Stadium thread

[HardcoreVikesFan]

Question: Could Zygi buy the Dome for the $1 the state offered, play there one more year, and then hope the stadium bill passes next year? Or is the $1 solution an alternative to a new stadium? I was thinking that if Zygi did buy the Dome for $1, that would kill any hope of a new stadium, but maybe I am wrong.

[dead_poet]

Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Zellers says he has never wanted a special session this year for the #vikings stadium. Gov. appears surprised.

[mansquatch]

I don’t fault the legislators on this. They were sent to office with a very clear mandate of cutting spending, don’t raise taxes, etc. Whether you agree with that or not, that is what they campaigned on. The fact that they reacted the way that they did was not at all inconsistent with the path they took to power.

The flip side of that is the fact that other cities/ states will play ball and do public funding options. So if the State Government decides to be play ideology and make a point about not using public funding (which philosophically I agree with) then the game theory is obvious about what the result will be. This latter point is what cinches it for me. If you don’t play ball they are going to leave because someone else will. The Mackay commentary in Souhan’s piece really nails it. Someone else WILL pay.

What is sad to me is complete lack of leadership going on at the capital. I wonder if there is also some backdoor crap going on by the Minneapolis people. It is too bad, a suburban site would be awesome.

[VikingLord]

I fault the legislators for taking the short view. The long view is the better one because it more accurately reflects the balance between costs and benefits, and as the Souhan piece points out and simple financial analysis shows, there are significant benefits to the state that accrue over time from having the Vikings.

Getting the majority of voters to approve anything is extremely tough no matter what the political and financial environment is. But in my view the legislators are there as caretakers for something that existed long before them and will be there long after they are gone. I understand the motivation to be re-elected and I get that they cannot completely ignore the voices of those who voted for them, but they're not doing their jobs if they don't take a step back and look at the bigger picture even if that costs them in the short term.

[radar55]

Not everyone in MN cares about sports. Such a massive art/theater/music community in MPLS/STP area. Sports is an after thought for some folks

We really cant expect the artsy farsty community in this state to put up any money for the Vikings....this is a group of people who tore down the Parade Stadium softball field in Minneapolis in order to build their Big spoon and cherry and rumor has it that they are now considering a Big Fork or Knife or some other utensil to go along with it and they think thats money well spent !!!!

I'm sure there are hundereds of thousands of people who every year when considering their vacation plans say to themselves "Lets go see the big spoon and cherry in Mpls" Now thats entertainment

[headless_norseman]

Unless something changes the mindset of the obstinate Minnesota politicians, it's over. They are gone. This is it.

And unless a grassroots groundswell of public uproar doesn't begin fairly soon, start drinking now

[headless_norseman]

jim Souhan has a must-read column about this today. It's superb:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 45763.html

A commercial campaign should be centered around the main points in that well written piece. That guy is dead on and knows exactly what the hell he is talking about.

[crazyguy]

Unless something changes the mindset of the obstinate Minnesota politicians, it's over. They are gone. This is it.

And unless a grassroots groundswell of public uproar doesn't begin fairly soon, start drinking now

I'm game to start working on a grass roots effort...anybody else?.....anybody?

[porky]

I sent an e-mail to every rep in our state (house and senate) with regards to needing a Vikings stadium and the benefits to the state.

[NextQuestion]

I know the dome isn't ideal but why not renovate that thing?

[PurpleMustReign]

We are screwed.
I Can't believe this is happening. It seemed promising for awhile, now... not so much.

[Raptorman]

Here's the thing. The state has said over and over again, "Not this year, wait" well, the next time some business wants something from the state and the state says "Not this year, wait" as a business owner how would you take that? Well, look what they did to the Vikings, strung them along for years and at the last minute, did nothing. Trust works both ways. The Vikings trusted the state to help, so far all they have is lip service.


If they move I will become a Packer fan and never care what happens in MN again.

[thatguy]

I know the dome isn't ideal but why not renovate that thing?

They CAN'T stay competitive. It's not about WHERE they play. It's about luxury suites. Those are the big moneymakers, and the Dome just does not support enough of them.

[9man]

They CAN'T stay competitive. It's not about WHERE they play. It's about luxury suites. Those are the big moneymakers, and the Dome just does not support enough of them.

Also....

The Metrodome has the smallest site footprint in the NFL at 900,000 square feet, compared to the NFL average of 1.5-1.6 million square feet.

Because of the revenue-challenged Metrodome, the Vikings receive annual subsidies of $15-20 million from other NFL teams in order to compete, including smaller markets like Green Bay and Kansas City.

[dead_poet]

Vikings statement on stadium talks is by far the most ominous thing they've issued. "The Vikings are concerned about the turn of events surrounding a stadium solution in Minnesota. While we have been encouraged by the efforts of Governor Dayton and the four caucus leaders to seriously discuss this issue, these recent developments are very disappointing. The Vikings stadium issue has been heavily debated in the public for over 10 years. With less than 90 days left on the team's lease the urgency to act is on us. The Vikings continue to stand ready to work with State leaders on a stadium solution that works for Minnesota and the team."

Tom Pelissero on Twitter