Vikings hold open house at U.S. Bank Stadium
Last weekend the Minnesota Vikings opened the doors to their new home this season at U.S. Bank Stadium. Nestled in downtown Minneapolis, the large glass structure bares resemblance to the hull of a ship. The tour gave fans their first real chance to see and experience the stadium up close. It was estimated that well over 110,000 people registered for free tickets online through ticketmaster for last weekends’ festivities.
The stadium cost just under $1.1 billion to construct and was completed around mid-June of last month, six weeks ahead of schedule. The Vikings are set to play their first game there, week three of the preseason on August 28th. However, before they even take the field, U.S. Bank Stadium will play host to a soccer match between A.C. Milan and Chelsea on August third, with Luke Bryan and Metallica scheduled to perform concerts, on back to back nights, in late August.
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The open house didn’t just give fans their first close-up view of U.S. Bank Stadium, but also provided the Vikings and stadium staff with a preview or a walkthrough of how games and events will go. It gave them their first real look of how fans will enter the stadium, take their seats, find concessions, use facilities and exit the stadium. The tour provides them with a dry run so they know what to expect and what to prepare for come game time.
The tour of the stadium was more along the lines of a free-for-all, open house, without any real sort of designated plan or guided tour. The open house provided fans with limited access to several areas and facilities of the new stadium.
All three levels were accessible to fans with seating opened up in both end zones. The Hyundai Suite was said to be available for public viewing, but this fan was unable to locate said suite, despite directions from one of the many hosts.
Limited concessions, centralized in one area were open and gave fans little idea or impression of the many unique food options that will be available at U.S. Bank Stadium. Fans were given little more than a glimpse of the overpriced hot dogs, brats, popcorn, nachos (actually just tortilla chips with nacho cheese) and Coke products.
The tour did afford fans with great unobstructed views. The seats are close to the action, almost right on top of the field. The seating arrangement is by far its best feature. Each seat provides fans with with one of the best views in all of football.
The stadium has a big open feel and atmosphere. That is largely due to its tall and impressive glass roof that allows for an amazing amount of light to be let in. The stadium has big open concourses filled with either a bathroom, a concession or souvenir stand, or a kiosk, every which way a fan turns. The walls were decorated with murals, portraits and tiles with various logos from Minnesota schools.
U.S. Bank Stadium feels like a luxury condominium decorated by an elementary school art teacher. The stadium was lacking in memorabilia. One question fans left asking themselves is “where were the jerseys, the helmets, the photos, etc….the history? It felt like with this new stadium, is a new Vikings’ team, and that the history of this team has been erased. One can only hope that by the time the season opens the stadium will have been decorated with pieces of memorabilia that make up the history and tradition of this team. Missing were the title banners and the “Ring of Honor.” Hopefully that is only a matter of ceremony and not an oversight.
The open house was lacking the type of festivities and fanfare one would expect with the opening of such a huge occasion as this was. There were no meet and greets with past and present players. There were no exciting photo opportunities, with the exception of “Crunch,” the Timberwolves mascot – not even a Vikings’ mascot could be present for the tour. There were no cool freebies, like posters or keychains; not even a brochure or pamphlet. There was no getting to run the field, see the locker room or even the press box. There were no fan opportunities set up outside; not even live music.
It was a very general admission tour for the fans that did flock to U.S. Bank Stadium. Fans had general access to general areas of the stadium and were treated with general concessions. It ultimately was no more than a dry run or dress rehearsal for the Vikings and stadium staff. It was an excuse for parking lots to charge event rate parking and the stadium to sell overpriced hot dogs.
The Vikings had a great chance to use this as an opportunity to connect with fans and drum up support for the upcoming season. For a team so steeped in tradition they missed a golden opportunity to take advantage of the situation and put it on full display. The Vikings really dropped the ball on this one.
– Miles Dittberner, is a Managing Editor at cover32 and covers the Minnesota Vikings. Like and follow vikings32 on Facebook and Twitter.
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