Bob CollinsHow much more valuable are the Minnesota Vikings now that taxpayers have ponied up for a new football stadium for the team?
Enough to be rated the 41st most valuable sports team in the world, according to the survey from Forbes Magazine, which says:
Value: $796 million
Owner: Zygmunt Wilf
Zygi Wilf finally got his wish after a seven-year fight for a new stadium for the Vikings. The state Senate approved in May a $975 million stadium that the Vikings hope will be open for the 2016 season. The Vikings are the NFL are on the hook for $477 million of the cost, while the $498 million balance will come from the state and city of Minneapolis.
But the numbers don’t add up. The $796 million valuation is the same value the magazine placed on the team last year, when it ranked the team #28 in the NFL. That’s the same position it occupies this year.
And a year before that, it ranked the team #30 with a value of #774 million.
During the stadium debate, the comparatively low ranking of the team was cited often by stadium supporters. In today’s survey of all sports teams, however, the team is ranked roughly the same as money-making operations like the Los Angeles Lakers.
