The Vikings "are for sale and secretly have been on the
market for at least two months," according to two team
sources cited by Don Banks of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE.
Vikings Vice Chair and part Owner Philip Maas and a "second
team source" said that the team's Board members have
"already entertained four out-of-state prospective buyers"
and have "received and rejected" a $150M bid for the team.
The interested suitors represent L.A., Toronto, Birmingham,
AL, and one other "unidentified area." But Banks writes
that no group representing Cleveland "is involved." The
Vikings' Maas said the four potential buyers "have already
visited the Twin Cities," and the second source "confirmed"
that the initial bid came from the "unidentified area." It
is "believed" that the bidder "intends to keep" the team in
MN. The asking price for the team is "estimated between"
$150-210M, "depending on how an offer is structured to
include the team's debt." Team President Roger Headrick
"declined to comment" on the report (STAR TRIBUNE, 10/29).
BOOK REPORT: Maas and two other Vikings' owners said
that Coach Dennis Green "could help diffuse" the controversy
surrounding his new book by "giving his explanation,
although they are not demanding an apology," according to
Jeff Seidel of the ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS. Green is
scheduled to meet with reporters this afternoon (PIONEER
PRESS, 10/29. Controversy surrounding the book "has helped
spark an explosion of interest" as Barnes & Noble "decided
this week" to distribute the book nationally and has
"ordered additional copies." The book had a first printing
of 10,000-15,000, and David Kasel, Dir of Marketing of
Sagamore Publishing, the book's publisher, said that
"[a]bout" 25% of the print run has gone out this week, and
"that's very good" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 10/29).
