ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Vikings owner Zygi Wilf said Wednesday that the team wants a new stadium in the Twin Cities, even if it means building on the current site of the Metrodome.
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It was the New Jersey businessman's strongest signal that he ultimately would accept the site that for months had been his least favorite among a handful of options.
"I'm optimistic that it could be," Wilf said when asked if the Metrodome's downtown Minneapolis location could be the site of a sparkling new stadium that he wants to be partially funded by state money.
Wilf and team officials met privately with Gov. Mark Dayton, several state lawmakers, Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak and others to discuss tearing down the Metrodome and rebuilding there. The meeting came after several days in which the team's bid for public funding appeared on the brink of falling apart, at least for the year, as Dayton proclaimed two other site options unworkable and Wilf was said to be frustrated that a proposal to build in suburban Arden Hills had been discarded.
The group emerged after more than three hours to say the Metrodome site would be the focus of stadium negotiations.
Concerns about the site remain, meeting participants said. The Vikings face a costly and logistically difficult relocation to the University of Minnesota's football stadium for three seasons, and team officials are concerned the crowded Metrodome location offers too little space for new parking, game-day tailgating, and adjacent development projects.
Another Minneapolis option, on the other side of downtown, appeared to be completely dead. While the Vikings had been warming to the site, opposition on the Minneapolis City Council and its proximity to a historic Catholic Church -- whose rector threatened to sue to prevent it -- apparently doomed its prospects.
No one was ready to entirely write off the Arden Hills site. Wilf said while the team still has hopes for Arden Hills, "we will leave it up to the legislative working group to decide where they would want us to work hardest at."
The Vikings have sought a replacement to the Metrodome for nearly a decade, contending it no longer generates sufficient revenue for the team to keep up with other NFL clubs, most of which are playing in new or renovated facilities. The Vikings used to share the building with the Twins and the University of Minnesota, but both opened new stadiums within the last two years.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press
