Wilf: Lockout won't hamper stadium drive

NEW ORLEANS - The Vikings' push for a new stadium hit plenty of road blocks in recent years, but owner Zygi Wilf doesn't think the NFL lockout will become another issue that derails things.

"We're working very hard with everybody in Minnesota [at the Capitol] to get the stadium thing worked through," Wilf said Monday at the NFL owners meetings. "We realize that it's an important asset to the community and that it's to everyone's interest to make sure that we get a stadium that would serve not just football but all the other events the Metrodome served proudly for the last 30 years.

"We're working hard to get that done, and I'm optimistic that it will get done."

Wilf addressed a small group of reporters for five minutes after spending most of the morning and afternoon in meetings that largely focused on a lockout that began on March 11. It marked the first time Wilf has spoken publicly since Jan. 3, the day Leslie Frazier had his interim tag removed as Vikings coach.

While the rhetoric between the NFL and its locked-out players seems to be increasing on a daily basis, Wilf refused to get involved and expressed optimism that the work stoppage won't impact regular-season games.

"I think through everyone's hard work, I'm very optimistic that things will get resolved," he said. "I can only say that the most important thing is making sure that we work hard to get things done. That's the most important thing that fans are looking for [is] to have a season."

Wilf, of course, not only wants to have a season but also a new venue in which to play. The Vikings' lease at the Metrodome expires after the 2011 season and, while work has started to replace the building's collapsed roof, the franchise has made it clear that in order to achieve financial success it needs to vacate a building that opened in 1982.

There are at least four possibilities believed to be in play for a stadium, including the current Metrodome site, and a long-awaited bill could be introduced this week. Wilf did not express a preference for a particular site.

"We're working hard on each one of them to see which one would be best-served both from a location standpoint, site location and from our perspective," he said.

Wilf doesn't feel that not having a set site picked should stop a bill from being introduced, saying "I think they can work concurrently. I think that we all know what has to get done for a stadium to get done. [We] would have to work together with a site, and we want to make sure that both the site and the commitment from a partner, whoever that might be, works together so that we can accomplish this goal."

While Wilf is confident about the Vikings' stadium chances despite the lack of a collective bargaining agreement, there is little doubt the lockout could cause legislators to question whether approving a stadium is a wise idea. Actual work, assuming a bill passes, might only begin once a new CBA is in place. The team's stance, however, has been that the NFL's labor unrest is a short-term hiccup.

"They recognize it's part of what's happening today," Wilf said. "What's most important right now is we don't want [the labor unrest] to detract us from getting our home and making sure that the stadium issues get resolved."