Football fans from throughout country laud U.S. Bank Stadium experience

The fan experience inside U.S. Bank Stadium lasted nearly an hour after the Vikings held on for a 17-14 victory over Green Bay Sunday night.

Scott Fisher from Chanhassen was one of the many fans lingering in the $1 billion stadium trying to take in every detail. He paused before exiting the stadium through one of the massive glass sliding doors and said to himself "unbelievable."

"It's amazing. It's gigantic. … It's just beautiful. Money well-spent," Fisher said. "These doors … it's incredible. There are doors built into the doors. The fact it was open for the game was great."

Vikings fans from across the state, country and the world shared this same sentiment. Even Packers fans admitted the new structure is special.

Ruben Guzman and his son Ruben Jr. traveled from Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas, to witness the Vikings play the first regular-season game in their new home. The elder Guzman grew up a Vikings fan and spends most Sundays watching their games in a bar. He and his son saved up money to make the trip to Minneapolis and spent as much time as possible inside the stadium looking around and taking pictures. The father and son were among the last 1,000 of the sold out 66,813 crowd to leave Sunday night.

"This is something special for me. I was following since the first of construction and it's amazing," Guzman said. "Everything outside of the stadium is good. This is really amazing. It's beautiful."

Curt Haga of Menomonee Falls, Wis., raved about the atmosphere in the stadium, but as a Green Bay fan didn't like how loud the stadium can get.

Sixteen members of the Higddem family met in Minneapolis to experience the new stadium together. Family patriarch Bob Higddem remembers watching Vikings games at Metropolitan Stadium and enjoyed making new memories in the team's new home Sunday.

"It's laid out very well and it just turned out perfect," said Higddem. "It's just fantastic and we won."

Loree and Chuck Morse said Sunday night's experience was on their bucket list. Loree, who grew up in Northern Minnesota and now lives in Fort Collins, Colo., was impressed with the space within in the stadium and the ability to get around.

"I love the stadium," she said. "It's gorgeous."

Alex Weber drove from Iowa for the home opener and was somewhat concerned about his seats in the upper deck. He left the game Sunday night feeling like he was on top of the action.