U.S. Bank Stadium won’t be a polling place in November elections
Vikings running back Ameer Abdullah addressed reporters after Friday's practice at U.S. Bank Stadium to talk about what the team is doing to battle racial inequality.
MINNEAPOLIS - At least half of the teams in the National Football League are using their stadiums for election-related activities in November, but U.S. Bank Stadium won’t be one of them.
That didn’t come without some effort from the Minnesota Vikings. Earlier this season, Team President Mark Wilf said the Vikings had offered up U.S. Bank Stadium as a polling place to the Secretary of State’s Office, but polling locations had already been determined by that time.
The Vikings have been among many Minnesota teams at the forefront of calling for a positive way to create change, fighting systematic racism, police brutality and social injustice after the police killing of George Floyd on Memorial Day in south Minneapolis. The incident sparked civil unrest around the world, and days of rioting and looting in Minneapolis in the aftermath of the incident.
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Without the benefit of a preseason, the Vikings went over to U.S. Bank Stadium to hold one of their practices before opening the regular season against the Green Bay Packers. At the conclusion of practice, several of the team’s leaders spoke about being a voice for change. Ameer Abdullah called for the fair and full prosecution of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in Floyd’s death.
The Vikings have also pledged millions of dollars to causes that raise awareness for social injustice, and are actively working on initiatives for voter registration and education.
There will be at least 15 of a possible 32 NFL stadiums that will be used for election-related activities on Election Day, which includes voter registration, ballot drop-off and polling. They include Seattle, San Francisco, the L.A. Chargers, Arizona, Kansas City, Houston, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Detroit, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Carolina, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.