With court-ordered mediation unfolding on Thursday in Minneapolis, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf opted instead to visit the State Capitol in St. Paul, as part of the ongoing effort to get a new stadium built.
Apart from expressing perfunctory optimism that the Legislature will pass a stadium bill, Wilf dismissed any suggestion that he’ll sell the team if the effort fails. “There are no talks like that,” Wilf said, per Mike Kazsuba and Kevin Duchschere of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
The sticking point in the current bill appears to be the lack of a defined local partner for the construction of the stadium. “In the end, it’s hard to pass something this complicated without more certainty,” said Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commision chair Ted Mondale.
As a result, Wilf is trying to create the impression that a local partner can quickly be identified.
“We’re right now in the process of working with several potential [local] partners,” Wilf said. “They’re very much willing and able to get this deal done.”
It’s been our impression that the Vikings and the Legislature hope to leverage the local partners against each other, with the goal of getting the best possible deal, given that roughly 33 percent of the construction costs are expected to come from locality in which the stadium is built. But the candidates have yet to take the bait, refusing to be drawn into a bidding war.
Given that the lack of a local partner could be holding up progress in the Legislature, the smart move at this point could be to cut the best possible deal with the best location and get the bill passed.
After all, the team can still move without Wilf selling it.
