Weather Damages New Vikings Stadium

Severe thunderstorms that swept across the Twin Cities damaged U.S. Bank Stadium, which is preparing for its grand opening later this month.

Photo: AP Photo/Jim Mone

The NFL’s Minnesota Vikings have a new $1.1 billion home at U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis. Wells Fargo violated a signage agreement with the team by placing elevated signs on two office tower rooftops nearby that lawyers say “photo bomb” the stadium.

More than a dozen black zinc exterior panels came loose during the storm Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Minnesota Vikings vice president Lester Bagley said the team is working with the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority on a permanent fix.

Authority chairwoman Michele Kelm-Helgen notes that this isn’t the first time that panels have come loose, and the stadium has thousands of them. She says the contractor will repair them at no cost to taxpayers.

The damage isn’t expected to delay the opening of the stadium. An open house is still set for July 23-24. An International Cup soccer match will be the first sporting event on Aug. 3.