If you wanted to go to the Vikings playoff game Sunday, you could spend hundreds of dollars to get a ticket at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Or you could have spent hundreds of hours building a replica of the stadium out of toothpicks.
That's what Minneapolis resident Greg Kelly did last year. And when the Vikings heard of the stadium model created out of 6,400 toothpicks that took Kelly about 400 hours to build, the team decided to reward this particular act of fan mania by inviting Kelly and the model to the arena for the game.
Vikings spokesman Jeff Anderson said Kelly's toothpick model will be on display in the real stadium's main concourse near the Polaris Gate during the NFC Divisional playoff game. It will be housed inside its own plexiglass case with security personnel nearby, Anderson said.
And Kelly will get tickets to attend the game.
Kelly said he plans to go as long as he's feeling well enough. The 66-year-old retired hobby shop owner is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for prostate cancer.
"I'm just thrilled the stadium is there and people get to see it," he said.
Anderson said he wasn't sure if the model will be present at the Super Bowl on Feb. 4, but "we've agreed [the model] would stay for all home playoff games."
"It's an incredible piece of art," Anderson said. "We just want to share it with our passionate Vikings fans."
