Fan reaction to personal seat licenses at new Vikings stadium is mixed
The Vikings on Friday will unveil plans for personal seat licenses in the new stadium. On Sunday, though, fan reaction was mixed to paying a charge for the right to own a seat.
Gov. Mark Dayton has suggested Vikings owner Zygi Wilf and his family should contribute more to help pay the team's share of the new $975 million stadium.
But fan Lonnie Van Klei says the Wilfs' finances are beside the point.
"I think we just need to move on. I support the stadium and so I'm willing to pay if I need to come to a game," Van Klei said. "If it means paying seat licenses so we can have a new stadium, I'm all about that."
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The seat license plan is expected to give fans legal ownership of seats. They'll still have to buy tickets every year. It's not clear yet how much the Vikings plan to charge. But if the team offers a license plan like those in the typical NFL stadium, people cold expect to pay $3,800 a seat, on average, and more than $10,000 for the best seats.
Season ticket holder Greg Lindquist of Champlin says the price of his loyalty to the Vikings has a cap. "I would pay $2,700, but $10,000 I'm not paying," he said.
Lindquist and his wife Cheryl say it's reasonable for the Vikings to ask fans to buy seats, even though the new stadium's construction will be funded in part by taxpayers.
Lindquists' wife, Cheryl, says the experience is more important.
"For the first year in the new stadium," she said, "we're going to go no matter what."