Vikings were warriors, raiders and pillagers âÄî fierce clansmen with a knack for brutality and a propensity for adventure on the high seas and at home.

Sadly, these conquering heroes are not the same Vikings many of us tune in to watch play football every week. With a losing record and a faltering offensive line, it is much harder to draw parallels these days between MinnesotaâÄôs football team and the ferocious Scandinavians theyâÄôre named after.

So why are we building them a new stadium?

ItâÄôs common knowledge that the Metrodome is old. With the roof collapsing last year, one could even make the argument that itâÄôs unsafe and unfit for play. However, itâÄôs hard to justify using state funding to help build a new stadium, especially when the team itself isnâÄôt exactly playing well. With the Vikings consistently fumbling would-be victories, how can we be sure that ticket sales wonâÄôt decrease, even if theyâÄôre playing in a more modern stadium?

Vikings owners have proposed to build the new stadium in Arden Hills, which would make the football games much less accessible to University of Minnesota students, said Sheridan West, a sports management major at the University. Without the close proximity or convenience of the light rail, it would be tougher for students to attend games, lowering attendance and profits.

Unless the Vikings want their student fans to change allegiance to the 7-0 Packers, the stadium must be built in Minneapolis, if it must be built at all.

In addition to location issues, West noted that Vikings owner Zygi Wilf is reluctant to cut a bigger personal check to initiate construction of a potential Arden Hills stadium, which would cost $1.2 billion âÄî $300 million more than a proposal to build it in downtown Minneapolis.

If billionaires arenâÄôt willing to invest in their own stadium, why should we?

Cassandra Sundaram welcomes comments at [email protected].