Vikings Owner Discusses Stadium Plan With State Government

Vikings Owner Rolls Out Stadium Plans To Minnesota Officials

Minnesota state House Speaker Steve Sviggum said that Vikings Owner Zygi Wilf told him during a meeting yesterday that a new Vikings stadium “would cost [$700-760M], with the Vikings and Anoka County each paying [$250-280M] for the actual building” and the state of Minnesota creating a “a tax increment financing district to capture $200[M] for construction of surrounding infrastructure,” according to Aron Kahn of the ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS. However, Sviggum said that chances for a special legislative session concerning requests for a new Twins ballpark and stadiums for the Vikings and the Univ. of Minnesota “have been lessening over the past two weeks because of the national focus on helping victims of [Hurricane] Katrina, making special attention to stadiums look trivial.” Minnesota state Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson also met with Wilf and said that he “hopes [Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty] calls the session” (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 9/13).

FOCUS ON FOOTBALL: Wilf said that he “will get more involved with the team’s football operations” after having spent “much of the summer focusing on stadium development in Anoka County.” Wilf: “I have to be active. No, I’m not going to call the plays. But I’m going to go ahead and make sure that the right people do the right things. I think it’s very important that the message is out that the person on the top is watching over them, making sure everything is done right” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 9/13).