By: Aj Mansour | KFAN.com
@AjMansourKFAN

Minneapolis, MN - One day after Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton dampened excitement surrounding stadium momentum, the Vikings' Vice President of Public Affairs Lester Bagley took to the airwaves with the Power Trip Morning Show on KFAN 100.3FM to explain the Governor's assessment in layman's terms.

"It's part of this process," Bagley told KFAN Thursday morning. "It's frustrating at times and I think a lot of people are scratching their heads but yes it was progress. We are dwindling down the options here and funneling down to a deal."

When asked if the Vikings were warming up to Governor Dayton's only viable option (Linden Avenue), Bagley struck a familiar chord.

"Stop me if you've heard this one but Arden Hills is the ideal site for the Vikings," he said. "It's the best site for our fans, for the organization and as well for the future of the Vikings...If the Arden Hills site it not politically achievable at the capital, which is what the Governor indicated yesterday...we do think that the Linden avenue site offers some upside and some opportunities."

Some of the plans proposed last week received high levels of criticism surrounding the ideas to get a stadium done on "the cheap" during tough economic times. Bagley explained that the Vikings already made that mistake once and don't plan to do so again.

"We kind of took that route with the Metrodome," Bagley said. "We were fortunate that it turned out well and lasted 30 years but frankly it was built on the down side of a construction cycle...they cut corners. Remember they opened it without air conditioning and they were going to build it without suites until the Vikings stepped up and paid for the suites...If we're going to spend $900+ million dollars, let's make sure we do it right."

**Peter King joined Paul Allen Thursday morning and said that NFL sources have told him the Vikings will have a stadium deal done within a month. CLICK HERE to listen to PA's interview with Peter King.

The complete interview with Lester Bagley can be heard in the audio player below.

Aj Mansour covers Minnesota Sports for KFAN.com. Feel free to leave comments and questions regarding this post in the space provided below. For Vikings' updates and breaking Vikings' news, follow Aj on Twitter. @AjMansourKFAN

In a press conference today at 2pm, Governor Mark Dayton released his analysis for all submitted stadium sites. Read the analysis from the press release below:

Arden Hills/Ramsey County

It is easy to understand why the Vikings like the Arden Hills site. Ramsey County has made another excellent, detailed proposal.  The Vikings are truly wanted there.  It has the advantage that the property is available for the project to begin.

However, the Legislature’s unwillingness to permit Ramsey County Commissioners to increase either the general sales tax or the food and beverage tax without a voter referendum leaves the County with no apparent means to raise its local share. I have been told that neither the Senate nor the House majorities will change their opposition in the upcoming session. 

That leaves the Vikings and the State of Minnesota as the project’s only two financiers.  The estimated cost of a new stadium in Arden Hills is approximately $1.1 billion.  Even if the State increased its share from the previously stated $300 million to $400 million, the team’s share would have to be $700 million.  If the Vikings so want to be in Arden Hills that they will increase their financial contribution to that amount, the project is potentially viable.  If not, it is not. 

The other missing component of Ramsey County’s proposal is the unwillingness of the Vikings owners to disclose their intentions with the property’s 170 acres, which will not be used for the stadium.  If the Vikings truly want to be in Arden Hills, they have thus far missed their opportunity to inspire decision-makers and the public with their vision for the site’s entire development.

City of Minneapolis - Metrodome

Minneapolis’ proposal submitted last Thursday was meager. However, it did identify a local share of funding, which, if affirmed by the Mayor, the City Council, and the Legislature, could make a stadium project there financially viable.

The City’s stated position is that it prefers to build a new stadium at the site of the current Metrodome, because it is slightly cheaper than the alternatives.  Amortized over the new stadium’s expected life, however, that difference is relatively inconsequential.  A first-rate stadium could unquestionably be built there, as it could almost anywhere for its expected cost.  However, I personally believe the site lacks the potential for additional economic development and job creation, which the Arden Hills and Linden Avenue (Minneapolis) sites offer. 

