The Vikings just can’t put their stadium situation behind them.
Minnesota governor Mark Dayton is “deeply concerned” about the findings of a New Jersey judge, according to KSTP-TV. The judge found that the Wilfs committed fraud in the form of inaccurate accounting with a partnership that built and maintained an apartment complex in New Jersey.
“I would urge the [Stadium Authority] to have its legal counsel assure them and the people of Minnesota that all the representations made by the team and its owners are truthful and accurate,” Dayton said.
It’s important to point out that no final paperwork has been signed, meaning the Vikings’ new stadium is anything but a done deal.
At face value, it’s fair to assume that the state would like to take a moment to double check any dealings with Zygi Wilf, but there may be more to it than that.
A recent report said that e-gambling in airports was supposed to pay out about $3 million per year to be put towards a new stadium. After six months, the payout is reportedly just $33,586.
The theory here is that Dayton may be able to use the alleged fraud as a way to get the state to back out of their stadium deal with Wilf. If other avenues for raising the public funds for a new stadium fell short in the same way that the airport e-gambling has, it may be a huge convenience for state representatives to simply blame the deal’s collapse on the Vikings.
Obviously, this is just speculation, and we won’t actually know for some time, but suddenly, the Vikings may once again be trying to strike a deal for a new stadium. If the current deal falls through, we’ll start hearing more and more about a move to L.A.
