Vikings' New Stadium Struggling With Leaky Walls, Loose Panels

Less than a year after it opened, the Vikings’ new stadium has leaky walls and loose panels with no clear plan for scheduling or funding repairs, according to reporting by the Minneapolis Star Tribune. 

The zinc panels were described by the executive director of the Minnesota Sports Facility Authority as a major health and safety problem “at the top of my priority list.” A section of paneling flew away in a storm a few months ago, and the building also faces a set of problems stemming from leaks—including an area of the concourse where water has seeped in and part of a parapet where a moisture barrier has already been replaced for “several million dollars.”

“Whether they’re related or different is still a question in my mind,” Rick Evans, the sports facility authority director, told the paper. “When we have an issue with one portion of the building, we’re looking at the entire facade.”

There is not yet an estimated cost for repairs. It is unclear who will pay for them, though the general contractor has said it will “shoulder its responsibility.”

The Vikings paid $600 million of the $1.1 billion in stadium costs, and taxpayers were made to pick up the rest.

[ Minneapolis Star Tribune]