When journalists arrive at the new U.S. Bank Stadium, Star Tribune columnist Sid Hartman's image will greet them at the media entrance.
The 96-year-old columnist got a tour of the new media area with Minnesota Vikings vice president Lester Bagley and a Star Tribune editor. Bagley said the team's owners Zygi and Mark Wilf endorsed the honoring of Hartman, who is "well-known by all NFL owners and the commissioner."
The columnist is featured in two works and his name is etched on the door of the media entrance to the building under an image of a Vikings' Norseman.
A floor-to-ceiling mural in the lobby of the media entrance shows multiple images of Hartman through the ages with Vikings coaches and players from Bud Grant to running back Robert Smith. One photo shows Hartman at the rostrum as he presented Grant at the coach's Hall of Fame induction in Canton, Ohio.
ROCHELLE OLSON
