What a year of embarrassment for the state of Minnesota.  It wasn't long ago we made headlines with the shutdown.  Now our "leaders" are being  scrutinized across the country once again.  Regardless of your stance on the stadium issue, everyone should be concerned with the inability to communicate and work together amongst leadership.  They play games and pout.  As I mentioned yesterday, the chances the Vikings will leave Minnesota are now stronger than the chances they will stay.   The lions share of the blame can be placed on elected officials who dragged their feet for 6 years.  I don't know if  it was arrogance or ignorance, or a healthy dose of both on their part.

I think they figured we'd never lose an institution like The Minnesota Vikings.  How poor are the collective leaders of a state when they can't figure this out and understand the implications of losing a team reach deep into the very fiber of its communities?  If you don't believe that to be true, just wait.  If the team leaves, this group of leaders will not be remembered for one single positive thing they may have done.  They will always and only be remembered as the group that fumbled away a heritage team like The Minnesota Vikings.  Shame on all of them.  Go move to Iowa.  Oh wait, we're one step closer to being that state so you may as well stay here with your head in the sand.

 

The National Football League said Wednesday the Minnesota Vikings' chances of getting public money for a new stadium appears to have reached a stalemate, and that the league's commissioner is ready to tell Gov. Mark Dayton which other cities were willing to have the team.

With the stadium's chances at the state Capitol sinking by the hour, Dayton on Wednesday gave a "sobering" assessment to the league of the failed attempt to move the nearly $1 billion stadium plan forward.

After that conversation, the NFL issued some of its strongest comments on the impasse and the possibility that Vikings owner Zygi Wilf might sell the team.

"This was portrayed as having support and likely to pass as recently as a couple of weeks ago," said Eric Grubman, the league's executive vice president of business operations. "So this will come as quite a blow. This is quite a blow.

"There are plenty of willing buyers. I think the Wilfs do not want to sell the franchise, but I think there is a point where they probably would be open-minded," he added. "I would not be surprised if [NFL commissioner Roger Goodell] tells the governor, if he asks, what other cities are interested."

As the NFL pointedly attempted to turn up the pressure at the state Capitol, there was a new attempt Wednesday to change the stadium location once again, this time back to Ramsey County's Arden Hills. But even some of the stadium's biggest supporters were saying that a public subsidy package for the stadium -- at any location -- was likely dead as the Legislature readies to adjourn.

"It looks really bad, right now," said Rep. John Kriesel, R-Cottage Grove.

via NFL turns up heat: 'There are plenty of willing buyers' for Vikings | StarTribune.com.

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