While some folks are debating whether and where a new Vikings stadium ought to be built and who should pay for it, people like Jim Hoffner of Brooklyn Park are keeping their eyes on the big picture.

Hoffner has started a petition drive urging that any replacement for the Metrodome make accommodations for continuing the roller blading that's been a Dome tradition since 1990. He's closing in on 500 signatures so far.

For the uninitiated, the Dome is open several days a week for people to circle the 2-1/2 laps to the mile concourse in pursuit of fitness. The crowd ranges from kid beginners to the members of local roller derby teams. Runners take over one of the concourses on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Hoffner, who styles himself the "mayor" of Dome skating, said he thought it was important to bring to the attention of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission and Chair Ted Mondale the draw that the Dome represents in the world of inline skating.

"People come from all over the country to skate at our Dome," said Hoffner, who said he's personally met skaters from 28 states and seven countries in his nearly 1,000 miles of indoor laps since the season began in October. Some skate while here on business trips (skates may be rented) while just this week a group from St. Cloud drove here to skate.

"I've talked to so many people at the Dome who said what would they do if they couldn't skate at the Dome in the winter time," said Hoffner, who is retired.

Hoffner said that Dome skaters aren't hung up on a particular stadium site, unlike those debating the larger stadium issues. What works best is a space that's oval, enclosed, lit and warm.

The horseshoe-shaped TCF Bank Stadium wouldn't work as well as the Dome. Target Center and Xcel Energy Arena might serve since they have oval concourses, but they'd require more laps to the mile.

Rick Recker, who runs Dome running for the Minnesota Distance Running Association, said that group has told the commission as well that it would like indoor running to continue if a new venue is built. Recker recalls that runner and then-Council Member Mark Kaplan was a key player in getting Dome running started in the early 1980s. To bring things full circle, Kaplan is now a financial consultant to the commission on stadium financing.

We'll update you if Mondale responds to our inquiry on the topic.