Where there's a Wilf ...

"I spent 35 years getting to know real estate in many metropolitan areas," he said. "And I pride myself to have all the information at hand when it comes to evaluating a deal. I think information is very, very important in one's decision process. So I have another 32 years to try to catch up in the football business.

"But having the experience in real estate, I hope it doesn't take that long."

Wilf, a diehard New York Giants fan for much of his life, is expediting the learning curve. He and his brother, Vikings President Mark Wilf, surrounded themselves with trusted executives and spared few expenses since closing a $600 million deal to purchase the team from Red McCombs in June 2005.

This spring, ownership approved nearly $70 million in guaranteed money on players. Millions of dollars were poured into improving Eden Prairie-based Winter Park, a facility that lacked a functioning air conditioning system when the penny-pinching McCombs handed the keys to Wilf.

But there is one area in which Wilf has yet to succeed: The Vikings are about to become the Metrodome's last tenant. The Gophers football team moves into an on-campus stadium in 2009; the Twins open their ballpark in 2010.

Wilf would love to join that group with a stadium built where the Dome stands. The Vikings, whose lease expires in 2011, generate the lowest stadium revenue in the NFL, resulting in the ownership group having made at least three capital calls. The most recent came in April, when Wilf reportedly issued a capital call for slightly less than $20 million to his investment partners after defensive end Jared Allen was acquired from Kansas City and signed to a six-year, $74 million contract.

The Wilf brothers are based in New Jersey, but both have homes in Minneapolis. They have never threatened to move the franchise, but it's clear their patience is being tried. The Vikings are a major recipient of supplemental-revenue sharing, and that doesn't sit well with some NFL owners.

"I'm not considering moving [the team], I'm not considering selling it, so I think that question at this time is ..." Zygi Wilf paused to ponder where his answer was headed before he cut himself off. "I don't have anything to respond to that."

The 2009 legislative session could be crucial in the Vikings' quest to get public funding for a new venue. Current estimates put the price of building a stadium at $954 million; the Vikings ownership group would pay $250 million.

"We're working very hard to bring forward a plan that hopefully we and the legislators can work on and move it forward as was promised to us when the Twins and the Gophers resolved their issues," Zygi Wilf said. "As I have said many times, as time goes on and with the cost of materials going up the way they do ... the task becomes more daunting."

The grand plan

The Wilf family made its fortune in the real-estate business, running New Jersey-based Garden Homes Development. Their vision for a stadium goes well beyond a playing venue.

They have purchased four parcels of land near the Metrodome that are primarily parking lots. There have been on- and off-again conversations with Star Tribune owner Avista Capital Partners about buying the newspaper's land next to the Dome.

The Vikings' goal is to develop the Downtown East neighborhood and utilize light rail as a key source of transportation. The 2014 opening of the Central Corridor light-rail line is one reason the Wilfs consider the area so attractive.

"We feel that ... the location of the Metrodome is really the gateway to downtown Minneapolis," Zygi Wilf said.

Will there be an appetite from the public or politicians to make this plan a reality? Wilf chooses his words carefully, but he sees the Indianapolis Colts moving into a $700 million retractable-roof stadium this season and knows the Dallas Cowboys in 2009 will play in a venue that will cost more than $1 billion. Private and public money is being used in both cases.

The reality for the Vikings: The team generates an estimated $25 to $30 million per season in stadium revenue in the Dome; $6 million goes to the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission (MSFC).

The Washington Redskins generate about $100 million more in stadium revenues than the Vikings. Minnesota's three NFC North rivals -- Chicago, Detroit and Green Bay -- bring in roughly more than $30 million annually than the Vikings. The Lions have a newer stadium; Chicago and Green Bay have remodeled facilities.

Lester Bagley, Vikings vice president of public affairs and stadium development, calls the ownership group "hard chargers."

"These guys are trying to invest in an economic development package," Bagley said. "There is frustration for sure on that with ownership. ... I think disillusionment has set in a little bit in just the lack of engagement. We thought we would receive a better reception from state leaders by saying, 'Look, the stadium is always a tough debate in the community, we'll find a way to do this.'

"But he's trying to kind of sweeten the pot a little bit or at least make it easier for state leaders to participate in a difficult project by saying, 'I'm going to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the economy and create jobs and economic development in a time that couldn't be better to do it.' "

Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis, will be among the key legislative figures when the stadium proposal comes in.

"I found [Wilf] to be straightforward and friendly and obviously a very savvy businessperson," Pogemiller said. "I think the Vikings are a pretty important community asset, but there is not any proposal before anybody ... the issue will have to be discussed by Minnesotans and we'll have to decide how to proceed."

Wilf would like to see the stadium built for $750 million -- the amount it would cost without a retractable roof -- but the Vikings' partner in this process, the MSFC, wants a roof so the facility could play host to a variety of events.

In the meantime, the Vikings are attempting to find ways to generate revenue in and around the Metrodome.

"It's not easy, but we're trying to do what we can for the short term, for the next year or two," Mark Wilf said. "Our lease is up in 2011. We want at least to have whatever revenue enhancements we can."

