Gov. Walker's 'Go Packers' Removed From Stadium Beam
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Fears that a Packers-tainted beam would end up in the new Vikings stadium have been alleviated, according to the construction firm working on the project.
Over the weekend, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker reportedly wrote "Go Packers" on a steel beam at a Wisconsin shop that's helping build the new $1 billion stadium.
The New York Times said Walker told a story during a campaign stop about visiting the West Salem, Wisconsin plant where the stadium's roof beams are being manufactured. While on a tour of Mortenson Construction, the governor said he went up to a beam and scribbled the pro-cheesehead graffiti.
During the re-election campaign stop, Walker also allegedly joked about the Vikings, saying the team saved $1 million on the stadium because it "didn't need a trophy room."
On Tuesday, the Vice President of Mortenson Construction, who's building the facility, said that his signature and whatever else he wrote on the beam was removed.
Signatures on construction projects aren't unusual, but the company says they don't condone anyone doing it without permission to do so.
The new Vikings stadium is slated to open in 2016 in downtown Minneapolis.
Gov. Scott Walker is up for reelection in Wisconsin this Tuesday. Polls show the Republican incumbent in a relatively tight race with Democratic challenger Mary Burke.