NFL owners are expected to approve $200M in league financing for the Vikings' new $975M stadium at the annual three-day meeting that commences this morning in Arizona, sources said. The vote is slated for today. The money would come under the league’s G-4 stadium financing program, in which teams apply for loans they pay back in part by diverting team revenue that otherwise would have gone to the league. This is the second G-4 loan since the system was implemented following the '11 CBA, replacing a similar program under the previous labor pact. The 49ers received $200M, the maximum amount, under G-4. Three clubs that are renovating stadiums -- the Ravens, Broncos and Bills -- are applying to the league for what are called club-seat waivers. Fees from club seats that teams would otherwise pay the league get diverted to pay for capital expenses. These renovations, however, do not meet the scale necessary for a G-4 loan (Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer).
JOHN THE BUILDER: In Minneapolis, Richard Meryhew profiled Mortenson Construction Senior VP John Wood and wrote he "faces his most formidable building challenge yet: the nearly billion-dollar Vikings stadium in downtown Minneapolis." With "all of Minnesota watching, Wood knows success rests on whether the project gets built on time and within budget and whether Mortenson delivers the state-of-the-art gem that a region, its team and is purple-and-gold following not only want, but demand." Wood's portfolio "boasts dozens of sports venues coast to coast." But of all the projects, the Vikings' is the "biggest, and by far the most expensive." With talk of "a retractable roof or wall, it may well be the trickiest to build." More than that, it is a "chance to add to the company's hometown legacy." Wood said, "It's the biggest project in the history of the state. And it's one that every single member of our organization here in Minnesota is excited about. It's just captivated the interest of the whole community" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 3/17).
