Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton on Thursday said that Vikings officials “weren't forthright during negotiations about the possibility that season ticket holders could be charged hefty new fees to help fund the new stadium,” according to Patrick Condon of the AP. While expressing “optimism the dispute could be worked out, Dayton did not retreat from an earlier vow to fight the teams' owners over the extra charges.” Dayton said that team officials “didn't bring up the high-dollar fee proposal during stadium negotiations.” Dayton said, "Not every card was face up on the table.” But Vikings VP/Public Affairs & Stadium Development Lester Bagley said, "We were very forthright and very above-board and very clear." Dayton said that he “hoped” Vikings Owners the Wilfs would “realize steep fees might attract ill will.” Dayton: "They've obviously been very successful developers in New Jersey and that area. Maybe there's one style of doing business there that's effective. I think there's a different style here that's more straightforward and more mindful of the sensitivities of the community, and the need for good relations with the community" (AP, 11/15). In Minneapolis, Sid Hartman writes Dayton is “overreacting to the Vikings' survey of ticket holders about seat licensing in the new stadium.” One of the reasons the Wilf family “came up with an extra $50 million near the end of negotiations for a new Vikings stadium bill and will contribute a total of $477 million was because the bill included a clause that allowed the team owners to sell seat licenses in the new stadium.” Dayton is “no doubt pulling a grandstanding act in his reaction to the Wilfs sending out the survey regarding seat licensing fees” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/16).
