LA Vikings update

[3irty1]

Well there hasn't been discussion on this for a while but there has been news. In November the Governator signed a bill sweeping aside a law suite that would prevent the construction of LA Stadium. In other words the last piece of the puzzle is an NFL team to commit to a move.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Umyc50uTt0c

Of course the Vikings are still in the mix of teams who must have a new stadium and still don't have the support they need.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/rumors/post/Minnesota-Vikings-moving-to-L-A-?urn=nfl,203892

Personally I think an NFL team is going to move to LA and take this deal. With the economy the way it is and with the state some teams are in I think its a real possibility. The 4 most talked about teams are Minnesota, Jacksonville, Chargers and Rams.

Minnesota would likely be LA's first choice. If it weren't for finances this would be a tough franchise to uproot. Wilf wants the public to fund 75% of the new stadium he's proposed which would have a retractable roof. Minnesota thinks its a little too ambitious of a project with too ambitious of a price tag. Its election year in MN and that could go either way for them. Nobody wants to be the asshole who raises taxes but I'm sure nobody wants to be the asshole that ran the queens out of town. My guess is that Wilf will either find a cheaper solution or move the team. The recent news regarding the stadium revenue sharing which hits the Vikings as hard as anyone, a new team in LA has to be looking good. Wilf might not want to move but I'm sure he likes money and MN just hasn't been financially viable for him thus far. Its not even a given that a new stadium would completely change that anyways.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Minnesota will build a new stadium. They just did it for the Twins and Gophers. Legislators are just waiting until they have to okay it... saving the city/state money.

[3irty1]

Minnesota will build a new stadium. They just did it for the Twins and Gophers. Legislators are just waiting until they have to okay it... saving the city/state money.

The other stadiums were approved before the bridge project and also cost less with more fan support. I don't think the approval is a gimme. The fact that these stadium proposals have fallen flat in the past means something. Ideally they'd have gotten something going last year as the lease is up in 2012. They need time to build.

[Scott Campbell]

Zygi's from NJ, so is there any reason he'd prefer to keep the team in MN?

[Freak Out]

Does Jacksonville have the worst fan support of any of those teams? I've heard that all of their home games have been blacked out this year.

[CaliforniaCheez]

A move to LA would be great for the Packers.

More revenue
Natural turf
More media exposure
A game every year in this state for me.
Minnesota and the Dakotas revert back to Packer territory as it was before the NFL unwisely wedged the purple slime into Packer territory.

Nobody really missed them when Minnesota's other 2 NFL franchises folded.
It is not like they will leave a legacy or any throphies behind.

Minnesota just doesn't support football so it is good that the NFL gets more revenue elsewhere. The Packers will sell more merchandise in Minnesota than they do now as their fanbase grows.

The Twin Cities markets will televise Packer's games.

There is no downside to a viking move at all!!

[get louder at lambeau]

Does Jacksonville have the worst fan support of any of those teams? I've heard that all of their home games have been blacked out this year.

I think they are the most likely to move. They really have no reason to stay in Jacksonville, and they are the closest thing to a failed franchise in the NFL. It seems like a no-brainer to jump ship and try their luck in the country's 2nd largest market.

[MadScientist]

A move to LA would be great for the Packers.

More revenue
Natural turf
More media exposure
A game every year in this state for me.

Unlikely. If they move to LA, they will also move to the NFC west. St Louis would likely move to the NFC North. All you would get is the pleasure of watching the Vikings (or whatever they will call themselves) play SF twice a year.

[Sparkey]

A move to LA would be great for the Packers.

More revenue
Natural turf
More media exposure
A game every year in this state for me.
Minnesota and the Dakotas revert back to Packer territory as it was before the NFL unwisely wedged the purple slime into Packer territory.

Nobody really missed them when Minnesota's other 2 NFL franchises folded.
It is not like they will leave a legacy or any throphies behind.

Minnesota just doesn't support football so it is good that the NFL gets more revenue elsewhere. The Packers will sell more merchandise in Minnesota than they do now as their fanbase grows.

The Twin Cities markets will televise Packer's games.

There is no downside to a viking move at all!!

If the Vikings moved to LA, I would expect to see the league switch them to the NFC West and move St Louis to the NFC North. Logistically, it makes the most sense.

[Freak Out]

Unlikely. If they move to LA, they will also move to the NFC west. St Louis would likely move to the NFC North. All you would get is the pleasure of watching the Vikings (or whatever they will call themselves) play SF twice a year.

I can see that happening.

[mngolf19]

A move to LA would be great for the Packers.

More revenue
Natural turf
More media exposure
A game every year in this state for me.
Minnesota and the Dakotas revert back to Packer territory as it was before the NFL unwisely wedged the purple slime into Packer territory.

Nobody really missed them when Minnesota's other 2 NFL franchises folded.
It is not like they will leave a legacy or any throphies behind.

Minnesota just doesn't support football so it is good that the NFL gets more revenue elsewhere. The Packers will sell more merchandise in Minnesota than they do now as their fanbase grows.

The Twin Cities markets will televise Packer's games.

There is no downside to a viking move at all!!

If any of the Vike fans are like me, they will just stop following the NFL entirely. And yes MN does support football, just extremely tight with their money when it comes to giving it to rich people. Some might save overly so but it's really more along the lines of "that's just the way it is so deal with it".

[Cheesehead Craig]

Minnesota will build a new stadium. They just did it for the Twins and Gophers. Legislators are just waiting until they have to okay it... saving the city/state money.

Disagree. What Ziggy wants just doesn't have the support and isn't feasible at this time. A Metrodump refurbishing is the much more likely of an option.

[red]

florio wrote a piece the other day stating that the only thing keeping the team afloat is that very small percent of the revenue sharing that will be going away in the uncapped year

the metro dome lease is up in 2011, if minnesota wants to keep the queens they better get their heads out of their asses fast

to me, jacksonville makes the most sense for the move. heres a playoff team, with an very exciting young player, and they won't sell out a single game this year. the town just refuses to support a team

[red]

heres the article

Revenue-sharing changes could force Vikings to L.A.
Posted by Mike Florio on December 7, 2009 5:37 PM ET
With the NFL scuttling supplemental revenue sharing and Minnesota facing a ten-figure budget deficit, the planets could be getting a bit closer to aligning in a way that sends the Vikings to a new town.

Presumably, to Los Angeles.

Sean Jensen of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that the league's refusal to continue with supplemental revenue sharing will cost the Vikings $15 million to $20 million per year.

And so, if the extra money to help make the team profitable in Minnesota won't be available, the Vikings might have to move to a market where more money will come from the local fans and businesses.

Like Los Angeles.

Complicating matters is the reality that Minnesota is projecting a $1.2 billion shortfall, which will make it even harder for the Vikings to secure public financing for a new stadium.

Then there's the fact that the clock is ticking, even more loudly than the biological mechanisms of Mona Lisa Veto.

The team's lease at the Metrodome expires after the 2011 season. At that point, the Vikings can go wherever they want, if enough of the rest of the NFL's owners approve.

It would be hard to envision enough of the rest of the owners not approving a move out of Minnesota, given that the owners have contributed to this mess by pulling the plug on a revenue stream that is helping to keep the team afloat in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Permalink 123 Comments

so starting next season the team is gonna start losing money, and the state is flat broke and really can't afford a stadium right now

so even though they have a great fan base, they're gonna fail as a business without a new stadium, or a move

[Jimx29]

wth would the nfl want yet another west coast team?

ferchristsake they already have San Diego, Oakland, and San Fran