Odds are “50-50” right now that the Vikings franchise will eventually relocate, and “75-25” it will if a stadium plan doesn’t develop in the 2010 legislative session. That’s the opinion of a source close to the stadium situation who requested that his name not be used.
Another knowledgeable source offered a not so dire prediction. Although the Vikings’ lease at the Metrodome expires after the 2011 season and the team is free to choose a new city, that expiration just represents a “date,” according to the source who indicated the franchise could still be sorting its options in 2012 and beyond.
What’s certain is Vikings fans have reasons to be concerned and there are various aspects of this story to watch in the months ahead. For years franchise leaders have been pushing for a new stadium but the problem is government officials, business leaders and many fans aren’t engaged with the same passion.
That needs to change if the Vikings are to have a new stadium that will increase revenues and franchise values. The September issue of Forbes magazine, reporting on all NFL franchises, listed the Vikings as second lowest in revenues ($209 million in 2008) and franchise value ($835 million). Some NFL owners are reportedly frustrated with low revenue teams, and supporting those franchises more through league revenue sharing than they think is fair.
No city, county or state plan is presently being advanced for funding a new stadium that likely projects to a cost of nearly $1 billion. A public-private funding partnership might see the cost divided up at $750 million and $250 million respectively. The Vikings, who should and will be engaged with funding, rightfully advocate that such a stadium should be located on the Metrodome site, taking advantage of the infrastructure already there. The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission supports a retractable roof facility that can serve the area with various events other than pro football including high school games and other community activities similar to how the Metrodome has been used, only better.
But in the best of times elected officials are hesitant to approve stadiums and now we’re living through an era of economic hardship for the citizenry, business and government. Governor Tim Pawlenty hasn’t made a new Vikings stadium a priority and neither have other elected officials on various levels of government.
Business leaders who could benefit directly from a new stadium in the surrounding area and others who have a stake in development to keep downtown a vibrant city core haven’t been visible on the stadium issue, either. Their economic muscle could be listened to on this issue, and important, too, is the willingness of corporations to invest monies into the stadium.
What does that mean? Naming rights for the stadium will be a sizeable contributor to help pay for the facility. So will corporate sponsorships and advertising in the stadium. Also potentially generating millions of dollars are personal seat licenses allowing ownership of specific seats in the new stadium.
In a new stadium the sale of personal seat licenses is a means for the public to support a stadium, too. Between corporations and fans, up to 50,000 seats might be sold through personal seat licensing, generating large one time fees and annual monies through the sale of tickets for those seats.
The Vikings are asking the public to be proactive on the stadium issue by contacting elected officials and encouraging them to support a stadium solution in 2010. Fans can also join Minnesota Momentum, a coalition of stadium supporters (more at www.minnesotamomentum.com). More engagement by public leaders and the general public is needed including debating the specifics of a funding plan. All interests should be involved and listened to.
Zygi Wilf’s ownership group has said it won’t move the franchise. Multiple sources believe, though, that Wilf might one day be willing to sell and another group could prefer a home other than Minnesota. It’s believed that the Wilf ownership could sell the franchise for $250 million (or more) than the original purchase price of $600 million.
Viable markets and stadiums to house NFL teams, though, are scarce. The NFL shouldn’t repeat the mistake of going into a small market like Jacksonville where corporate support is minimal. Another existing NFL town, Buffalo, has similar problems and will play a regular season game later this year in Toronto as part of apparently a multi-year test to try out Canada as a new home.
While the Bills may look north, the Vikings, Jaguars, Chargers, 49ers, Raiders and Rams have all had their names associated with a move to Southern California. Real estate developer Ed Roski has been trying to clear legal hurdles to move forward on a proposed $800 million stadium in suburban Los Angles.
A stated goal is to have a commitment by an NFL team in 2010. Sources speculate that a new stadium in City of Industry, California might be home to two NFL teams, not one. That model makes building and maintaining the stadium a smarter financial move.
Prevailing thought is the team or teams in Industry will be existing franchises because the 32 NFL owners don’t want to dilute their rich TV revenue pie any further by adding more teams. The owners are also likely to share in perhaps $10 million or so each from a relocation fee of $300 million or more that a team will pay. You can do the math and see how that benefits team owners if two teams pay relocation fees to move.
Maybe the odds of the Vikings relocating to Los Angeles are twice what we thought. At this point there are lot more questions than answers, but here’s an interesting closer: the stadium drawing of the new facility in Industry has purple seats.
