Minnesota Vikings sue Wells Fargo, cite U.S. Bank Stadium ‘photo bomb’

The Minnesota Vikings last week sued Wells Fargo, saying the bank is using illuminated rooftop signs on two buildings near the team’s new stadium to “photo bomb” the facility, which is named for competitor U.S. Bank.

Minnesota Public Radio News reported that the Vikings claim the mounted and illuminated rooftop signs Wells Fargo is installing don’t conform to an agreement.

“Wells Fargo has recently started installing mounted and illuminated roof top signs that do not conform to the parties agreement in an effort to permanently ‘photo bomb’ the image of the iconic U.S. Bank Stadium,” the lawsuit said. “The prohibited action must be stopped immediately.”

Wells Fargo spokesman John Hobot released a statement to The Associated Press saying: “We are satisfied with the signage package that was approved for our $300 million community investment initiative for our new campus in the historic Downtown East neighborhood.”

Exhibits filed with the lawsuit include an agreement between Wells Fargo and StadCo, the holding company for the Vikings stadium development effort. The lawsuit says illuminated signs with raised lettering are a “material deviation from the roof signage” agreed to in February 2014.

The lawsuit says the bank and the football team have been at odds over whether Wells Fargo could light the signs, the entire roof, or nothing at all.

A hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday.

Neither the team nor U.S. Bank disclosed what that bank paid for stadium naming rights.

Wells Fargo is based in San Francisco, but has large employment hubs in Minneapolis, Charlotte and other cities.

This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 11:35 AM with the headline "Minnesota Vikings sue Wells Fargo, cite U.S. Bank Stadium ‘photo bomb’."