youngest behind Mercedes-Benz Stadium (home of the Atlanta Falcons, opened in 2017), SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, opened in 2020) and Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas Raiders, also opened in 2020).
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U.S. Bank Stadium is one of five NFL stadiums with a fixed roof, along with SoFi Stadium, Allegiant Stadium, the Caesars Superdome (home of the New Orleans Saints) and Ford Field (Detroit Lions).
The Vikings have been one of football’s best clubs at defending their home field since moving into U.S. Bank Stadium. They are 39-18-0 in regular season games and 1-1 in the postseason, with the one victory being the unforgettable “Minneapolis Miracle” game in the 2017 NFC Divisional Round.
