On Friday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Steelers owner Art Rooney II, chairman of the league’s stadium committee, will meet with legislative leaders in Minnesota in a bid to revive a stadium proposal that has otherwise died in the Legislature. As a not-so-subtle reminder to the people and the politicians of the potential consequences, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf’s plane was spotted at a Southern California airport on Thursday, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
The Daily News also reports that Commissioner Roger Goodell met earlier this week with L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, as confirmed by a spokesman for Villaraigosa. “Yes, the Commissioner and the Mayor did meet this week and they had a private conversation on a number of topics,” Peter Sanders told the Daily News.
None of this should surprise anyone. Apart from any superficial effort to make folks in Minnesota realize that relocation is a possibility, plenty of work needs to be done if the Vikings will be moving to L.A. in 2013.
And that work needs to start now. And it apparently is. If that also applies a little heat to the folks in Minnesota, then so be it.