Gov. Mark Dayton tells the Star Tribune that he thinks an audit of the state’s stadium deal with the Minnesota Vikings should be public.
The remarks came Wednesday with new scrutiny toward the state’s stadium deal with the Vikings in wake of a lawsuit that found the owners had committed in a different business deal.
Earlier this month, a New Jersey judge found that Vikings principal owner Zygi Wilf, his brother and co-owner Mark Wilf, and their cousin Leonard Wilf committed fraud in a civil case that took place more than 20-years ago.
The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Authority put all stadium movement on hold, and Dayton called for an audit of the deal.
The team countered then that the audit should be expedient, and take weeks, not months.
Now, Dayton tells the Strib he wants from audit to show an “absolute, airtight guarantee that they have the financial wherewithal to meet their obligations.” He also said that he wants to make sure, given the New Jersey decision, that the Vikings representations of what they would pay are based on “accurate information.”
The governor said that the stadium board, according to the Star Tribune, has some money to pay for an audit and would like the Vikings to pay for any costs above that.
