The countdown to 2011

By Mike Schoemer  |   Thursday, June 19, 2008  |  Comments( 13 )

Minnesota Vikings
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It’s been a constant topic in Minnesota every spring and summer. As Vikings fans wait with bated breath for the arrival of training camp (still more than a month away), attention turns west, to the steel and concrete that’s twisting away in Los Angeles. Could this be the second Minnesota franchise to follow Manifest Destiny, a la the Lakers?

The Sporting News’ Mike Florio recently compiled a list of teams that could see greener pastures in Los Angeles, where developer Ed Roski -- who must have made a mint in the Orange County real estate market (kidding) -- is using the “Field of Dreams” approach and waiting for fans to give up their maroon and gold of USC for the red, white and blue of the NFL.

Two teams rank ahead of the Vikings in Florio's report. Jacksonville, which can’t seem to sell out a game in Florida, is a logical pick. Somewhat surprising are the St. Louis Rams, who once played in L.A., falling in at No. 2.

Florio mentions Minnesota at No. 3 simply because of the stadium issue. Minnesota is a great market. The Twin Cities alone are a top-15 television market, and the team has a TV following in at least four other states, including Iowa, the Dakotas and Wisconsin.

The Vikings will be done with their lease at the Metrodome in 2011. That gives Zygi Wilf and his ownership group the 2009 Legislative session to get a deal in place for a new stadium in downtown Minneapolis, or the team could be, officially, homeless.

The trouble is, Wilf is operating without a partner on the government side. The Minnesota Twins found a lovable partner in Hennepin County (which boasts Minneapolis and most of the western suburbs), which stepped forward with a proposal for a half-cent sales tax. The commission bypassed voters (who would have sent any sales tax increase packing, by all accounts) and passed the tax 3-2, clearing the way for a new, 40,000-seat ballpark.

Wilf burned the only bridge (pardon the pun, Minnesotans) he had to a new stadium up in Anoka County when, during a recent Legislative session, the Vikings withdrew plans for a retractable-roofed stadium at the last minute in efforts to get state funding. The plan still failed, and Anoka was miffed the Vikings made such a move without its consent. Few discussions with the county have taken place since.

Back at square one, the Vikings know their time is limited. They don’t want to enter another lease with the Metropolitan Sports Group, which owns and operates the dome. It’s not a lucrative deal, and it's certainly not as profitable for the organization as a home of its own.

Does that mean the Vikings, without a deal, will move? That’s not 100 percent, either. The NFL prefers to have teams in big markets, L.A. notwithstanding. And, as evidenced by the Cleveland Browns fiasco, teams that have tradition, which the nearly 50-year-old Vikings do, are tough to move.

Soon, the debate will come to a head. One side will win out. Vikings fans, as usual, will just have to wait and see.
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About Mike Schoemer

• Currently serving as managing editor of the award-winning Monticello Times after promotion in September of 2007. • Took the helm of the Edina, Minn., community newspaper, The Edina Sun Current in September 2006 in the heart of an election year. • Promoted to the Managing Editor of the...
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