The late Minnesota music legend Prince was in talks to perform at U.S. Bank Stadium, which opens Aug. 3, before he died unexpectedly last month.
Vikings vice president Lester Bagley said Tuesday that he and a few team executives had an impromptu dinner with Prince at Paisley Park in 2009 and that "at that time, he told us about his passion for the Vikings."
Since then, team executives had reached out to Prince, saying that opening the stadium would present an opportunity for him to play in his hometown.
"It would have been a perfect, natural way to open the building," Bagley said, adding, "We share a lot: Minnesota, purple."
Bagley said it was his "understanding" that the date under consideration was Aug. 13, which would have made it the first music concert in the new stadium.
"We know from hearing directly from him that he loved the Vikings and wanted to play in the building," Bagley said.
Prince, who performed at the NFL Super Bowl halftime in 2007, was overdue for a big show here. His last was at Target Center on July 7, 2007 (7/7/07). Since then, he had performed at local clubs, such as at Myth, the Dakota and, of course, at his Chanhassen home and studio, Paisley Park. He also played arenas all over the world during that time.
The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority downplayed Bagley's comments in a statement issued Tuesday.
