Brought to you by Mr. Cheer or Die and the Vikes Geek, welcome to the
Views and Personal Photos on the Vikes from the Inaugural Hall of Fame fan.
Brought to you by Mr. Cheer or Die and the Vikes Geek, welcome to the
If Reggie Fowler ends up owning the Minnesota Vikings, he will need to look no further than recent Super Bowl history to find a blueprint from which he can draw up a path from which he can hope to hold the Lombardi trophy high over his head.
Look at the participants from the recently played Super Bowl XXXIX in which the New England Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles. Both these teams matched up very closely when it came to measuring their finances. Both teams played in brand-new stadiums, and each team contributed more than $300 million to the stadium cost.
The Pats are one of only three NFL teams that play in privately financed stadiums. The Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins are the others. Patriots owner Robert Kraft financed the entire construction of what is now Gillette Stadium by borrowing $312 million. The Eagles contributed $330 million to the building of their home, Lincoln Financial Field.
So, to follow suit, one should expect Fowler and his minority interest to put up $300 million plus towards a new Vikings stadium. Even that is a small portion of the reported $1.5 billion needed to build a hotel, corporate headquarters, housing, a theme park, and shops surrounding the centerpiece stadium that the Fowler group has been quoted as being interested in building in neighboring Anoka county.
The huge price tag is because we are talking sports complex, not just a stadium. According to the Anoka County web site, there would be a 70,000 seat fixed-roof domed stadium; 20,000 surface parking spaces ideal for tailgating; 100,000 sq. ft. team headquarters and training facilities; 300,000 sq. ft. medical center; two 250 room business-class hotels and conference center; 100,000 sq. ft. of Vikings-themed retail and hall-of-fame. Retail Shops at the Preserve - 650,000 sq. ft. of retail and entertainment with public plazas and pedestrian corridors. Also included in the complex would be a Corporate Center – 1.3 million sq. ft. of corporate headquarters, offices and commercial space; the Residences at the Preserve – 200 units of upscale townhomes; and The Rice Creek Conservancy – 250 acres of preserved wetlands and trails.
Why would Fowler put up $625 million for a team and then drop that much coin for a stadium and other things? Both the Eagles and Patriots stadiums generate a ton of revenue for their teams. The Patriots' home boasts 6,000 club seats costing $5,000 per season on average. The stadium's 80 luxury suites sell for $165,000 on average. The Eagles' 172 luxury suites and 8,200 club seats cost $135,000 and $2,300 per season, respectively.
According to Forbes magazine, both teams earned $38 million per year from their premium seating last year. The Patriots made $26 million last year in sponsorship revenue from pricey deals with companies like Bank of America, Ford Motor and McDonald's. The Eagles made $23 million in marketing revenue, which came from the likes of PepsiCo and Sovereign Bancorp.
Think what the Vikings could do with the likes of corporate heavyweights Target Corp., United Health Group, Best Buy, Super Valu, 3M, US Bancorp, General Mills, Northwest Airlines, Cenex Harvest States, St. Paul Cos., Xcel Energy, Medtronic, Land O'Lakes, and Hormel located within the Minnesota border.
While lucrative stadiums put the Pats and Eagles near the top of the league's financial hierarchy, every NFL team (except the Arizona Cardinals last year) is profitable, thanks to a strict player-salary cap and a lucrative TV deal. Owners paid out 64% of revenue to players last season. Each team received a total of $81 million last season from The Walt Disney Co., Viacom and News Corp. as part of an eight-year TV contract worth $17.6 billion. The salary cap and rich TV deal gave NFL owners a cumulative operating profit of $850 million last season, compared with collective losses for both Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League.
The Pats and Eagles are among the NFL's most valuable franchises. The value of both teams has jumped more than 50% over the past two years.
Pats Franchise Value: $861 million
Pats Value Rank: Fourth
Pats Total Revenue: $191 million
Ad/Sponsor Revenue: $26 million
Premium Seat Revenue: $38 million
Naming Rights (Gillette): $95 million
Eagles Franchise Value: $833 million
Eagles Value Rank: Fifth
Eagles Total Revenue: $198 million
Ad/Sponsor Revenue: $23 million
Premium Seat Revenue: $38 million
Naming Rights (Lincoln Financial): $140 million
If you are looking to build a winner for a future Super Bowl, consider this: Since Forbes started valuing NFL franchises in 1998, the Super Bowl winner has been the more valuable franchise each year. This includes 2002 and 2003, when the winning team was the underdog going into the game.
