If the Vikings ultimately can’t get a new stadium in Minnesota, it won’t happen because they didn’t try.
With time running out for a special session of the Legislature aimed at approving a plan for a structure that would be funded by the team, the state, and the county in which the stadium would be built, the Vikings are ready to make even more concessions.
According to Rochelle Olson of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Vikings are considering increasing their contribution. The team also is pondering the possibility of settling for a roof that doesn’t retract, which would cut the construction costs down considerably.
The Vikings currently plan to kick in $407 million, an amount that includes any contribution from the NFL.
With the team’s lease at the Metrodome expiring after the 2011 and with L.A. potentially poised to host a team in the Rose Bowl or the Coliseum as soon as 2012, the Vikings could choose to be coy. To their credit, they’re doing what they have to do to ensure that they’ll remain in Minnesota for another 50 years, or more.
Whether the folks in Minnesota are willing to do the same thing remains to be seen.