It's been open for the last three NFL seasons, but forget football... U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis is now sporting a hardwood court for the Final Four. Here's how they transformed the Vikings' home field.

U.S. Bank Stadium opened back in the summer of 2016 and has hosted both three seasons worth of Vikings' games, as well as various concerts and other events. (Remember when Luke Bryan's 'Kill The Lights' Tour with Little Big Town and Dustin Lynch made a stop there? It was the first concert ever hosted in the new venue.)

Well, you won't see any hints of football now that the stadium has been completely transformed into a basketball court. Well, it's more than that, of course, but a brand new hard maple court (locally-sourced, as the kids say, with wood from northwest Wisconsin) was installed last week ahead of this weekend's NCAA College Basketball Final Four Championship-- right over the Vikings helmet on the 50 yard line.

And of course, there were some improvements made to the home of Super Bowl LII way before that hardcourt was put down-- like those black curtains that were installed earlier this year to block out the sun from the stadium's massive windows so the games can be broadcast live on TV. (And if you think getting new window treatments for your home is expensive, check out this Star-Tribune story that said the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA) spent $4.6 million those curtains!)

So while it's not quite the build-up we saw before the Super Bowl in 2018, there are still a bunch of free events and activities going on in downtown Minneapolis this Final Four Weekend. Check them out HERE.

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