The Vikings said yesterday that $67M in "hidden costs associated with building a football stadium on the site of the Metrodome mean it is not significantly less expensive than other locations, as Minneapolis city officials have claimed," according to Mike Kaszuba of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Team sources said that playing at the Univ. of Minnesota for three seasons while a new stadium is built "would require $19 million to expand parking on campus and $11 million to refurbish two-year-old TCF Bank Stadium" to NFL standards. The Vikings said that together, those expenses "bring the cost of building on the Metrodome site to $962 million." Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission Chair Ted Mondale said that a "new stadium at the Metrodome site actually would cost just" $918M. Mondale also said yesterday that an "agreement for the Vikings to play at the U was nearly complete, although a top school official disputed that claim." UM CFO Richard Pfutzenreuter said that while there "had been 'very preliminary and casual' talks with the Vikings, no use agreement was imminent" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 1/11). Vikings President Mark Wilf said that the "Dome plan 'could be workable,' but the additional costs as well as potential disruption to the team, fans, sponsors and University of Minnesota neighborhoods would need to be addressed." He added that at TCF Bank Stadium, "because of limitations on space, amenities and potential sponsorships, the Vikings estimate they would generate $12.3 million less each year than at the Dome, or $37 million over three seasons" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 1/11).
