Vikings stadium 'substantially complete' six weeks early


More than two years and $1.1 billion later, U.S. Bank Stadium is finished.
The new home of the Minnesota Vikings is officially "substantially complete," the team announced on Friday, an industry designation indicating that major construction on the stadium is finished, and that it is officially ready for use.
The 1.7 million square-foot structure seats up to 70,000 people.
Originally scheduled to be completed on July 29, Mortenson Construction hit the milestone six weeks ahead of schedule.
The Vikings have a ribbon-cutting ceremony planned for July 22, after which tours will be offered to the public on July 23 and July 24.
Golden Valley-based Mortenson was announced as the stadium's construction manager on Feb. 15, 2013, and initially estimated that the project would require a whopping 4.25 million work hours to complete, according to a press release issued by the company.
The stadium is set to host its first sporting event on August 3, a soccer match between AC Milan and Chelsea, before the Vikings play their first regular-season game at the site on Sept. 18 against the Green Bay Packers.
