Gov. Mark Dayton says he’ll fight any effort by the Vikings to charge fans extra fees and threatens to undo the stadium deal, the Star Tribune reports.
In a letter to Vikings’ owners Zygi and Mark Wilf, Dayton says he strongly opposes asking season ticket holders to pay the “NFL Team/Private Contribution” for construction costs.
“I said this new stadium would be a ‘People’s Stadium,’ not a’Rich People’s Stadium,'” Dayton said in the letter.
The Star Tribune says the letter comes less than a week after the team sent out an e-mail survey to season ticket holders to guage their willingness to pay more for personal seat licenses to secure the best seats. The revenue would go toward the Vikings’ share of the stadium cost.
The Vikings issued a statement saying they are disappointed by the Governor’s letter. The team says seat licences — they call them “stadium builder’s licenses” — were a key part of the agreement Governor Dayton signed.
Kevin Seifert with ESPN.com calls Dayton’s letter “just a sloppy political maneuver,” since the legislation gave the team clearance to sell the licenses.
Unless they work this out, it could end up being “No People’s Stadium,” says Mike Florino with NBC Sports, and the Vikings could eventually be back in play for L.A.
