Minneapolis – (September 17, 2015) – Mortenson Construction, the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA), and the Minnesota Vikings celebrated the "topping out" of U.S. Bank Stadium at an event held today on the downtown Minneapolis construction site. Topping out is a major milestone celebrated when the highest or last steel beam is placed in a building under construction.
More than 11,000 tons of steel help make up the new U.S. Bank Stadium roof, including the 989 foot-long, 1,700 ton ridge truss, which stands 214 feet above the playing field. One-hundred forty ironworkers from LeJeune Steel Company, Danny's Construction, and Iron Workers Local 512 worked 240,000 hours on the roof steel of the building. Today's milestone comes 21 months from groundbreaking and on the date it was scheduled more than 2 years ago. The project is nearly 75 percent complete and will be finished in July 2016.
Speakers at today's event included John Wood, senior vice president of Mortenson, Mark Wilf, owner/president of the Minnesota Vikings, Michele Kelm-Helgen, chair of the MSFA, and Minnesota Lt. Governor Tina Smith. Attendees of today's event were invited to sign the steel beam before it was lifted and installed in the stadium's roof.
"The progress to date on the construction of the new stadium has been nothing short of amazing," said Michele Kelm-Helgen, chair of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority. "This progress has been made possible by our construction partner Mortenson, and all the Minnesota workers and businesses involved."
"Today's milestone is truly a celebration of the tireless work so many Minnesota companies and individuals have put into U.S. Bank Stadium thus far," said Vikings Owner/President Mark Wilf. "With less than 11 months to go, it is becoming very clear the positive impact this stadium will have on the community, the state, Vikings fans and all users. We appreciate everyone involved in making this vision become reality."
"Today's milestone has been reached thanks to the men and women of the Minnesota building trades and the many subcontractors of all trades who helped build the structure of the stadium," said John Wood, senior vice president, Mortenson Construction. "Special recognition is due to LeJeune Steel Company and Danny's Construction, two great local companies that fabricated and erected, with precision, the complex long-span steel structure."
Construction of the 65,000 seat, 1.7 million square-foot U.S. Bank Stadium is being managed by Mortenson Construction and project associate Thor Construction. It will be owned and operated by the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority and home to the Minnesota Vikings.