When picking a Super Bowl winner, it pays to follow the money.
2004 SB
Winner, New England with a franchise value of $756 million
Loser, Carolina Panthers with a franchise value of $642 million
2003 SB
Winner, Tampa Bay with a franchise value of $606 million
Loser, Oaklnad Raiders with a franchise value of $421 million
2002 SB
Winner, New England with a franchise value of $524 million
Loser, St. Louis Rams with a franchise value of $448 million
2001 SB
Winner, Baltimore Ravens with a franchise value of $479 million
Loser, N.Y. Giants with a franchise value of $387 million
2000 SB
Winner, St. Louis Rams with a franchise value of $390 million
Loser, Tennessee Titans with a franchise value of $369 million
1999 SB
Winner, Denver Broncos with a franchise value of $320 million
Loser, Atlanta Falcons with a franchise value of $233 million
So, up front, it would appear that Fowler is crazy. Crazy like a fox.
Note: I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts about Fowler now that 24-hours has passed since the annoucement. Do you think another outside party is the best fit for the Vikings? How does this change the plan for improving the defense via free agency? Does this improve the chances of getting the stadium issue resolved? Leave a comment using the Comment link at the end of today's entry.
Reminder for Vikings Survivor
Reminder to vote in the Vikings Survivor series of polls that started recently.
Chris Hovan was voted off the ship in Week One. Morten Andersen appears headed for Davey Jones' locker in Week Two. If you haven't voted yet, get your vote in today!
Then come back Wednesday as I'll repost the poll with one less player and the process will start all over again! We'll be down to eight survivors. Who will be the third player to walk the plank?
Fantasy Racing Reminder
For all you NASCAR buffs out in football land, its your last chance to sign-up and enjoy fantasy NASCAR racing with your football buddies.
In order to join the group, just go to the game front page and click on the "Sign Up" button to create a team. After completing registration, or if you already have a team, click the "Create or Join Group" button and follow the path to join my existing private group. Then, when prompted, enter the following information...
Group ID#: 24451
Password: purple
Good luck! And let's have some clean racing!
Posted by maasx003 at February 14, 2005 02:45 PM | TrackBackThe defense will not change much in FA, IMO. Red still controls the team at this point, so expect business as usual until Reggie takes over. Problem is, (assuming the sale goes through) Reggie won't take over until well after FA starts and the cream of the crop will be long gone. I would expect Red to sign a FA to a big contract and resign some current players to larger ones so that he gets to the minimum. Should Reggie then take over, his impact will not be felt until next season, unless he makes a major trade (involving Moss).
Taylor won't buy the Vikings and even though he says he's pursuing the team, it is for his image only. His proposals are junk. Should Reggie not get approved, then Red will still own the team and Taylor will never make a serious offer.
Posted by: Cheesehead Craig at February 15, 2005 03:36 PMThat is exactly what I fear, the Vikes will be a day behind and a dollar short for any FAs that would have immediate impact. On the other hand, I think a number of players would prefer playing for a former player (and minority to boot) than an fuddy-duddy old man. So we may see players starting to line-up for an opportunity to play for Fowler.
Agree about Taylor. I'm starting to think he just relishes the limelight.
Posted by: Brian Maas at February 15, 2005 03:42 PMYou're reaching a bit there on the players lining up to play for Fowler. No player is going to wait until the ownership situation gets straightened out and pass up millions from other teams. It's not like this is a famous football player or anything like that. FA are going to sign their big $ deals as soon as they can before the well goes dry. True, players will play for owners, but Reggie has to prove that he is one worth playing for, prior to the line happening. Like I said, best case is next offseason for big FA to come here.
Posted by: Cheesehead Craig at February 15, 2005 04:37 PMI don't think it is a reach at all. If my choice is playing for a 79 year old car salesman or a young former player, who would you pick? I'm going to wait for the youngin', knowing also that he is $30 large under the cap and has to spend just to meet the minimum guidelines.
So, if I am a stud LB or DB, right now my eye is on Minnesota and I will be patient.
Posted by: Brian Maas at February 15, 2005 05:05 PM