The Vikings and the Univ. of Minnesota have "struck a tentative deal on how much the team will pay the U to play at TCF Stadium while a new Vikings stadium is built near the Metrodome," according to Roper & Kaszuba of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. While "declining to say how much the Vikings would pay per game," Vikings VP/Stadium Operations & Public Affairs Lester Bagley said yesterday that the tentative agreement "would add roughly" 3,000 temporary end zone seats to the university's 50,000-seat stadium. Bagley: "We have close to 53,000 season-ticket owners, so we're trying to at least get to that." He added that other details "still need to be resolved before the plan can be finalized." Bagley: "I'd say there's an agreement in principle there, but formal signoff is yet to occur between the Vikings and the university." Meanwhile, Minneapolis officials yesterday asserted that Target Center improvements "remain on the table as they work toward a public deal for a new football stadium." City Development Chief Chuck Lutz said, "It's an integral part of the deal. ... They key reason why we're doing this deal is because of Target Center." However, legislative leaders at the Capitol have said that a Vikings bill "that benefits Target Center could cost precious votes at the Capitol." State Rep. Morrie Lanning, the stadium bill's House author, said, "Target Center being included in this complicates the whole deal" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 2/21).
