Star Tribune
Minnesota Vikings, U.S. Bank Stadium seeking $62 million for second phase of secure perimeter
The second phase of U.S. Bank Stadium’s enhanced security perimeter is expected to cost $62 million, a sum that the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA) will ask Gov. Tim Walz and the 2024 Legislature to provide, according to a report Thursday.
Kansas City-based Populous architect Tyler Robertson gave an update with the cost estimate and new detailed renderings of the fortified perimeter at the regularly scheduled MSFA monthly meeting. The NFL’s Minnesota Vikings are the primary tenant in the state-owned building.
Officials say the main goal of the enhanced perimeter is to meet U.S. Department of Homeland Security anti-terrorism standards and protect those attending events inside the stadium without restricting access and movement. The MSFA also approved replacing the synthetic turf in the stadium for the second time since the building opened for the 2016 NFL season.
Chairman Michael Vekich said the MSFA doesn’t have the money to fund phase two of the perimeter, which was initially estimated at $48 million, so it will ask the Legislature and Gov. Tim Walz for the $62 million.
“This is a very exciting project. It really completes the vision for this stadium,” Vekich said.
The first phase of the enhanced fencing, which included much of the building except the main western entrance, will be done in May. The 2023 Legislature and Gov. Tim Walz paid $15.7 million for the first phase.
At the meeting, Vekich said the perimeter will preserve access to the building while protecting the seven-year-old stadium, a state asset that cost $1.1 billion in public and private money to build.
In the first phase, six-foot temporary chain-link fencing was replaced with permanent eight-foot fencing that cannot be climbed. The second phase will be more obvious, involving the western entrance of the building facing downtown, the light-rail station, the Medtronic plaza and the skyway connection.
Robertson said phase two completes the “vision for an inviting outdoor public space that is now the front door for U.S. Bank Stadium.”
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In addition to modernizing security access, the renderings showed permanent entry gates that are open on non-event days for public access and improved visibility to “elevate the appearance of U.S. Bank Stadium.”
The entries will be designed to provide swift, friction-less access during high-attendance events to improve fan experience and encourage repeat visits, Robertson said.
The big question with the second phase of the perimeter is the cost. Failure to upgrade the perimeter could result in the stadium’s loss of certification under the federal Safety Act standards and that could mean losing events, Vekich said.
Asked what would happen if the Legislature doesn’t fund the project next year, Vekich declined to speculate. The plan is to begin construction in late 2024.
Once complete, the perimeter will lift the stadium’s security level to K12 under Department of State anti-terrorism threat levels. The standard means the perimeter can stop a 15,000-pound vehicle traveling at 50 miles per hour, protecting the more than 60,000 fans inside during Vikings games.
The initial phase of the fencing included the north, eastern and southern sides of the building. In addition to the the anti-climb fencing, it includes new gates, crash-prevention bollards and in-ground wedge barriers.
The MSFA, which oversees the state-owned building on behalf of the public, also chose Austin, Texas-based Act Global to install new turf in early 2024 for $1.3 million. Unlike the slit film style of the current turf, the new grass will be monofilament, the preferred choice of the National Football League Players Association, the union for players.
Vikings executive vice president Steve Poppen said in an interview that the new turf provides a “slightly better safety experience.” He and Vekich said the replacement plan began last summer — before star receiver Justin Jefferson’s serious hamstring injury on Oct. 8 at U.S. Bank Stadium in the game against the Kansas City Chiefs that put him on the sidelines for much of the season.
Vekich said the turf is at the end of its lifespan.
Money to replace the turf comes from an existing MSFA capital account that is funded by both the state and the Vikings for routine maintenance at the stadium.
This is the second time the turf has been replaced in the building that’s played host to eight NFL seasons as well as soccer, high school football, collegiate baseball, Garth Brooks, Taylor Swift and Metallica concerts.
Poppen said the Vikings also plan to install the identical new turf in their Eagan indoor practice facility at their headquarters. The team will cover the cost for the Eagan turf replacement.
In 2012, the Legislature and Gov. Mark Dayton agreed to build the stadium with the Minnesota Vikings. The state covered $348 million and Minneapolis was to pay $150 million with the Vikings’ owners paying the rest. The bonds for the building were paid off earlier this year — more than two decades in advance.
Vekich said the building must be maintained as a first-class venue and that’s where state money is needed.
