Vikings stadium project losing urgency

[.infamous]

The effort to build a new stadium for the Vikings once again has encountered the biggest possible obstacle to its success.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the sense of urgency at the State Capitol has diminished. And it’s not surprising. As Vikings V.P. of stadium wrangling Lester Bagley told PFT Live earlier this year, the Vikings must tell the league by February 15 if they plan to relocate for the 2012 season.

If Wednesday comes and goes without the Vikings expressing an intent to move, the Vikings are stuck in Minnesota in 2012. So where would they play?

And that’s where this thing gets even weirder. The Vikings have no lease for 2012.

The power then would shift to the powers-that-be in Minnesota, who could insist on something more than a one-year Band-Aid lease. Then what would the Vikings do? (That said, the state still contends that snow damage in 2010 extended the lease by one year; the Vikings could save face by agreeing to that position and treating 2012 as their lame-duck year.)

Either way, the Vikings need to do something other than hope that the situation will get resolved. They seem to have no desire to move, and they have done nothing to create the impression that they will.

Maybe the Vikings fear that taking a hard line will backfire. Maybe the Vikings believe that, if they pretend they want to go, folks in Minnesota will shrug and say, “Fine. Go.”

Regardless, the situation is no closer to being resolved. The only viable plan remains the construction of a new building adjacent to the Metrodome. Contrary to a recent item from Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune that the Vikings would have to spend an entire season playing at the University of Minnesota’s open-air, undersized venue, the Star Tribune now says that the Vikings would be able to stay at the Metrodome for “all but a few games” in 2016, the year the facility would open.

If they don’t get this thing figured out, at some point the Vikings will have to entertain the thought of playing more than a few games in another part of the country.

Sounding more and more like LA.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Looks like they might be set afterall.

"Minneapolis, the state and the Minnesota Vikings have reached a tentative agreement on a new, $975 million stadium on a site at or near the Metrodome and on how to divide the costs, multiple sources said Friday.

Under the preliminary deal, the city would contribute $150 million in construction costs to the downtown Minneapolis project. The state would add $398 million, while the Vikings would pay $427 million. The city also would pay approximately $180 million in operating costs over the next 30 years, multiple sources close to the negotiations said.

Senate Majority Leader David Senjem said Friday that if there is an agreement, enough time remains to vote on a stadium funding package before the Legislature adjourns in late April. "I think that we could certainly arrive at a decision on the bill -- up or down -- within the two-month framework," he said.

The sources who described the tentative agreement -- key players in the negotiations -- spoke on the condition that they not be identified. They added that some details remain, such as who is responsible for cost overruns, but said a formal announcement is anticipated next week.

The preliminary agreement would commit the state to nearly $60 million more than previous estimates for a new stadium at the Metrodome, and would have the Vikings pledge roughly the same amount the team had agreed to pay as part of a former stadium plan in Ramsey County's Arden Hills.

Any agreement would be just the first step in the stadium process: The package would need to pass the Legislature and likely the Minneapolis City Council -- neither of which is assured. The National Football League also would have to approve any stadium deal.

Stadium supporters have been worried that with pervasive talk of an early adjournment, they were running out of time in this legislative session. In a Friday morning briefing, Senjem said a special session might be needed."

- Star Tribune