IâÄôm well aware that building a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings will be expensive. IâÄôm aware that it will raise taxes. In the long run, I donâÄôt really care.

My father has been a Vikings fan since they first joined the NFL, and he fostered the love of football in me when I was a child. Watching Vikings football is something my family can bond over, and I guarantee it is the same for countless other families in this state.

The Vikings give me something to discuss with my father while IâÄôm at college besides how my classes are going or whether the yard work got done back home.

It makes me sick to think that people donâÄôt realize the implications of turning down this stadium deal. Los Angeles is already building a stadium. TheyâÄôre just waiting for some city or state to give up on their team and let them move away.

As Minnesotans, we have plenty of experience with this in the past, as we have lost both the Minnesota North Stars and the Minnesota Lakers. We didnâÄôt see what a great value these sports teams had to our community.

Later, when our state realized that they wanted these professional teams, we got poor replacements that are today the Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Wild might not be as bad as the Timberwolves, but we certainly havenâÄôt seen them close to a Stanley Cup lately. I canâÄôt stand to sit by and watch this happen to our football team, too. The Vikings are nothing special this season, but just two seasons ago we were at the top of our division.

The beauty of football is that things can change rapidly. Every game is a new chance. Just because one team might have a better defense or more passing yards, they arenâÄôt guaranteed the win.

And as much as I love watching football in general, I love watching the Vikings specifically. It means so much more to watch the home team because they represent you and where you come from.

There are more reasons than personal enjoyment to keep the Vikings in Minnesota. There are many businesses like bars and restaurants that rely on the business this team brings in for them.

This is not only true for the businesses in the city of the stadium. Bars and restaurants throughout the state see more business on game days. This brings our communities together in a special way that nothing else can.

There is an incredible amount of revenue that will be lost for this state with the loss of the Vikings. We should not expect them to stay here if they donâÄôt have a fit location to play in. The NFL itself has declared the Metrodome an unfit facility for professional football.

The team needs a new stadium, and we need this team. We need to build the new stadium.