The Vikings may be bluffing about leaving the state if they can’t get a new stadium deal in place before the expiration of the Metrodome lease on January 1 (assuming, of course, no home playoff games). Regardless, Governor Mark Dayton realizes that it could happen.
“If we don’t act in some way and get a stadium project going, it’s unrealistic in my opinion to think that we are not going to face competition for the team in the near future,” Dayton said Friday, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Dayton confirmed that meetings will be held next week with legislative leaders, league officials, and the Vikings, something that Vikings V.P. of business affairs and stadium development Lester Bagley said on Thursday’s PFT Live.
Bagley also said that “more than one community” has contacted the team regarding a possible move, and that the Vikings won’t sign a new lease at the Metrodome until a plan for a new stadium has been finalized. Even if the Vikings don’t plan to leave, it’s likely that representatives from other cities will openly pursue the team if/when the lease expires.
Progress toward the construction of a stadium in Minnesota doesn’t necessarily mean that progress is being made toward the construction of a stadium in the team’s preferred location of Arden Hills. Governor Dayton wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a Minneapolis stadium, and a tug-of-war between the two communities could be the next phase of this protracted stadium drama, which could be moving toward a conclusion.