So… are the Vikings really gone?

I made some jokes yesterday about the Metrodome’s collapse, because it’s kind of a funny story, but I think the full impact of what the stadium’s roof failure means to the Vikings and their status as a Minnesota franchise is beginning to settle in to most Minnesotans and other interested parties across the country. This could be the end for the Vikings in Minnesota.
It doesn’t really change anything, The Vikings want a new stadium. The state of Minnesota doesn’t want to pay for it. The NFL and, in effect, the Vikings have mostly been in a holding pattern, not putting too much pressure on the people of Minnesota, because less popular teams in smaller markets, like the Bills, Jaguars or Raiders are more appealing teams to move to Los Angeles. The only thing that has likely changed is the timetable.
The Vikings can now say that the dome is demonstrably unsafe (even though the limitations of the stadium were already known, and the collapse has happened before, almost 30 years ago) and the city NEEDS to build them a stadium as soon as possible. If this happens, then good for the Vikings, they get what they have wanted all along… a free ride. If not, then the NFL and the Vikings can feel that they rightfully have good cause to move out of Minnesota. One way or another, the fate of the Vikings is likely to be sealed by the end of 2011. I can’t imagine that the state will suddenly have an overwhelming change of heart… these are people that have never taken to bullying.
The thing is, if the dome had stayed intact, I don’t think this is even a discussion. The NFL needs Minneapolis more than Minneapolis needs the Vikings. The Twin Cities are affluent and full of avid sports fans that pump a ton of money into the NFL. The Vikings certainly help the downtown economy, but are hardly a boon for the state financially. In fact, keeping the Metrodome functional should be a priority for the state, as the government owns and reaps the proceeds from the stadium, whereas any new football stadium would see profits go to the Vikings and the NFL.(The Metrodome is also a vital convention site, which an outdoor stadium would not be) Like it or not, tax revenue brought in by one Super Bowl would not account for the concession sales lost when the Vikings would move out of the Dome.
Building a new stadium would not be financially sound planning for the state of Minnesota, nor was it for the Twins (the Gophers are a different story… that is a state run institution), but the Twins were at least owned by Minnesota businessmen. I would expect the state to bend over backwards if it could for 3M, Target, General Mills or any of the other major corporations headquartered here. Zygi Wilf is from New Jersey. The players are from Oklahoma or Mississippi or anywhere BUT Minnesota. The only real tie to Minnesota is the fans, and if they aren’t willing to pay for the stadium, then it’s not going to get built.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, yes. I think the Vikings are really gone.

PS: This is one of the sadder posts I’ve ever written. My vitriol for the VIkings is based almost entirely on how the recent ownership, from Red McCombs to Zygi Wilf have been trying to hold the Twin Cities hostage. They don’t REALLY want the team to stay here, if they did, they would have made some more concessions, offered up some money to build it themselves. They own the team to earn a profit, and no other reason. I feel bad for Viking fans who will be losing their team and for myself that I lost faith in the team and the NFL. I’ve never been more disappointed in the belief that I am right.