The Vikings still don’t know if they’ll be getting a new stadium in Minnesota. They don’t even know if such a stadium would have a roof or not. As the stadium debate rages on in Minnesota, I can’t help but think this is the type of situation that ends with a lot of hurt feelings and people asking why.
Earlier today Mark Dayton, the democratic governor of Minnesota heard that Republicans were trying to get authorization to potentially build a stadium without a roof. Dayton, along with the mayor of Minneapolis, quickly shot down the possibility of a roofless stadium pointing out that such a plan defeats the ability of the stadium to host non-football related events.
To be sure, the continued struggles of the Vikings and the state of Minnesota to come to an agreement on a plan to get the Vikings a new stadium is disappointing. The Vikings have a long, proud tradition in the NFL that is inseparably tied to the state of Minnesota. How this problem ever got to this point is beyond me, but the Vikings have options.
As of today, the Vikings don’t fulfill the NFL’s criteria for relocating outlined here, but that doesn’t mean the Vikings can’t eventually fulfill those requirements.
The biggest hurdle for relocation for the Vikings may be the effect that such a move would have on the NFL’s divisions. Assuming the Vikings moved to a certain west coast city, the NFL would almost certainly have to realign a couple of its divisions. Because of the proximity of the Rams to the rest of the NFC North teams, it would seem logical that the Rams would become part of the NFC North, and the Vikings would move to the NFC West, but that’s purely speculation on my part. Here’s to hoping it doesn’t come to that.
