Vikings treat stadium workers to a free lunch

The boss bought lunch Friday for about 900 construction workers doing the heavy lifting on the new $1.1 billion Minnesota Vikings stadium in downtown Minneapolis.

Carpenter Jermaine Richardson, who had a Vikings tattoo long before he took this job, strode over to shake hands with team owner Mark Wilf and ask to swap hard hats. Wilf was sporting a purple Vikings hat with horns on the sides.

Richardson walked away grinning, even though he still had his own scuffed-up white hat. "It's nice for them to be cold out here like us," he said of the Vikings and M.A. Mortenson Construction executives who planned and attended the event at the sprawling site.

Wilf flew in from New Jersey to personally thank the workers and stand among them as they filed in lines past food tables stocked with bowls of fresh fruit and potato salad, pans of hamburger patties and sesame buns plus lots of fixings, hot baked beans in thick sauce, potato chips and packets of chocolate chip cookies. The Vikings' front office staff ladled out the meals.

Paul Strobel, a carpenter, said the gesture was "awesome. We're construction workers, so anything that's free, we like it."

All of the workers walked away with another freebie: new gray Vikings hoodies showing a purple rendering of the stadium on the front and the words "Proud to build our future" and "Est. 2016."

While the workers filled the temporary tables in an enclosed — and relatively warm — part of an upper-level concrete concourse, Wilf used a microphone to say "Thank you" to those who are artfully putting together the 18,800 tons of steel to raise the 270-foot-tall structure. "It's all about you. I want to thank each and every one of you for making this happen," he said. "The first year of construction since we broke ground has thankfully gone well."

In contrast to the executives in suits, the blue-jeaned workers kept their hard hats in hand and their yellow safety vests and boots on through lunch. After eating, they went to grab the commemorative hoodies. Among those handing out the sweats were Vikings vice president Steve LaCroix and Jason Gonella, vice president of Van Wagner Sports, the Vikings' marketing consultant for the new building.

It's barely been a year since the Vikings played at the old Metrodome, and its replacement is already 30 percent complete and on schedule to open for the 2016 NFL season. Mortenson senior vice president John Wood said November was the busiest month yet at the stadium site, with about $37 million in work being done.

Ted Mondale, executive director of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, paid heed to the conditions under which the crews work — sunshine or sleet. From his indoor office across the street, Mondale said he looks out the window daily and sees construction workers up 20 stories with the wind blowing and 500-pound pieces of steel swinging near their heads.

Gretchen Pederson, who works on heating and cooling systems in the stadium, finished her lunch and ran over to Mondale to take a selfie with him. "We've known all about the Mondales growing up," she said, explaining that she has a photo of herself as a toddler with Mondale's dad, Walter, the former vice president.

At 48, after 20 years in the insurance industry, Pederson made a career change. This is her first construction job. "That stadium's going to be ... cool," she said. She pronounced her new work "a lot better than cube life."

Electrician Harlan Austin said he appreciated the effort it took to coordinate the lunch and recognize the work going into the stadium. "It's great they're here to support us," he said.

Lest anyone be tempted to linger, Mortenson's big boss on the site, the endearingly blunt Dave Mansell, had the last word with the microphone.

"That's it," he told everyone as the event wound down. "We're not going to say anything else. Get back to work."

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747

Twitter: @rochelleolson