Want a first look? Free U.S. Bank Stadium tour tickets available at 10 a.m. Friday

The tickets are for tours July 23-24 that are the first chance for the public to get into the building.

By Rochelle Olson rochelle.olson@startribune.com

People who want to get a first look inside the "People's Stadium" can snag free tickets beginning at 10 a.m. Friday.

Access to the building will be limited to the main and upper concourses and the "Hyundai Club," on the north side of the building under the main concourse with views of the field and the outside.

The self-guided tours will be July 23-24. Tickets will have entry times on them. Callers can choose their entry time until that slot is sold out.

Michele Kelm-Helgen, chairwoman of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, said 100,000 tickets are available, "but we can extend the hours. We don't want to turn anyone away."

The $1.1 billion building's ribbon-cutting will be July 22, but these tours mark the first time the public can get into the new home of the Minnesota Vikings that is almost double the size of the demolished Metrodome.

Kelm-Helgen also said there will be a "playground on the plaza" and "unique 3-D chalk art installation." Other games include a "giant" Connect Four and Jenga.

The concourses, which encircle the stadium, are a half-mile around so the tours "will definitely give people a good sense of what the stadium looks like and how it works."

The new stadium was built with $348 million from state taxpayers and $150 million from Minneapolis. Minnesota Vikings owners Mark and Zygi Wilf paid more than half.

When the Legislature first approved construction of the new building, Gov. Mark Dayton referred to it as the "people's stadium." U.S. Bank has since purchased the naming rights to the building from the Vikings for undisclosed millions.

Tickets are available beginning at 10 a.m. Friday through www.ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000. Tours begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 23 and end at 6 p.m. On Sunday, July 24, they begin at 10 a.m. and end at 5 p.m.

The team is contacting season-ticket holders to set up private tours.

More extensive guided tours, for $19, will be available beginning in late August. Those tickets also are available through Ticketmaster. For more details, see http://www.usbankstadium.com/tours.

Rochelle Olson