Vikings President Roger Headrick's pursuit of a new stadium
is examined by Jay Weiner of the Minneapolis STAR-TRIBUNE. The
team's current revenue from the Metrodome places them 23rd in the
NFL in large part because the Metropolitan Sports Facilities
Commission (MSFC) controls stadium ads and most concession
revenues. Headrick notes renovations for the Dome, with suites,
10,000 new seats, a restaurant, new concourses and restrooms,
could cost "as much" as $140M. Headrick has said increasing the
team's concessions' take, removing a 10% ticket tax, capturing
in-stadium ads and reducing rent "could generate" nearly $10M in
new revenue. But, Weiner writes, the $10M "wouldn't now be
enough" to keep the Vikings "apace" with teams getting new
stadiums or enhancing their own leases. Headrick claims the
Vikings lost $900,000 in '95 and face projected losses of $2.8M
in '96. MN Gov. Arne Carlson said talk of a new Vikings stadium
could "botch" the Twins advanced efforts for a new ballpark.
Carlson: "If the public perceives that this is going to be a
feeding frenzy, then I think everything will be lost. If the
Vikings persist in a direct linkage between a stadium for the
Twins and a new stadium or massive improvements for them, they'll
push the taxpayer beyond the limit of tolerance. I would caution
them against that strategy." The Dome has operated without
taxpayer dollars for the past 12 years as ticket taxes and the
teams' payments are retiring the building's bonds, while the MSFC
has funded $37.6M in capital improvements over the past 15 years.
MSFC Exec Dir Bill Lester: "It's through the leases that we make
this stadium self-supporting. We can't change lease terms unless
we do it for something in return. It's our obligation to protect
the public" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 10/13).
