Tag: U.S. Bank Stadium

U.S. Bank could host Chiefs/Bucs on Sunday Night Football

The Vikings home stadium could host a neutral site game this week

When inclement weather comes into play, the National Football League has a history of being flexible to make games work.

Rescheduling games can be incredibly difficult due to teams having different bye weeks and the playoffs being structured the way they are.

Hurricane Ian has started those conversations for Tampa Bay’s Sunday Night Football game against the Kansas City Chiefs. If they choose to move the game for safety measures, the game would be played at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

The move isn’t one that comes as a big surprise. The NFL moved week one between the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers from the Superdome to Jacksonville, FL. The Saints won the game 35-3 and the atmosphere felt like a neutral field.

The official announcement would come later in the week if U.S. Bank Stadium will get to host its first neutral site game since Super Bowl LII.

Report: Permanent fence to be built around U.S. Bank Stadium

Gamedays at U.S. Bank Stadium could be forever changed

Having opened in 2016, U.S. Bank Stadium has been one of the best stadiums in the National Football League. The Minnesota Vikings have a 32-17 regular season record in the building that is shaped like a Vikings ship.

The stadium is one of the most revered places in the city of Minneapolis. It even lights up purple at night.

On Thursday, the governing body of the stadium, the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, approved moving forward with plans to put a fence around the stadium.

According to an article from local NBC affiliate KARE-11, it is an investment for both fan safety and the safety of the stadium.

“By entering into an agreement for these professional services, the MSFA intends to further explore specific concepts and estimated costs of a permanent secured perimeter,” the MFSA said in a statement. “Goals for the potential perimeter project include enhanced public safety, preservation of public access, and inclusion of public art.”

Lester Bagley who is the Vikings VP of public affairs, says that the fence is an investment in public safety.

“It focuses on the security issue, while not losing the great iconic design, and beauty of U.S. Bank Stadium,” Bagley said.

The installation of a fence was first recommended by homeland security in 2016 and Vikings have supported that idea since then. Finding the plan for the fence will take approximately a year according to Bagely

As far as who is going to pay for the fence? That hasn’t been decided as of yet. Taxpayers paid for $500 million of the project and sticking them with the bill wouldn’t be a great look.

Needless to say, the gameday experience will be forever changed once the fence goes up.

Vikings’ U.S. Bank Stadium named best home field in the NFL

The Vikings have quite the home field advantage with U.S. Bank Stadium.

Since 2016, the Vikings have been playing their home games in U.S. Bank Stadium. The stadium is well known for its almost-deafening crowds.

That, on top of the facilities that stadium has to offer, helped the Vikings’ home field rank as the No. 1 in the NFL, according to our friends at Touchdown Wire. Mark Lane of Touchdown Wire wrote:

“The Minnesota Vikings managed to get a venue that mimics having a retractable roof without actually opening it up and exposing the fans and players to the inhospitable Minneapolis weather. The stadium also provides iconic scenes of downtown. The exterior is a bit asymmetrical, but it is nevertheless one of the more visually appealing venues in all of sports.”

As of now, the Vikings should be able to utilize their home-field advantage once again. The league expects to play with full stadiums in 2021. That should help plenty of teams affect opposing offenses with a hostile environment, Minnesota included.

Vikings project as slightly above average for ticket prices

See how the Minnesota Vikings project in the Fan Cost Index.

As the NFL tries to navigate its season amid the coronavirus pandemic, the league stands to lose quite a bit of money in stadium revenue.

For teams across the league, the pandemic has not only affected its players and staff, but also taken away a key revenue stream.

Team Marketing Report (TMR) recently looked at ticket prices across the league, based on projections for what this year could have been with stadium revenue fully intact. TMR projected that the Vikings are slightly above average in ticket prices among NFL teams to go see in person for a family of four, which is known as the Fan Cost Index (FCI).

Here is a more detailed description of FCI:

“(The) formula is based on the average cost of four adult non-premium tickets, single-car parking, two draft beers, four soft drinks, four hot dogs and two adult-sized adjustable hats. The hats are a proxy for the souvenirs available at an arena or stadium,” writes Bill Shea of The Athletic. 

So in that context, the Vikings game costs $562.35 for a family of four to attend, per Shea. That is slightly above the average FCI for the NFL, which is $553.53.

The most expensive team on the FCI was the Las Vegas Raiders. The cheapest? The Cincinnati Bengals.

Vikings announce they will have no fans at September home games

For the Vikings, those games are the opener against the Packers on Sept. 13 and the Colts on Sept. 20.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Vikings have had to adjust by changing conventional routines and taking protocols to prevent the virus from spreading.

Minnesota’s latest adjustment is having no fans for the September home games, the team announced on Tuesday. Those games are the opener against the Packers on Sept. 13 and Sept. 27 against the Titans.

“We have sought to balance the opportunity to provide fan access with the responsibility to adhere to public health and medical guidance in order to maintain the health and safety of fans, players, staff members and the broader community. Ultimately, public health is our top priority,” the Vikings said in a statement.

The team did, however, leave the door open for later games to possibly have fans down the road. It remains to be seen whether that will come to fruition, though.

“We will continue to work with the appropriate officials on our plans with the hope of bringing fans back in a safe manner later this season,” the Vikings said in a statement.

Vikings will have no fans for first 2 games of 2020 season

The next game the Vikings could have fans at is on Oct. 18 against the Falcons.

