And how does he know it? Writing for SI.com, pro football bigfoot Peter King tells us
that a stadium deal is nigh:
Last week, a source with knowledge of the Vikings stadium situation told me it's not a matter of if, but when the club and state officials finish negotiations to build a stadium at one of three sites -- one favored by owner Zygi Wilf in suburban Arden Hills, or two in downtown Minneapolis. As I reported on NBC last night, you should look for the Vikings to build the stadium in Minnesota and drop out of play to be the team that moves to Los Angeles.
So the die is cast, apparently. So all this speculation about how the recent drama at the State Capitol has thrown things up in the air is just kabuki, apparently. I would not be shocked if the fix was in, but there's little evidence of that. For his part, King does remind us of one important thing that happened recently:
About six weeks ago, NFL CFO Eric Grubman went to Minnesota not to badger local politicians and the governor but to state a fact: If they waited until after the season to hammer out a deal with the Vikings, they'd risk losing control of the decision-making process. The implication was clear: The Wilf Family is not from Minnesota, and ownership had already pledged $425 million to the stadium effort, and if that wasn't going to be good enough to get a deal done, the family might have to look elsewhere.
King seems sure. Are you?
2 comments:
Keep in mind, D, that King "reported" that several teams had been in contact with Brett Favre just weeks ago as well - a "report" which even King's on-air compatriots ridiculed and suggested he was simply making it up...which apparently he was.
That said, I assume this latest King "bombshell" is one of two things:
1) King's analysis based solely on NFL history (pretty much every other city has folded to build a stadium) & the fact that the discussion does seem to be more about location than whether or not to build it in the first place.
2) An attempt by the Vikes/NFL to create the impression that momentum for a stadium is building. Wilf has just sunk lord only knows how many hundreds of thousands into a new ad campaign for the stadium. If the end result of that money is nothing, he's doubled down hard on the stadium and lost - again.
My money's on the latter. The Vikes look in desperation mode right now, including the supposed "mystery city" whose interested in relocation. Zygi, Jan Brady's boyfriend George Glass called and he doesn't believe your story either.
You read it the same way I do, FR.
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