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MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph spent his first three seasons playing in the Metrodome, a cramped, dingy noise box that tested the patience of fans and players alike.The home locker room only had five bathroom stalls for 53 players and dozens of coaches and support staff. So when he walked around U.S. Bank Stadium, the Vikings new $1.1 billion stadium that is set to open this season, he said comparing the two was like ground chuck and filet mignon.The Vikings held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday to mark the official beginning of life in their new home. The celebration featured current coach Mike Zimmer blowing the gjallahorn -- a huge horn used in Viking lore -- with coaching legend Bud Grant by his side and fireworks after a host of speakers praised the new stadium.With a cutting-edge design that includes a translucent roof to allow in the daylight, a wall of glass with 100-foot doors that open to let the autumn breeze in and a locker room that is twice the size of their former home in the Metrodome, U.S. Bank Stadium has thrust the franchise into the 21st century.The Metrodome as a player, its an awesome environment, Rudolph said. Its loud, the turf is fast, its a controlled environment. But the amenities and the fan experience that this place brings, its second to none. Just look at all the things that this place has. Theres probably 10 times the stalls that there were in the Metrodome. We had five for the entire team. That kind of puts it in perspective in terms of our quality of life here in the new stadium.The Vikings spent the previous two years playing in the University of Minnesotas football stadium across town while the Metrodome was taken apart to make room for the new stadium, and the party on Friday was the culmination of 31 months of construction and more than 10 years of lobbying by the Vikings for help from the public in financing the project.I try to think of the proper word, and all I can come up with is awesome, said Grant, the revered coach known for his stoicism during his Hall of Fame career.The Vikings will hold an open house for fans on Saturday and Sunday and thousands are scheduled to attend. The first big event will come with a soccer game between Chelsea and AC Milan next week and the Vikings will hold their first preseason game on Aug. 28. Their home opener is a Sunday night game against NFC North rival Green Bay on Sept. 18.The stadium opens at a time when confidence in the team on the field is reaching a crescendo. The Vikings are coming off a division title and an 11-5 regular season. They lost a heartbreaker in the playoffs to Seattle when Blair Walsh missed the go-ahead field goal in the closing seconds and fans fully expect the team to compete for a Super Bowl berth.When we bought the team, now in our 12th season, we had three goals: to be engaged in the community, build a new home for our Vikings and win championships, owner Mark Wilf said. Two out of three weve done pretty well at. And now, our teams starting to jell. Thats still our ultimate goal. And wouldnt a Lombardi look great here, or multiple Lombardis?Business leaders, designers and architects, politicians and fans all gathered on Friday for the festivities. And a project that was contested from the very beginning received universal praise, even from Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, who voted against public funding for the project when she was on the city council.Hodges fully acknowledged her initial opposition on Friday, but pointed to the development in a once-run down side of downtown that has boomed with the stadiums arrival. A new city park and more than $1 billion in new apartments and office towers have sprouted in the area around the stadium.The stadium will also host the Super Bowl in 2018, the NCAA mens Final Four in 2019 and ESPNs X-Games in 2017 and 2018.Ten, eight, even five years ago we wouldnt have been able to imagine this transformation, Hodges said. But today we get to let our imaginations run wild about five, eight or 10 years from now, or even beyond. And even so, we still cant imagine all the ways that whats happening right now in this stadium will continue to transform us.Alfonso Boone Jersey Retro . 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We just have to get better," Carroll said.A look at whats happening around the majors Thursday:---KISS IT GOODBYEDavid Ortiz says so long to Yankee Stadium when the AL East-champion Red Sox finish a three-game series against their longtime rivals. New York, which is trying to hold off postseason elimination, has planned a pregame ceremony, but how will Yankees fans salute the 40-year-old slugger who has tormented their team with so many clutch hits? Will they boo him heartily one more time or give him an ovation out of respect? Big Papi, set to retire after the season, has said hed like to be applauded by New York fans as part of his farewell. During the first two games of the series, he received mostly a mixture of boos and cheers.WILD CHASEThe four chief contenders for the two AL wild-card spots are in action. Toronto holds the first spot and takes on second-place Baltimore at home , with Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman (9-9, 4.34) facing righty Ubaldo Jimenez (7-12, 5.71). In Detroit, Daniel Norris (3-2, 3.59) leads the Tigers into the finale of a series with AL Central-winning Cleveland. Detroit is 5-1 in Norris last six starts. Then in Seattle, Robinson Cano and the Mariners try to gain ground when they open a series against Oakland. Canos career-best 36th homer lifted Seattle over Houston on Wednesday .In the NL, the wild card-leading Mets get a day off, giving the Cardinals and Giants a chance to gain ground. Hard-throwing rookie Alex Reyes (4-1, 1.58) makes his fifth start for St. Louis in a game against Cincinnati. Laast time out, he ended his streak of 11 1/3 scoreless innings but still got the win behind five innings of three-run ball against the Cubs.dddddddddddd In San Francisco, right-hander Johnny Cueto (17-5, 2.79) takes on Colorados Jon Gray (10-9, 4.54). Cueto threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings against the Dodgers in his last start, while Gray has totaled 26 strikeouts over his previous two outings.NICKED-UP NATSThe Nationals are hoping for sunshine and the return of Bryce Harper in a game against the Diamondbacks. Rain cut short their game Wednesday night and also gave Washington incentive to sit Harper for a third straight game with an injured right thumb. With the rain, youd hate for his thumb to feel OK and then he gets hurt doing something else, manager Dusty Baker said. The Nats are already without catcher Wilson Ramos for the rest of the season because of a torn right ACL, and second baseman Daniel Murphy has been out of the starting lineup since Sept. 20 because of a strained left buttocks.REMARKABLE ROOKIEDodgers rookie Julio Urias (5-2, 3.53) finishes his first regular season in the majors with a start against San Diego. Despite only turning 20 in August, Urias has played a key role while NL West-winning Los Angeles has dealt with numerous pitching injuries. The lefty has 79 strikeouts, the most by a pitcher his age-19 season since Dwight Gooden had 276 in 1984. ' ' '