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NFL officials to visit Minnesota to assess Vikings stadium situation
Wednesday, October 24, 2007 |
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EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) Still trying to drum up support for a new stadium, the Minnesota Vikings will welcome some help from the NFL before the end of the year.
Lester Bagley, the team's vice president of public affairs/stadium development, said Wednesday that a group of league officials is scheduling a visit to the Twin Cities to assess "the viability and time line of a stadium solution in Minnesota."
For years, Vikings ownership has been trying to get a public-private partnership going to build a new stadium and get the team out of the Metrodome. Previous owner Red McCombs failed miserably at the task, and now new owner Zygi Wilf is proposing a $954 million project that includes a retractable roof stadium and an ambitious redevelopment of the downtown area where the Metrodome now stands.
Wilf has pledged about $250 million for the new stadium and millions more for redeveloping the surrounding area, but public and legislative backing has been cool in the wake of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse back in August.
Bagley said a team of league officials will come to town, meet with legislative, business and community leaders to see if they can be of some help in the process.
With the team's Metrodome lease set to expire in 2011, and the cost of construction increasing by the day, time is of the essence.
"They're going to evaluate the situation in Minnesota from an independent perspective," Bagley said. "The clock is ticking. The league and the state and ownership have decisions to make."
Wilf has said all along that he doesn't plan to move the team if a new stadium is not built. But team officials are also quick to point out that the Vikings rank at the bottom of the league in revenues generated from the Metrodome.
At the NFL owners meetings in Philadelphia, owners heard updates on the pursuits of new stadiums in Minnesota, San Diego and San Francisco.
"They've been very helpful with other teams' stadium efforts in other cities," Bagley said. "So we look forward to their visit."
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