While it wasn’t under discussion Thursday, an MSFA study determined the building will need $280 million in maintenance in the coming decade, a number that included the initial estimate of $48 million for the next phase of the perimeter.
The turf replacement will take six weeks, forcing University of Minnesota Gophers baseball to find an alternate venue for the 2024 season.
Two men are dead and one woman was injured in a shooting at a homeless encampment in south Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon, police said. It was the second shooting at a Minneapolis encampment this weekend.
At about 2:20 p.m. Sunday, police responded to a reported shooting in the 4400 block of Snelling Avenue near the railroad tracks at the small encampment between Snelling and Hiawatha avenues. At the scene, officers found two men with fatal gunshot wounds, said Sgt. Garrett Parten Minneapolis Police spokesman. Responders rendered aid, but both men died at the scene.
A woman was found at the scene with life-threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital where she was being treated Sunday night, he said. Police have yet to say whether the three were living at the encampment.
Officers detained three people, who Parten said have since been released after police found they were not believed to be involved in the shooting. No suspects had been identified as of 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
The shooting is the second at a southside homeless encampment this weekend. One man died and two were critically injured early Saturday at an encampment shooting near E. 21st Street and 15th Avenue S. On Sunday, the man was identified as Deven Leonard Caston, 31, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“We don’t know if there’s a connection between this homeless encampment shooting and the one that occurred yesterday,” Parten said on Sunday. “That is a consideration of the investigation. We can’t rule it out.”
Ward 12 Council Member Aurin Chowdhury, who represents the area and lives nearby, was at the site of the shooting Sunday afternoon. She said officials need information about what happened to better understand how to address situations like this long-term.
“This is an absolute tragedy, and this type of violence should never occur within our city,” she said. “It really makes me think about how we need to look at this more systemically and not just take a whack-a-mole approach and expect the problem to go away.
During Sunday’s Twitch stream, Walz and Ocasio-Cortez played Madden while discussing making homebuying more accessible, building affordable housing, eliminating student loan debt and raising the federal minimum wage.
After the match, Walz showed off his Sega skills in a round of “Crazy Taxi,” the Y2K-era racing game where gamers play as a taxi driver picking up passengers and taking them to their destination for cash.
Walz called himself a “first-generation gamer” and recalled playing “Crazy Taxi” when he bought a Sega Dreamcast. He also mentioned the Minnesota Star Tribune’s coverage of how his old game console was sold and ended up with a Plymouth resident, who still has it.
Afterward, Walz and Ocasio-Cortez watched a short clip of Trump denying on Rogan’s podcast that he lost the 2020 presidential election. Democrat Joe Biden won that year.
Ocasio-Cortez during the livestream also showed viewers her farm on the cozy, indie game Stardew Valley. Walz said the game reminded him of Minnesota: “You’ve got mining,” he said. “You’ve got agriculture. You’ve got snow.”
Before Walz headed out to a rally in Nevada, he pleaded with viewers to vote. More than 12,000 viewers tuned into the livestream on Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitch channel. More watched from Harris’ channel.
”Hey guys, they’re now scrambling and trying to call us Nazis and fascists,” said Alina Habba, one of Trump’s attorneys, who draped a sparkly ”MAGA” jacket over the lectern as she spoke. ”And you know what they’re claiming, guys? It’s very scary. They’re claiming we’re going to go after them and try and put them in jail. Well, ain’t that rich?”
Declared Hogan in his characteristic raspy growl: ”I don’t see no stinkin’ Nazis in here.”
Trump has denounced the four criminal indictments brought against him as politically motivated. He has ramped up his denunciations in recent weeks of ”enemies from within,” naming domestic political rivals, and suggested he would use the military to go after them. Harris, in turn, has called Trump a ”fascist.”
The arena was full hours before Trump was scheduled to speak. Outside the arena, the sidewalks were overflowing with Trump supporters in red ”Make America Great Again” hats. There was a heavy security presence. Streets were blocked off and access to Penn Station was restricted.
In the crowd was Philip D’Agostino, a longtime Trump backer from Queens, the borough where Trump grew up. The 64-year-old said it was appropriate for Trump to be speaking at a place bills itself as ”the world’s most famous arena.”
”It just goes to show ya that he has a bigger following of any man that has ever lived,” D’Agostino said.
