Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf released a statement telling fans that a civil lawsuit against them in the state of New Jersey will have “absolutely no impact” on the new stadium project.
The Minnesota Vikings and the Wilf family have long appreciated Governor Mark Dayton’s support for a new stadium. The Vikings have spoken with Governor Dayton’s representatives and the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority and have assured all parties that this civil lawsuit will have absolutely no impact on the stadium project. The team also has kept representatives from the NFL informed and has confirmed that league financing remains on track and unaffected by the ongoing legal proceedings. The Vikings’ guarantee of $477 million in private financing has gone through two years of review and due diligence by our public partners. We have engaged several leading financial institutions to finance this project, and the funding is secure. We look forward to our continued work with the MSFA to build this statewide asset on time and on budget.
Despite the good faith statement from the Wilfs, Gov. Dayton responded with a statement of his own, according to FOX Sports North.
“I am deeply concerned by the Judge’s findings that the Wilf family committed fraud, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty; violated New Jersey’s civil racketeering statute; and presented untruthful and inaccurate financial statements,” Dayton said. “Those practices are far from the legal standards for doing business in Minnesota.”
The 21-year old fraud case against the Wilfs will likely cost them $50+ million when a judge rules in the coming weeks.
