U.S. Bank Stadium next month will become the first NFL stadium ever to "play host to the NCAA Division I college wrestling championship," according to Rochelle Olson of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. The three-day, six-session tournament has "sold out in each of the past 10 years." The Minneapolis event "could shatter the attendance record of 113,743 set two years ago in Cleveland." About 45,000 tickets "will be available for each of the six sessions on March 19-21." For U.S. Bank Stadium, the NCAA wrestling tournament is yet another "showcase moment." Eight wrestling mats will be "unrolled at field level." Mats will be "removed as the tournament progresses until only one is left for the final matches on Saturday, March 21." Wrestling will "cost the stadium’s operators, the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, nothing." The men's basketball Final Four last year ended up costing the MSFA $3.5M in "operating costs." The wrestling tournament also "won’t require much reconfiguration of the stadium," unlike the Final Four (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 2/24).
