Team brass to ticket holders: 'We are a better team'

In an attempt to reach out to their fan base, the Vikings conducted a Fan Forum conference call with season-ticket holders Monday. Paul Allen, the team's play-by-play voice, hosted the call, which featured team president Mark Wilf and vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman.

Allen asked questions of Wilf and Spielman in the opening portion, and then season-ticket holders were given an opportunity to present their queries. Wilf expressed optimism about the 2009 season, saying: "We are a better team right now than we were at the end of the Philly [playoff] game. We got to that playoff game, but we're going to go to the next level now."

Some other highlights:

• Wilf on the importance of this season for coach Brad Childress, who is entering the fourth year of a five-year contract. "Every year is important, because we want to win. And saying that, we're also trying to build a strong foundation for a long-term success at the same time. That means stability, and our team has improved every year under Brad. He's done a good job for us and we're on the same page, between Coach Childress and Rick Spielman, our entire staff, the scouts, the coaches.

"I can't tell the season-ticket holders and our fans that are listening how professional and how improved our organization is from when we came in here [in 2005]. I think those results will show on the field this coming season."

• Spielman on the decision to take wide receiver Percy Harvin over highly touted tackle Michael Oher with the 22nd pick of the NFL draft on Saturday: "The reason we took Percy Harvin in the first round is you want to take guys -- if you have the ability [to do it] -- that are going to put points on the scoreboard. We thought Michael Oher was a very good offensive tackle, but because of the depth of that position in the draft we had a better chance of maybe getting someone like a Philip Loadholt in the second round and we thought that was a great value. So now you've got Philip Loadholt but you've got a pretty special playmaker in Percy Harvin, where if you would have taken Oher [at 22] potentially you could have not have gotten the same value of player that we got with Percy Harvin."

• Wilf on the team's season-ticket sales for 2009: "Our sales are slightly behind last year, but we're being very aggressive and we're going to make sure that our games are sold out and broadcast on local television. We realize the economic challenges, but we're working very hard to renew as many season-ticket holders as possible on a daily basis."

• Wilf on the Vikings' desire for an outdoor stadium: "We believe football is an outdoor sport, and we're shooting to have a retractable roof on our stadium and play the game as it's meant to be outdoors. Right now, our plan is to go with a stadium that can have a retractable roof."

• Spielman said discussions continue with the agent for cornerback Antoine Winfield, who will be entering the final year of his contract. "[There is] not a specific deadline," Spielman said. "We love Antoine, and we've always tried to keep all our core guys together as long as we can keep them together." Spielman also said the team has "started initial talks with guys going into the final year of their contract." That list includes running back Chester Taylor, defensive end Ray Edwards and quarterback Tarvaris Jackson.

• Former North Dakota State and Champlin Park linebacker Mike Maresh, the brother of Gophers linebacker Sam Maresh, has been invited to participate in the Vikings' weekend minicamp on a tryout basis.