Meanwhile, Governor Tim Pawlenty, during an interview with Sports Headliners last week, said he doesn’t disagree that the Vikings need a new stadium. However, he expressed no intent to provide support this legislative session.
“We don’t dispute that the Vikings need a new stadium,” Pawlenty said. “It’s just a timing issue and how it gets structured and who pays for it. …So what we’ve tried to suggest to the Vikings is in light of the current economic challenge– in some peoples’ minds there’s a recession and a state budget deficit– they’d be well served to just let us address that first before we are asked to tackle the Vikings’ stadium issues.
“And Zygi Wilf said he will not move the team and we take him at his word but we also realize that the Metrodome is not going to be viable indefinitely and that it’s served us well, but we’re going to have to find another alternative for the Vikings. We’re willing to work on that, but they can’t try to jam it this year when they know we’ve got bigger fish to fry and more important fish to fry this legislative session.”
With the Vikings’ Metrodome lease expiring after the 2011 season, there’s no doubt the stadium issue will be addressed more carefully by the legislature in 2009. Escalating construction costs make delaying a new or renovated stadium a poor decision. Plus, a new stadium will likely require three years or more to build, meaning the Vikings will temporarily relocate to the new Gopher stadium and likely lose further revenues.
Those with knowledge of the stadium situation believe Wilf won’t move the team but might sell the franchise if he doesn’t receive a stadium deal to his benefit. Presumably a new ownership group mau then move the franchise that began here as an expansion team in 1961.
Where could the Vikings go? Any of several cities in the United States, plus Toronto, Canada, seem possibilities. The enormous popularity of the NFL and the small number of games compared with other professional sports makes for a likelihood of success in various markets.
The kicker, though, is that any market will need a stadium offering top shelf revenues. And that’s not easy to finance. We know that.