For the Minnesota football purist, it would be a dream come true. The Minnesota Vikings, outside again. Snow. Steam. Grass stains. An opportunity to recapture an identity the team has lacked since 1982. A chance for a team which, going into the 2010 season, had lost 18 of its last 21 games played outdoors on grass in cold weather, to "toughen up."
But what about the bottom line?
Team owner Zygi Wilf has expressed his preference for an open-air stadium since purchasing the team in 2005. The state and local politicos have had other ideas, stressing the need for a roofed venue able to host winter events. A "people's stadium," in the words of Ted Mondale. Visions of Super Bowls, Final Fours, winter concerts and monster truck rallies dance in their heads. A veritable tsunami of dollars overflowing the state as the entire world turns its attention to Minnesota's new "multi-purpose facility."
And it's a lot of hogwash.
The price of an open-air stadium has been estimated at $700 million, of which the Vikings have expresse...
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