During the late 2000s and early 2010s, the age of the Metrodome, the now-former home of the Vikings, was a hot topic in the state of Minnesota. The venue was beginning to show its age after more than 25 years of operation, and a roof collapse in 2010 only fueled the discussion of how and when the Metrodome would be replaced.
In the quest to replace the Metrodome, there was one problem that lingered: the state of Minnesota and the Vikings had trouble coming to a new stadium agreement due to financing issues. As a result, speculation began to heat up that the team could move to a place that was ready for an NFL team again: Los Angeles, California.
At the time, the Vikings’ future in Minnesota seemed uncertain, and the City of Angels was ready to welcome the team with open arms. In fact, the city was planning to build a new stadium by the name of Farmers Field. The 72,000-seat stadium was going to cost $1.2 billion and would have been located in downtown Los Angeles. In fact, the Vikings were considered the front-runners to be the primary tenants of this new stadium, and they seemed willing to move. Owner Zygi Wilf had several meetings with the city’s mayor and was unwilling to renew the team’s existing lease on the Metrodome without plans for a new stadium, whether it was in Minnesota or elsewhere. However, things quickly changed.
In May 2012, the Vikings finally came to a financial agreement with the state of Minnesota for a new stadium, which ended up being US Bank Stadium. This ended any sort of possibility of the team moving west, and kept them in the Twin Cities for the long haul.
In the end, the Vikings moving to Los Angeles may have been one of the worst things to happen to not only the team, but also the league. The NFL would have likely been forced to realign divisions, which meant the team would lose their long standing rivalries with the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and Detroit Lions. The Rams probably stay in St. Louis and move to a newly realigned NFC North, and who knows what could have happened with the Chargers. Maybe they share Farmers Field with the Vikings?
However, a potential move to Los Angeles would have also meant the Twin Cities loses their beloved football team. In a state where the sports scene mostly revolves around the Vikings and the NHL’s Wild, losing the NFL team would have been devastating to many fans in Minnesota. Today, we argue about whether or not the city of St. Louis deserves an NFL team again, but that argument likely revolves around Minneapolis if the Vikings relocate.
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