Key reasons for building a new stadium are the several thousand construction jobs it would provide for the next three years, and also the new commercial activity and permanent jobs it could generate once it is operational.  The Metrodome has proven to be largely unsuccessful at stimulating new economic development nearby.

Additionally, while short-term considerations should not dictate the location of a stadium for the next thirty years, there would be serious problems with the Vikings playing their home games at the University of Minnesota’s TCF Stadium during the three years of new stadium construction.  Traffic congestion and parking shortages nearby are among the numerous problems, which have yet to be resolved by the University and the Vikings.   

City of Minneapolis – Linden Avenue

An alternative site in Minneapolis is being referred to as Linden Avenue.  The City and the Vikings have said little publicly about their discussions regarding this possibility.  This site offers significant advantages over the Metrodome, particularly its proximity to Target Center, Target Field, downtown hotels, restaurants, etc. 

However, serious concerns have been raised by the Rector of St. Mary’s Basilica, which is adjacent to the Linden Avenue location.  Those and other concerns would need to be resolved before that site is viable.

Clearly the necessary due diligence has not been completed by the proponents of the Linden Avenue location.  Until those questions have been answered and it is better known what other unanswered questions remain, I could not recommend that site to either the Legislature or the people of Minnesota.

Furthermore, the Vikings’ unwillingness to state the total amount they are willing to contribute to either Minneapolis project makes it impossible to make a final assessment of them.  Additionally, the Minneapolis City Council has yet to vote, or send definitive representation of the ability to deliver a positive vote, on whether they approve of the City’s proposed means of financing its local share at either site.

Shakopee, et al.

Of the additional submissions, only Shakopee’s merits serious consideration, although several others deserve credit for their imagination and creativity!  Unfortunately, Shakopee’s proposal contains no local financial contribution to the project.  Instead, it relies upon the expansion of gambling to one or two “Racinos,” one located nearby the proposed site, to finance the public share of the project.

Passage of Racino legislation to fund a new stadium is speculative.  Even if it were to pass, several years of litigation in federal courts should be expected.  Proceeds from Racinos could not provide the assured revenue stream to back state-issued bonds until that litigation was resolved. 

Conclusion

Regrettably, there is not yet a stadium proposal with a complete and sufficient financial plan, one which assigns equitable obligations to the Vikings, the local partner, and the State of Minnesota. And no site sponsor has adequately resolved the major unanswered questions, in order to merit the approval to proceed.

Unless the Legislature is willing to change its insistence on a voter referendum before Ramsey County can impose any kind of tax increase, the only two feasible sites become the Metrodome and Linden Avenue, both in Minneapolis.  While issues surrounding these sites are not all resolved, they are potentially resolvable and should be addressed immediately.  Also the Vikings must reveal their financial commitment to each project.

Otherwise, the lack of firm and binding commitments by the respective parties will seriously jeopardize any chance for legislative approval in this session.  It is rumored that some legislators would prefer to postpone final action until 2013, because they want to avoid taking tough votes on a controversial project before next November’s election.  The inability of stadium proponents to complete their own preparations gives cover to that delay. 

“We can’t vote, because we don’t have a specific proposal,” has been the consistent, and legitimate, refrain of those wishing to avoid a vote.  The longer it takes to finalize a proposal with a single site, with an agreed-upon, reliable, and equitable financing plan, and with satisfactory answers to important remaining questions, the less likely it is that a stadium will be approved by the Legislature in the upcoming session and, thus, this year. 

I want to pay tribute to the outstanding leadership given to this project and the herculean efforts to advance it by Senator Julie Rosen, Representative Morrie Lanning, MSFC Chair Ted Mondale, and CSL consultant Mr. Craig Skeim, who has provided public decision-makers with extremely valuable information. Were it not for their unceasing efforts, there would be no prospect of a new “People’s Stadium” and about the same likelihood of keeping the Vikings in Minnesota.

KANSAS CITY, MO (January 17, 2012) – Two quarterbacks who direct the league’s most high-powered offenses will join two of the most formidable defensive players and two coaches who guided their teams to playoff appearances as the 2011 winners of the annual NFL 101 Awards – the nation’s premier awards event dedicated exclusively to professional football.

