Aug 19, 2009 12:00 am US/Central
Reality Check: Purple Favre Ups New Stadium Talk
ST. PAUL (WCCO) ―
Quarterback Brett Favre in a purple jersey may boost ticket sales, but is Favre enough to push the team over the goal line for what it really wants?
The only dome the Vikings really care about right now may not be the 27-year-old Metrodome.
Whatever the Vikings record on the field this year the place they
must score if they want a new stadium is the dome over the Minnesota State Capitol.
It's TRUE.
The future of the team is in the hands of a state whose budget is in the red.
Again.
And even with Favre in purple, the Vikings can't expect Minnesota lawmakers to come up with enough green for a new stadium.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who is not seeking re-election, is not optimistic.
"With the recession and all of the budget challenges the country and Minnesota is facing," said Pawlenty. "I don't think we can turn to the taxpayers and say now we need you to pay for a billion dollar Vikings stadium."
Here's the REALITY.
The Vikings want a new $954 million stadium on or near the site of the Metrodome. Team owner Zygi Wilf says he'll kick in $250 million of his own.
But it's a Hail Mary pass to Minnesota taxpayers -- $704 million in public money at a time the state is facing another $4 billion deficit.
Here's what you NEED TO KNOW.
For the Vikings, the clock is ticking down and the game is almost over.
The team's Metrodome lease has only 20 games left before it expires. And in 2011, the team is free to flee if it doesn't have a stadium to play in.
That's Reality Check.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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