U.S. Bank Stadium will be debt-free Monday when the Minnesota Department of Management and Budget (MMB) directs about $378 million to retire the remaining bonds.
Under the bond agreement, this month is the first opportunity for the state to refinance or pay off the remaining debt on the $1.1 billion stadium, which opened in July 2016 in Minneapolis.
"The state is making the most of that opportunity," an MMB statement read.
With the support of Gov. Tim Walz, the Legislature agreed this year to pay off the debt early, mostly by using the cash accrued in the stadium reserve account. That fund developed a surplus when tax collections from pulltabs surged in recent years.
The state legalized electronic pulltabs as part of the 2012 legislation to build the stadium. To make the payoff Monday, the state will combine the estimated $366 million from the stadium reserve with $12 million from the general fund.
In 2014, two years after the Legislature agreed to build the stadium to replace the Metrodome, the state financed the $498 million public share of the building by issuing the bonds.
The state's share of the cost was $348 million. Minneapolis was to cover $150 million plus interest with a bundle of special local sales taxes. The Minnesota Vikings' owners paid the remainder of the construction cost.
The 2023 Legislature and Walz agreed to the early payoff and provided relief to Minneapolis from some of its past and future obligations. The city got a break on the interest for its debt, which will drop from 4.25% to zero next year. The change saves Minneapolis $6.2 million annually through 2046.
