Last Monday, Minneapolis city officials sent a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton requesting $30.5 million in money from the state if the Metrodome is sold. The city claims that over the 30 years the dome has spent in Minneapolis, the city has put at least that amount of money into it.

In addition to the money the city has put into the stadium, the letter to Dayton also mentioned the money spent by the city in order to provide police and other security and safety personnel at football games.

While the Star Tribune reported that Dayton has read and does not dispute the request, it came as a surprise to the Vikings as well as key sponsors of the bill to build a new stadium.

In particular, the VikingsâÄô vice president for public affairs and stadium development said he assumed all proceeds from the dome would go into a âÄúnew stadium account,âÄù and not to the city.

If the Vikings move on to a new home, Minneapolis will be left with an old, empty eyesore. While money for safety and security services is not necessary, the city should be repaid for the $30.5 million it put into the building itself, if only so that it can work to replace the Metrodome rather than letting it decay among increasingly useless infrastructure built to serve the stadium. The city will need the funds to build new infrastructure and develop the land productively if the Metrodome must move.