High hopes

Zygi Wilf isn't easy to pin down. He's not purposely evasive, but he is always on the move ... which is why an interview was conducted at 30,000 feet as he and five other members of the Vikings organization headed to Iowa City last month to help with flood cleanup and to present a check to the local United Way chapter.

Wilf's optimism for the coming season was obvious. The Vikings finished 8-8 in Brad Childress' second year as coach, but given the additions of players such as Allen, receiver Bernard Berrian and safety Madieu Williams, improvement is expected.

"Our expectations are very high," Wilf said. "And we set our goals very high. ... We expect to win the division."

Wilf makes it clear he won't settle for fleeting success. That's why his family has done so well in the real-estate business.

In many ways, the Vikings are operated under the same philosophy as Garden Homes Development, which has been run for decades by members of the Wilf family, including Zygi; Mark; their father, Joseph; and cousin Leonard. "We pride ourselves to be more developers than real estate investors," Zygi Wilf said. "We're a family that whatever we build on, we hold on. So we're long-term players."

Joseph played an instrumental role in establishing that philosophy. Zygi, 58, and Mark, 46, still rely heavily on their father for advice.

Joseph, 83 and a survivor of the Holocaust, and his late brother, Harry, started the Wilf family businesses in New Jersey in 1951. Ten years later, the Wilfs were building houses for some players on the New York Titans of the American Football League. They got a tip the team was having trouble meeting its payroll and thought about purchasing the franchise, which eventually was renamed the Jets.

It didn't happen. "It was just a passing thought," Zygi Wilf said. "My dad and my uncle knew nothing really about the business of football. They loved to watch the game."

Joseph still loves to watch football, although he doesn't see many of the Vikings games because of nerves. "He tries to watch, but usually it's my mother who watches and she relays the results to my father," Zygi Wilf said. "I think as we get better, the nervousness will wear off."

Leonard and Jeffrey Wilf, a nephew of Zygi and Mark's, also are involved with the Vikings as a vice chairman and ownership partner, respectively.

"This is similar to other businesses in the sense that it's still all about having the right people and the right character and right personalities," Mark Wilf said. "But it's different in that sports and the Vikings in particular, so many people care about it, so many people are passionate about it."

Rick Spielman, who was hired as Vikings vice president of player personnel in May 2006 after it became clear to the Wilfs that Fran Foley was a poor choice for the job, has worked for the Lions, Bears and Dolphins. He said things with the Vikings feel different.

"I've been very fortunate to work with a bunch of very good owners," Spielman said. "I think the Wilfs are unique because -- and all owners have passion to win and things -- but I think the Wilfs take it a step further. Just as far as having a total family atmosphere and applying that -- how they run their own businesses, how close-knit their families are, how close Mark and Zygi and Lenny are -- applying those same principles to here."

In some ways, Zygi Wilf's philosophy with the Vikings is the result of still seeing himself as the guy who spent much of his life living and dying with the Giants each Sunday.

"I feel like a fan first, and, as a fan, I want to have a chance to win a championship," he said. "That's the fan in me who wants to win and wouldn't mind the owner spending the money to get us that championship. So, I speak as a fan and as an owner that our primary goal is to win championships."

An eye-opener

Zygi Wilf admits he has learned plenty since taking over the Vikings.

The alleged sex party on Lake Minnetonka that involved Vikings players occurred four-plus months after the Wilfs took over. Mike Tice was fired as coach in the moments after the Vikings closed the 2005 season with a 34-10 victory over Chicago.

Shortly after Childress was hired, it became apparent that quarterback Daunte Culpepper wanted more money despite having torn three ligaments in his knee in 2005. Culpepper, who had gotten extra cash out of Wilf the previous training camp by staging a one-day holdout, was traded to Miami.

"At first when we came in as ownership, it was a very exciting time," Wilf said. "Following our passion for football and being involved in such a storied franchise -- it was more like a kid enjoying his fantasy. Being involved, meeting the players. But like anything else, it wore off. Not the fact the passion wore off, but the fact that realizing the responsibility is much greater than what it seemed at first."

Zygi and Mark talk often about the responsibility they feel to the Vikings fan base. Mark Wilf has played a big role in getting the franchise more involved in the community. The Vikings started a yearly playground build in which the team contributes both financially and with man hours. There also is a community tour in which players, alumni and staff travel to meet with fans.

"Our philosophy is that we're very blessed in our business," Mark Wilf said. "We want to make sure that we give back, and the Vikings have a great tradition of that. So we're really just building on a tradition that was there already."

It's a tradition Zygi and Mark would like to keep in the family for many years. Both brothers have four children, and Zygi said he has talked to his kids about passing the team on to them someday. Mark calls it a "dream come true to be involved in ownership in the NFL," and his brother agrees.

"For our family, this has been probably one of the best decisions we've ever made," Zygi said. "We couldn't be more excited about it. I talk to my dad about it and he always says that buying the team, even though it might have been a little out of character for the type of business we run, is a decision that was one of the best we could have made."