Earlier today, Gov. Dayton expressed to the Minnesota Vikings his strong opposition of the team thinking of charging fees to season ticket holders to cover their part of the new stadium.

Dayton sent a letter to team owners Zygi Wilf and Mark Wilf expressing his concerns that he wanted the new stadium to be a  “’People’s Stadium, not a ‘Rich People’s Stadium.’”

This afternoon, the Vikings released a reaction statement:

“The Minnesota Vikings greatly appreciate Governor Mark Dayton's support for the new multi-purpose stadium for the Vikings and the State of Minnesota. However, we are disappointed by his recent letter to the team, which does not recognize a key component of the stadium agreement struck by the Vikings, State and Local leaders this past spring. 

The stadium bill, and the prior term sheet, that was negotiated with the Vikings over the last two legislative sessions by the Governor's own representatives and legislative leaders, includes provisions that expressly authorize the sale of stadium builder's licenses and include the proceeds of any sale in the project budget. Stadium builder's licenses were vetted by the Legislature, testified to by Vikings and State of Minnesota negotiators, and most importantly, specifically reflected in the stadium legislation that was passed and signed by the Governor. 

The Vikings look forward to discussing this issue and moving forward with the agreement that was completed after many long years of effort.”