Vikings Stadium Fund Continues to Grow Faster Than Expected
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A financial audit shows that the reserve fund used to pay off bonds that paid to build U.S. Bank Stadium, where the Minnesota Vikings play, is doing better than expected.
The audit on the 3-year-old stadium’s reserve fund projects that it could grow from the $44 million it had at the end of June 2018 to nearly $200 million by 2023.
Fueling the growth is revenue from electronic pulltabs that were legalized in 2012 to pay for the stadium. The pulltabs caught on slowly but by 2017, they brought in $200 million.
The audit increases the likelihood of the Vikings paying off the $1.1 billion stadium’s debt early. But the Star Tribune reports that deputy state legislative auditor Chris Buse told an audit panel Wednesday that it is time to make calculated decisions regarding the account.