Minneapolis hosts the '19 Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium, and a "complex seating system will be installed with about 10,000 extra seats," according to Marcus Fuller of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Much like Glendale's Univ. of Phoenix Stadium, U.S. Bank Stadium will "have a basketball court built between the 35-yard lines with a floor raised 30 inches." A scoreboard that "weighs 65,000 pounds (more than 100,000 with the rigging attached) will hang above the court." Seeing the event hosted at another NFL stadium this past week "was valuable" for members of the Minneapolis host committee. Minneapolis Final Four Local Organizing Committee President & CEO Kate Mortenson said that her committee members "took notes about everything from how student sections for all four teams were seated from game to game to the halftime entertainment, activities during timeouts and the Tailgate Tip-Off Fan Fest located outside, which included concerts, basketball courts, beer tents and a Ferris wheel." She added that the tailgating event at the Minneapolis Final Four "likely won’t be as large in scale as Glendale’s because downtown will already have a lot of activity." Mortenson: "A lot of the activity you see will be in the bars and restaurants downtown, a built-in, ready-to-go party experience.” She said that U.S. Bank Stadium "will seat close to 75,000 for the Final Four." Six months ago, the NCAA "sent representatives to analyze the Vikings opener at U.S. Bank Stadium," wanting to see how fans "reacted to being at the venue for the first time" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 4/5).
