Letter of the day: Someone needs to ask Wilf some hard questions

Updated: December 1, 2009 - 9:45 AM

It's great to see the Star Tribune out on the hustings with Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, pointing out how much Vikings fans love him and his football club. And it was great that Wilf was willing to sit down and answer the tough questions put to him by devoted followers of the team. Unfortunately, the questions Wilf has never actually answered were never asked of him by its reporters:

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Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf

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• Why exactly does Wilf need a new stadium?

Yes, we know that the Vikings are "at the bottom" of the league in terms of stadium-generated revenue -- or at least that's what the Strib keeps reporting. But we've never seen any figures. How much money did the stadium generate for the team in 2009? How does that compare with other teams in the NFL?

• Didn't you know when you purchased the team that the Vikings lagged behind the rest of the league in revenue? Did you assume that taxpayers would eventually pay for a new stadium?

Wilf is a real estate magnate who has closed hundreds of major deals over the past 20 years. Isn't it fair to assume that he knew the team he was buying had a major facilities problem? Why did he go ahead with the deal under those circumstances? And why is it the taxpayers' problem if he made a bad decision?

• If the Metrodome's lack of revenue hampers the team's ability to compete, how have you been able to afford high-priced free agents such as Jared Allen and Brett Favre?

Wilf has based his entire argument for a new stadium on the team's inability to "compete" in the NFL, yet he's still been able to lure top-line players to the team. How can this be?

• Are the Vikings a profitable franchise?

Again, this seems like a pretty simple piece of reporting. If the team is making a profit while playing in the Metrodome -- and paying top dollar to its stars -- it's difficult to see what problem Wilf is trying to solve with a new stadium. Unless, the problem is that he wants a larger profit and he doesn't want to build the facility with his own money. And that would be his problem -- not the taxpayers' problem -- wouldn't it?

CRAIG COX, MINNEAPOLIS

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The Opinion section is produced by the Editorial Department to foster discussion about key issues. The Editorial Board represents the institutional voice of the Star Tribune and operates independently of the newsroom.
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