Repairs Needed At U.S. Bank Stadium Before Super Bowl, Vikes Season
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- U.S. Bank stadium will host some of the biggest sporting events in the country over the next nine months, including Super Bowl 52 and the X Games.
In preparation for the upcoming football season and the major sporting events, stadium officials want to wrap up some ongoing construction issues within the building.
Most of the work is minor, but one highly-visible problem concerns the exterior siding.
"We've identified a few issues or items that need to be improved or corrected," said Rick Evans, executive director of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority.
Construction projects still linger nearly a year since the stadium's completion.
MSFA Chair Kathleen Blatz laid out areas in need of attention during their monthly meeting. She called them a "punch list" of projects that need to get done before the first Vikings game of the season this fall.
Blatz sited small repairs, like railing height changes, cooling systems adjustments in areas with the facility's computers and even the placement of toilet paper dispensers.
"My goal is to get the punch list done," Blatz said.
Also on the repair list is a section of exterior paneling in the northwest corner of the stadium.
"We know we've had some minor leakage in that area so we're looking at the entire building," Evans said.
This isn't the first time there's been an issue with the stadium's facade. Several tiles detached during a winter storm in 2016, pointing to a problem with how the pieces are fastened to the building.
Mortenson Company, the contractor overseeing the construction, and their subcontractors fixed that issue.
Evans says the new area of leakage is not related to the previous problem, but it led to the overall review of the panels and how the tiling is attached to the building.
"We're under warranty and we want to make sure that we identify any issues just as a good homeowner would," Evans said.
He reiterated the goal of having the lingering construction issues completed by September. However, he pointed out the process may take time due to the number of parties involved.
"It's not just going to one party. Sure, we can go to Mortenson Company as the contractor, but they have subcontractors, there's other subcontractors, there's engineers, so forth," Evans said.
He says he and all the parties involved in the process discuss the repairs on an almost-daily basis.
MSFA commissioners were adamant that the public would not pay for the current repairs.
WCCO-TV reached out to Mortenson Company, who did not return our calls.
