As co-owner of the Minnesota Vikings, Mark Wilf and his family have seen their host of crises.
There was the Adrian Peterson player misconduct scandal in 2014. The long, arduous path to winning public financing for the team’s soon-to-open stadium, a process that could have led to the team relocating. Not to mention owning a team in Minnesota when home for Wilf and his brothers is in New Jersey.
Asked to choose the greatest challenge his family has faced in a dozen years of owning a team, however, Wilf pulls at none of those levers. Instead, he refers to the one that has bedeviled owners since the beginning of pro sports: winning.
“What has been the biggest challenge has been building a winning football team,” he said. “And winning a Super Bowl championship.”
Questioned if it has been harder than he imagined when buying the team, he responded, “We knew it was going to be tough, but when you’re living through the ups and downs of a season, it is very challenging.
“We are in a good place right now with not just stability with the team we have, but the structure we put in place for
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| Photo by: Minnesota Vikings |
our organization.”
Perhaps surprisingly, Wilf did not consider the Peterson saga much of a challenge, despite the effect it had on the league and the team. The only league or team sponsor to depart due to the player misconduct issue was Radisson.
“We worked through those issues as well as could be expected,” Wilf said. “Adrian himself is a valuable part of our football team, and we are happy he is on our football team. As far as the business … those issues worked themselves out.”
Wilf said the second biggest challenge he’s faced is the stadium deal, which saw the Vikings secure nearly half a billion dollars in public financing.
Offering a good fan experience is obviously, like with most teams, a top challenge for the Vikings, too. The team has played in the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium the last two seasons, so those efforts have had to wait.
Wilf expects the new stadium will solve most of the issues that bedeviled the team in the crumbling Metrodome.
It will have “all the kinds of stuff people expect you to have,” he said, rattling off suites, the high-tech translucent roof, in-seat ordering, and even a collection of Minnesota art.
And ultimately, Wilf would be the first to point out, a team that will provide the ultimate fan experience: a Super Bowl victory.
