When the Metrodome’s roof collapsed last week I though it was a good thing for the Minnesota Vikings. I thought that the loss of a home game and the coming Monday Night game at the University of Minnesota would help the team convince the legislators and the citizens of Minnesota to get a new stadium deal done. Now, almost a week later I am not so sure. More of the roof has collapsed, and the cost to repair it will be immense. Since the Vikings only have one year left on their Metrodome lease, it may not be a great investment to fix the Metrodome.
If I were going to call this one, I would need a commitment from the Vikings long term before I spent any more money trying to fix the Metrodome. Of course a long term commitment from the team is going to require a new football only stadium and the team will insist that the public picks up a large portion of the construction cost of said stadium.
Since public funding for sports stadiums is always bad policy, and since the good folks of Minnesota have already built the Metrodome with their own money and just spent a lot of their tax money to build Target Field for the Minnesota Twins I don’t see how the legislature or the good folks of Minnesota can realistically afford to build another stadium.
The Government Agency that owns the stadium has already spent 1.5 million on the collapse, and before they spend anymore they should be talking about the long term future of the Vikings in Minnesota. Maybe that is why Roger Goodell is in Minnesota not only for the Monday Night game, but to talk about the future of football in Minnesota.
Related Links:
- Minnesota Vikings news and notes
- The Business of the NFL
- Joshua Lobdell.com
