Earlier this week, the chances of the Vikings staying in Minnesota beyond 2011 were looking not so good.
The Vikings launched a last-ditch effort to obtain $700 million in subsidies, and a spokesman for Governor Tim Pawlenty didn’t react all that favorably.
“Governor [Tim] Pawlenty believes the Vikings are an important Minnesota institution and asset. We want to see the Vikings stay in Minnesota,” spokesman Brian McClung told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “But the state has to prioritize limited resources, and as we look ahead to the 2010 legislative session, state funding for a new stadium is not high on the list.”
Today, Pawlenty was singing a different tune.
“We value the Vikings’ importance to Minnesota -- we need to find a way to keep our Minnesota Vikings,” Pawlenty said during a weekly Friday morning radio show.
“They’ve made it clear they’re not going to stay in the Metrodome,” Pawlenty said. “It’s fair to say the Metrodome has served us well . . . [but] its time is fading.”
Though the current climate isn’t conducive to the investment of significant public dollars in a facility at which a private entity will perform for an often stiff fee, the guy who currently runs the show realizes that the time has come to solve the problem.
And that’s a great step in the direction of keeping the Vikings from joining the NBA team that once left the Land of 10,000 Lakes for Los Angeles.
