U.S. Bank Stadium exterior repairs to cost a bomb

ABEL, Ala. - March 23, 2020 - PRLog -- The black zinc panels that make U.S. Bank Stadium so recognizable have caused water problems almost since the stadium opened, and the officials said the panels will have to all be replaced.

This means that the $1.1 billion U.S. Bank Stadium must undergo extensive repairs on its exterior, which will cost more than $21 million.

The U.S. Bank Stadium is the home ground of the professional American football team based in Minneapolis – Minnesota Vikings.

The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA) announced recently that it had already reached an agreement with the lead contractor on the stadium, M.A. Mortensen Company, and seven other firms involved in the stadium's design and construction to fix the problems with the exterior.

A mediated settlement was arrived at following closed-door talks with the Mortenson Co., architect HKS Inc., M.G. McGrath Inc., Custom Drywall Inc., TRI-Construction, Larson Engineering Inc., Thornton Tomasetti Inc., and Studio Five Architects.

None of the aforementioned parties know what the other will pay, and the contract prohibits them from telling each other the amounts.

Even before the MSFA green lighted the mediated settlement at its monthly meeting held recently, scaffolding had been erected on the northwest corner and removal and replacement work had begun.

The nature and scope of discussions wasn't revealed until recent weeks when Vekich said the sides were close to an agreement.

In all, 250,000 square feet of the exterior will be torn off and replaced.

The distinctive black zinc panels that clad the outside of the Vikings home and are the high point of the stadium was more vulnerable to wind and water damage than what was originally thought which led to several of the panels to fall off the stadium several months before it opened in August 2016.

"At the end of the day, we will have a superior solution," said Michael Vekich, Chairman of MSFA, the public body that runs the building on behalf of taxpayers.

As part of the agreement, the entire black paneling will be replaced by a "completely new, enhanced exterior enclosure".

The $21 million work over the next two years will be split between the contractors, with neither the taxpayer nor the Vikings required to pay money for the repair work.

Read more at: https://www.coliseum-online.com/us-bank-stadium-exterior-repairs-to-cost-a-bomb/