KIDWCKED
01-12-2011, 11:44 PM
c/p from foxsports by the a/p
Updated Jan 12, 2011 3:23 PM ET
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP)
The Minnesota Vikings are willing to pay about a third of the cost of their desired new stadium, but won't help pay for a roof even if state lawmakers insist it needs one.
Vikings vice president and stadium point man Lester Bagley said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday that the Vikings would prefer an outdoor stadium, but understood that might not win legislative approval when lawmakers in February take up the team's request for a stadium funded in part by taxpayers.
Bagley said the Vikings wouldn't insist on playing outside, but saw it as precedent that the Minnesota Twins ponied up about a third of the cost of outdoor Target Field.
''A roof does not provide any benefit to the Vikings,'' Bagley said in the interview at team headquarters in Eden Prairie. ''It also costs a couple hundred million dollars more in capital costs, in addition to the operating costs that are much higher for a covered facility.''
With the team's lease for the currently snow-damaged Metrodome set to expire after next season, Bagley said lawmakers must act this year to replace a building he called ''not a viable NFL facility'' and ensure the Vikings stay in Minnesota.
An outdoor stadium has been estimated to cost at least $700 million, with a permanent or retractable roof likely to add another few hundred million dollars to the total price. But a roof could also be the cost of getting the bill through the Legislature, with Capitol backers saying most lawmakers want a facility like the Metrodome that can host not just NFL football but also dozens of high school and college tournaments and other public events.
Updated Jan 12, 2011 3:23 PM ET
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP)
The Minnesota Vikings are willing to pay about a third of the cost of their desired new stadium, but won't help pay for a roof even if state lawmakers insist it needs one.
Vikings vice president and stadium point man Lester Bagley said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday that the Vikings would prefer an outdoor stadium, but understood that might not win legislative approval when lawmakers in February take up the team's request for a stadium funded in part by taxpayers.
Bagley said the Vikings wouldn't insist on playing outside, but saw it as precedent that the Minnesota Twins ponied up about a third of the cost of outdoor Target Field.
''A roof does not provide any benefit to the Vikings,'' Bagley said in the interview at team headquarters in Eden Prairie. ''It also costs a couple hundred million dollars more in capital costs, in addition to the operating costs that are much higher for a covered facility.''
With the team's lease for the currently snow-damaged Metrodome set to expire after next season, Bagley said lawmakers must act this year to replace a building he called ''not a viable NFL facility'' and ensure the Vikings stay in Minnesota.
An outdoor stadium has been estimated to cost at least $700 million, with a permanent or retractable roof likely to add another few hundred million dollars to the total price. But a roof could also be the cost of getting the bill through the Legislature, with Capitol backers saying most lawmakers want a facility like the Metrodome that can host not just NFL football but also dozens of high school and college tournaments and other public events.