Governor Mark Dayton isn’t happy the the Vikings will be playing at least one home game in London. He’s also miffed that the team is considering the use of Personal Seat Licenses to raise the team’s portion of the contribution toward a new stadium.
As Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com points out, the legislation that Dayton signed into law earlier this year permits both things.
The project refers to PSLs as “Stadium Builders Licenses,” and the legislation expressly includes amounts generated from SBLs in the team’s $477 million contribution. Likewise, the deal permits the Vikings to play three home games outside the United States in the first 15 years of the 30-year lease, and three more in the next 15 years.
The game that will be played in London next season will be taken not from the “People’s Stadium,” but from the temporary games that will be played at TCF Bank Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota. The Vikings nevertheless agreed that the game to be played overseas next year will count toward the three games played elsewhere in the first 15 years of the lease.
The Vikings have yet to respond to our request for a statement in response to Dayton’s saber-rattling letter. Maybe they don’t have to; the response seems to appear in the plain terms of the stadium bill.