The Vikings announced Tuesday that for their first two games of the 2020 season, they will do so without fans at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Here is the team’s official statement:

Over the past several months, we have collaborated with U.S. Bank Stadium partners, the NFL, the State of Minnesota and the City of Minneapolis to determine the best way to safely and responsibly host a limited number of fans at Vikings home games. We have sought to balance the opportunity to provide fan access with the responsibility to adhere to public health and medical guidance in order to maintain the health and safety of fans, players, staff members and the broader community. Ultimately, public health is our top priority.

Based on our conversations and the current Minnesota Department of Health guidelines that specify an indoor venue capacity of 250, we have determined it is not the right time to welcome fans back to U.S. Bank Stadium. As a result, the first two Vikings home games on Sunday, September 13, and Sunday, September 27, will be closed to the public. We will continue to work with the appropriate officials on our plans with the hope of bringing fans back in a safe manner later this season.

The move doesn’t come as much of a surprise as we’re seeing similar announcements from teams across the league.

The next game the Vikings could have fans at is on Oct. 18 against the Falcons.

Gallery: Everson Griffen’s 2019 season with the Vikings

It was reported on Wednesday that Everson Griffen had signed a deal with the Dallas Cowboys. Here are photos from his 2019 campaign.

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Minnesota Vikings playoff odds and predicted total wins: NFL futures picks and best bets

Assessing the betting odds of the Minnesota Vikings making the 2020 NFL playoffs and predicting their exact win total.

Will the Minnesota Vikings make the 2020 NFL playoffs? Below, we look at the BetMGM betting odds and make our pick. We also predict their exact win total for the upcoming season.

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Odds last updated Tuesday, May 26 at 1:10 p.m. ET.

Will the Minnesota Vikings make the 2020 NFL playoffs?

Yes:  -134 | No:  +110

Last season was QB Kirk Cousins‘ second campaign as the Vikings starter, leading them to a 10-6 regular-season finish and a playoff berth. It was a two-win improvement over his first year in Minnesota when the Vikes missed the postseason after going 8-7-1. By all measures, 2019 was a step in the right direction for Minnesota, but this offseason had seen a lot of roster turnover.

The notable Vikings that are no longer with the team include WR Stefon Diggs, CB Xavier Rhodes, DT Linval Joseph, DE Everson Griffen and S Andrew Sendejo. There are many Pro Bowl appearances amongst those names, so there are questions about Minnesota’s depth that will need to be answered. The biggest loss for the Vikings on offense is former offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, who left to be the Cleveland Browns head coach. There are a lot of productive players that need to be replaced and it won’t be easy with changes on the coaching staff, but Minnesota has the guy for the job.

In his previous six seasons as head coach of the Vikings, Mike Zimmer has led them to three playoff appearances and won the NFC North twice. Since Zimmer is considered a defensive whiz around the NFL and the talent that remains on the roster, there won’t be much fall-off on defense from 2019. With the NFL playoffs expanding to seven teams per conference, I trust Zimmer enough to confidently BET YES (-134) Minnesota will make the playoffs.

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How many games will the Minnesota Vikings win in 2020? Bands

BAND ODDS
0-4 Wins +5000
5-8 Wins +125
9-12 Wins -154
13-16 Wins +2500

Since 2014 (Zimmer’s first year as the Vikings head coach), Minnesota has the seventh-highest regular-season winning percentage in the NFL and averaged 9.5 wins per season over that time. Entering 2020, the Vikings have the 13th easiest schedule in the league, according to sharpfootballanalysis.com. Also, they were only 2-4 in one-score games in 2019, and if they progress back to the median in those games, Minnesota could cash a 13-16 wins band ticket. However, I agree with the market on this one and would TAKE 9-12 WINS BAND (-154).

How many games will the Minnesota Vikings win in 2020? Exact number

I would stay away from the action in the exact number of wins for a team in the regular-season line. Thinking about all the randomness in football, you got to have a sick handicap to cash one of these tickets.

PASS ON THE EXACT NUMBER OF WINS.

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Legislature gives authority to Vikings on selling alcohol outside stadium

Legislature has permitted the Vikings to sell alcohol during games and other team events in the Commons park.

Though Vikings vice president Lester Bagley told the Star Tribune that there is no game plan yet for selling alcohol in Commons park, the team at least has the option to do so.

The Star Tribune reported that the Legislature has authorized the Vikings to sell alcohol during games and other team events in the park. The Bill also allows alcohol to be sold at locations such as the Walker Sculpture Garden and Boom Island at times, given that there are permission and permits from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

Here’s what Bagley told the Star Tribune:

“The biggest issue is the lack of fan gathering spaces and disappearing tailgating opportunities — a time-honored tradition for the Vikings fans in the days of yore,” Bagley said.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to cancellations of various sporting events. Forbes recently reported that the Vikings could lose more than $150 million by playing without stadium revenue.

Vikings could lose over $150 million in stadium revenue if NFL games are played without fans

The Vikings would lose the 18th most from stadium revenue in the NFL if games were played without fans, according to Forbes.

The NFL could lose 5.5 billion in stadium revenue if the games were played without fans, and the Vikings would be taking a financial hit from that as well, according to Forbes.

As reported by Forbes, if the Vikings played without fans next season, the team loses out on $152 million in stadium revenue. That revenue covers the sum of tickets, concessions, sponsors, parking and team stores.

Forbes reported that stadium revenue makes up for 38% of the total money earned in the NFL, based on figures from the 2018 season.

While that is a large sum for the Vikings, the team is not among the ones that would be the hardest hit by losing stadium revenue. The Dallas Cowboys lose over $620 million, the most of any NFL team. The New England Patriots come in second at $315 million.

The Vikings ranked 18th on the list in terms of hypothetical stadium revenue lost.

The home-field advantage is also something you have to consider. The Vikings were good at home in 2019, going 6-2 at U.S. Bank Stadium.