Viking Stadium...take 7

With the Vikings stadium issue bubling up in the legislature once again, I asked for some opinions on the latest proposal from my buddy Derek, who follows the issues quite closely and was involved in the previous Anoka County stadium proposal. Here is what he sent back, obviously "a few thoughts" was a bit of an understatement:

First thought: is there any way we can convince Lester Bagley to just not say anything when asked? He hurts more than he helps, at least with his words. I thought I saw the worst stadium effort of my lifetime with the Twins, and then the Marlins came along…well…the Vikings are already well past them overall because they learned NOTHING from the Twins mistakes, as they are making the same ones all over again.

Bagley’s comments are that the Vikings can’t get behind this proposal as it stands because it costs them too much and the lease is too long? Are you flipping kidding me!?!? SHUT UP!!!! That only hurts the chances with the legislators if they see you aren’t even on board. WAIT FOR CONFERENCE COMMITTEE YOU STUPID IDIOT!!! If you are that focused on making sure your voice is heard, say something generic like, “We are hopeful that State leaders can find a way to listen to our proposal in the midst of dealing with the many more important matters they currently face.” This guy is bush league. I have no idea how he keeps his job.

My thoughts on the actual proposal, keep in mind that I am trying to be as brief as possible, could write a novel:

1) Less than two weeks left makes this all moot. ZERO chance this gets accomplished. Had they shown up with a bill in January (which means they needed to have their ducks in a row by Thanksgiving) this might have stood a 10% chance. I can’t tell you how many times the Twins thought they ‘really had a shot’ with two weeks left. Meanwhile, there were committee meetings canceled, or with a very light agenda, all session long, and they didn’t take advantage. Each side will have a minimum of five committees to endure unless there is a procedural maneuver to take the bill from the Ways and Means committee to the House or Senate floor, which is a political fireball and almost never happens unless it’s a bill to find a lost child or do something procedural that makes everyone look good.

2) Fixed roof option sucks, but I understand how it happened. Can’t afford retractable, gotta be able to host events year ‘round. They need to compromise since both the Vikings and MSFC are bull-headed and short-sighted. MSFC and State need political capital raised by hosting events besides Vikings football, Vikings don’t want to fund more than one-third of an open-air stadium. It’s amazing what happens when you get large groups of idiots together to make decisions. At the end of the day, if it keeps the Vikings, although I don’t like it, gimme the dome. Baseball belongs outside, college football does too, and while NFL should be also, at least a semi-reasonable argument can be made for the NFL to be indoors. Randy and I agreed that we all hope Zygi comes to his senses and ponies up the extra $100 or so it takes to make retractable. (Also, anyone find it funny that in a struggling economy where everyone is reducing the prices of homes/building materials/interest rates/etc…that this silly stadium seems to get $50M more expensive every single year?)

3) I like that the bill asks for 1/3 from the Vikings for total cost. I believe that the Vikings will ultimately agree if that is what it takes.

4) Last I heard, the bill is not site-specific, which will impede its progress. Twins finally had to get site-specific. If they choose the Metrodome site, they are going to hurt themselves, because the Governor and Legislature have demanded the Vikings to find a local partner for five years now, while the Vikings sit with their finger in their ear and do nothing on that front, other than alienate the only two groups willing to partner with them in Blaine and the U of M. The Vikings will tell you all day neither site worked, but I bet they would take it if they could get it now! (I can’t tell you how horrible of a job they are doing at this stadium project.) There is no local partner available for the Metrodome site. Minneapolis doesn’t have money, as it is in the red, requires a referendum to spend more than $10M on a facility, and has all it can handle with the Target Center remodel from a few years ago. Hennepin County has the Twins ballpark in their tax right now, so not sure they could afford more.

5) I like the idea of lottery game to raise $5.5M. I like the idea of the rental cars and hotels because it taxes mostly out-of-town businesses. Not a huge fan of the jersey tax because it hits specific businesses and specific consumers hard…and not necessarily those who go to games. But, it is creative. If I were the Vikings, I approach Ramsey County (St. Paul) and tell them I want to put our new facility on the State Fairgrounds. My favorite option has always been slot machines at Canterbury, but with the Indian lobby being so strong, probably won’t happen.

6) It isn’t gonna happen this year, but would have a chance next year if they follow my simple ideas. It isn’t rocket science, if they would set aside their arrogance for 10 minutes, like the Twins FINALLY did…oh man this could have a real shot.



Thanks for the perspective Derek, obviously a lot of things that still need to shake out here. For my part, I will just say that one way or another, the Vikings are getting a stadium, they are too popular not to. Frankly I don't see why it's necessary to spend this kind of money, when they could remodle the Dome for a fraction of the cost, but that probably has to do with the fact that I'm over the NFL as a in-person sport.

My fellow fans would probably want to tar and feather me for this, but it wouldn't kill me to see the Vikes leave town, at least not as much as it would with the Twins or Wild. As much as I love Vikings football, I just can't stand attending NFL games, it's hugely expensive, has way too much downtime, and takes up a huge amount of your Sunday. In this day and age, I prefer my couch or a barstool to a seat at the game, so having my team actually play in my town is a bit meaningless. If they moved them to LA and kept calling them the Vikings, I really don't see how that changes a thing for me personally, just more late games!

Yes, I know this makes me a traitor, but it's true.