About U.S. Bank Stadium
U.S. Bank Stadium is an enclosed stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Built on the former site of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the indoor stadium opened in 2016 and is the home of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL).
The stadium features a fixed roof with 60% transparent ETFE plastic, the largest such roof in North America. This design allows for an outdoor feel and natural light while protecting fans from the harsh Minnesota winters. The massive pivoting glass doors at the west entrance are the largest in the world, opening to the downtown skyline.
The angular, Viking-ship inspired design is distinct and imposing. The "Gjallarhorn" is sounded before every game, energizing the crowd to perform the "Skol Chant." Hosting Super Bowl LII in 2018, it has set a standard for cold-climate stadiums by embracing the environment via transparency rather than hiding from it.
The venue is owned by the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, a public agency created by the Minnesota Legislature in May 2012 to finance the 1.061-billion-dollar construction using 348 million dollars of state funds, 150 million from the City of Minneapolis and 553 million from the Wilf family's Vikings organisation. Zygi Wilf, a New Jersey shopping-mall developer, acquired the Vikings for 600 million dollars in June 2005 from previous owner Red McCombs of San Antonio. The US Bank naming-rights deal signed in June 2015 for 220 million dollars across 25 years remains in force through 2041. The Wilf family also owns a controlling stake in Minnesota United FC of Major League Soccer and Minneapolis-based commercial real-estate holdings estimated at 2.1 billion dollars across the Upper Midwest.
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🛰️ Satellite Identification Tips
At zoom 16, U.S. Bank Stadium is a striking angular structure in downtown Minneapolis, immediately recognisable by its distinctive asymmetric sloped roof covered in ETFE transparent panels. The roof slopes dramatically from a high point on the west down to a low point on the east, creating a unique wedge shape from satellite. The transparent roof means the field may be faintly visible through the panels from above. The nearby Target Field (Twins baseball) is visible to the northwest. The Minneapolis skyline and the distinctive IDS Center tower provide context. The light rail line runs along the southern edge.
Additional features refine identification. The Mill City Museum, a converted 1874 flour mill turned Minnesota Historical Society venue, occupies a distinctive brick-and-limestone ruined-wall complex 400 metres west of the stadium along the Mississippi riverfront. The Guthrie Theater's dramatic cantilever building by French architect Jean Nouvel, opened in 2006, projects over Mill Ruins Park as a striking blue-and-yellow modern pavilion. The Stone Arch Bridge, a 1883 Great Northern Railway crossing of the Mississippi River repurposed as a pedestrian and cycling promenade in 1994, spans the river just north of the venue as an unmistakable 23-arch limestone bridge. The Downtown East Commons, a 4.2-acre public park adjacent to the venue's east side, appears as a small landscaped green wedge. The Metro Blue Line light rail tracks curve along the southern edge of the venue as slim concrete corridors.
📊 Quick Facts
Capacity
66,655 (expandable to 73,000)
Opened
2016
Team
Minnesota Vikings
City
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Conference
NFC North
Owner
Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority
Playing surface
UBU Speed Series-S5-M
Elevation
254 m above sea level
