Goodell: Vikings eyeing 2018, ’19 Super Bowls

Roger Goodell visited Minneapolis to talk to business leaders Monday, but he attended the Vikings game and talked about the team’s progress with the new stadium that was approved for financing in May.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the Minnesota Vikings will enter the rotation for consideration to host the 2018 or 2019 Super Bowls.

The Vikings got financing approved for a $975 million stadium in May. The stadium authority chose HKS to design the stadium last month and construction is expected to begin next spring or summer.

“I understand they’ve indicated an interest in doing it around ’18 or ’19. They’ll get in the rotation,” Goodell said. “We still have a couple years until we get to considering that, so it will be down the road, which is probably good because I think you want to wait and get the stadium up and running.”

The Vikings will play at least one season at the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium while their new stadium is being constructed, and Goodell and team officials both acknowledge that having one season in their new stadium before hosting a Super Bowl would be ideal.

Once more of the stadium plans come together, the team could be in line for a loan from the NFL somewhere in the $200 million range as part of the league’s G-4 financing plan.

“We’ve already given one of those to the San Francisco 49ers. At the right time when the financing is in place, we’ll be addressing that with our finance committee and the stadium committee and the full membership,” Goodell said. “We’ll probably be doing that in the next couple months.”

Goodell was in Minneapolis Sunday in advance of his invitation to speak to the Minneapolis Business Partnership on Monday. He attended the Vikings game against the Tennessee Titans.

He also made a pregame trip into the tailgating lots and received suggestions from fans.

“There are plenty of (suggestions). They’ve been very vocal about what we can do to improve the draft. They’ve been very vocal about preseason games. They’re vocal about a lot of issues and we take them into account,” Goodell said.

OTHER TOPICS

Goodell said the negotiations with the NFL Referee Association helped to secure a limited number of full-time officials, but he acknowledged that the referee lockout took a toll. “It’s not good for the fans,” he said. “It’s not good for the game. Thankfully it’s over.”

On the Vikings’ ownership group: “They never lost focus on trying to get it done here in Minneapolis. They never once doubted that they could get it done here. I think that’s a tribute to them. They’re committed to this community. They are committed to bringing the best kind of football to this community.”

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Tim Yotter is the publisher of Viking Update. Follow Viking Update on Twitter and discuss this topic on our message boards. To become a subscriber to the Viking Update web site or magazine, click here.

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