The 2011 season award winners will be presented with trophies at the 42nd Annual NFL 101 Awards gala in Kansas City Saturday, March 3, 2012, at the Westin Crown Center. The prestigious black-tie awards event was founded in 1969 and has evolved into what many sports insiders consider the finest awards event of its kind. This year’s event is presented by Perfect Output and ECCO Select. 

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been selected as the NFC Offensive Player of the Year after engineering one of the greatest offensive seasons ever recorded in the NFL. A first-time 101 Award winner, Rodgers established the best single-season passer rating in NFL history at 122.5. He passed for 4,643 yards with a 68.3 completion percentage and an incredible 45-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio.  Rodgers led the Packers to an NFL-best 15-1 record and the NFC North Division title. For the second consecutive year and third time in his career, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been selected as the AFC Offensive Player of the Year. Brady led the Patriots to a 13-3 record and the AFC East Division title. He led the conference in passing attempts (611), completions (401), completion percentage (65.6), yards (5,235), touchdowns (39) and passer rating (105.6).

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh has been named the NFC Coach of the Year in just his first year as an NFL head coach. Harbaugh guided the 49ers to a 13-3 record and the NFC West Division title after inheriting a team that finished 6-10 the previous year. Harbaugh, who was the AFC Offensive Player of the Year in 1995 as quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts, becomes the first person ever to win 101 awards as both a player and coach. Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak is the AFC Coach of the Year. Overcoming season-long adversity including the loss of his top two quarterbacks to injuries, Kubiak led his team to a 10-6 regular season record, the AFC South Division championship and the first playoff appearance in Texans franchise history.

Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen has been selected the NFC Defensive Player of the Year. Allen finished the regular season with a league-leading 22 sacks – one-half sack shy of the NFL single-season sack mark. He is 20^th on the NFL’s all-time career sack list. The former Kansas City Chiefs player was selected to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time in his eight seasons. Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs is the AFC Defensive Player of the Year. Suggs recorded an AFC-best 14 sacks and forced a team-high seven fumbles. He holds the franchise record for sacks with 81.5. He was selected to the Pro Bowl for the fifth time in nine seasons.

A national media committee, comprised of 101 sportswriters and broadcasters who cover the NFL, selected the winners in each award category in a nationwide vote at the conclusion of the regular season.

In addition to these award winners, the Committee of 101 also selects theLamar Hunt Award for Professional Football, which was created in 2007 to honor the life and legacy of the founder of the Kansas City Chiefs and given in recognition of visionary leadership that has helped the NFL become the preeminent pro sports league in America. This year’s Lamar Hunt Award for Professional Football award winner will be announced in February.

The awards show hosts for the evening will be NFL Network sportscaster Paul Burmeister and CBS football analyst Rich Gannon, a former NFL Most Valuable Player and two-time 101 Award winner.

Event proceeds this year will be directed to the Truman Medical Center Charitable Foundation through the Chiefs Children’s Fund, a 501(c)3 foundation that distributes funds to various children’s charities throughout the Kansas City area. TMC joined the Chiefs as the official Community Health Partner in September 2010. The Chiefs and TMC are working together to provide wellness education and promote healthier living for the people of Kansas City.  Both TMC and the Chiefs play a vital role in the Kansas City community and this partnership capitalizes on two well-established brands for the common goal of improving the health status of the community in general, and of the citizens in the urban core particularly.

By: Aj Mansour | KFAN.com
@AjMansourKFAN

Eden Prairie, MN - Making his first public appearance since undergoing surgery on a torn ACL two weeks ago, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson shared his recovery progress and thanked fans for their support. With all the menial business brushed to the side, Adrian got down to business and made his predictions for this weekend's NFL Divisional Playoff games. Check out the video below to see Adrian's picks, some of them might surprise you!

Aj Mansour covers Minnesota Sports for KFAN.com. Feel free to leave comments and questions regarding this post in the space provided below. For Vikings' updates and breaking Vikings' news, follow Aj on Twitter. @AjMansourKFAN