A top state official that oversees the new Minnesota Vikings stadium said Friday she expects personal seat licenses won’t be sky high if the team ultimately pursues that option, the Associated Press reports.
If the team pursues the fees to help pay its share of the $975 million construction cost, the fees are more likely to be priced in line with fees charged at the Twins’ Target Field and the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium, Minnesota Sports Facility Authority Chairwoman Michelle Kelm-Helgen said, the Associated Press reports. That would mean fees in the $500 to $2,000 per seat range, rather than tens of thousands.
The Star Tribune earlier this week reported that Vikings officials recently e-mailed surveys to season-ticket holders to test how willing they might be to pay thousands of dollars more for a personal seat license to obtain the right to the best seats.
Gov. Mark Dayton was angered that the Vikings were considering the fees. The state and city of Minneapolis are contributing about half of the cost of constructing the new downtown Minneapolis stadium, and the team is picking up the rest. Dayton thinks the seat fees are a way for the team to push its financial responsibility onto fans.
But a Vikings spokesman said Friday that the fees are not uncommon and that the public and Dayton were too quick to judge the team.
