Was U.S. Bank Stadium Really Open As A Homeless Shelter?

You might have seen the rumor floating around various social media sites Sunday that U.S. Bank Stadium was being opened as a homeless shelter Sunday night. But was it really?

As it turns out, no, it wasn't. The rumor was all part of what began as a joke Sunday afternoon-- when the temperature didn't get much warmer than 9 below zero in Minnesota-- after the Vikings lost to the Colts at the new, billion dollar stadium.

According to THIS TwinCities.com report, Minneapolis gym owner David Dellanave tweeted that the team was planning to turn the stadium into a temporary homeless shelter.

And while it wasn't even remotely true, his Tweet was picked up and shared many times-- including by some Twin Cities media outlets, as well as by national sports organizations, CBS Sports and Yahoo! Sports.

Other local Twin Cities reporters set the record straight after they talked to both the Vikings and the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority about the rumor.

The story says the rumor actually originated with another person. "Local marketer Jake Nyberg later said he tweeted the rumor to his 4,700 followers in an attempt to shame the Vikings and the MSFA into opening the stadium to the homeless for real."

I saw that rumor online Sunday, and thought it sounded a little far-fetched. However, I remembered that the Super Dome in New Orleans opened as a shelter for those affected by Hurricane Katrina back in 2005, so I thought perhaps it was possible. Turns out, though, it actually wasn't open at all.