Brand-new Vikings stadium forces players to be carried to locker room through sports bar

The Minnesota Vikings held their first regular-season game yesterday at their new US Bank Stadium — or, as Minneapolis City Pages readers voted to nickname it, A Bad Use of Taxpayer Money — and star running back Adrian Peterson got hurt, as football players will do with alarming regularity. Then he had to be carried to the locker room through a restaurant:

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Having players walk from the locker room to the field past fans is an increasingly popular design decision, and this was being sold as a plus just a couple of months ago:

After Vikings players get ready in the locker room, it is really just a short walk out onto the field — and that walk will be a cool part for fans and players alike.

They go down a pathway through what is called the Delta Sky Club, which fans can be at pregame, during the game and postgame. Players walk right past the fans and out onto the field for pregame warmups.

This, it now turns out, was a really really bad idea. Maybe there’s a shortcut that Vikings staffers could have taken with Peterson but they didn’t? That would be a good thing. Otherwise, the Bad Use of Taxpayer Money just got a little bit worse.

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13 comments on “Brand-new Vikings stadium forces players to be carried to locker room through sports bar

  1. Perhaps someone should get Margie from Brainerd to look into this misuse of funds*S* But with that said…this can seriously backfire, in the form of lowered team morale.

  2. What mess this building is. Avoid the 300 level at all costs if you ever go. Food and beer selection was weak to a shocking degree. I hope whoever designed & approved New Metrodome has absolutely nothing to do with the new Bucks arena.

  3. “Looks great. Can’t wait to be there for the opener along with several thousand Packers fans.”

    Ben Miller. June 16th, 2016

    1. Exactly! It does look great! My advice is to never go inside. Just admire the architecture from the outside.

  4. Just a minor correction. According to reports, Adrian Peterson didn’t want a cart so he had to go through the way he went to the locker room. I guess he just wanted to have some encouragement from fellow fans.

      1. I’m guessing it’s not as short a route which would have meant a longer walk for AP. You’d need a direct access point to the locker rooms from the field. Think of all the large deliveries–uniforms, balls, training equipment, furniture–that wouldn’t be feasible to drag through the concourses and restaurant.

  5. The more the pro sport industry franchises charge for the privilege
    of being in the midst of their operations, the more of these types
    of these “exclusive perks” they have to offer.
    Can’t wait to see what will be he next gimmick is…

  6. Everyone’s jealous of my shiny new palace. Must be the gold-plated commode in the owner’s suite.

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