Did Minneapolis dodge a bullet?
The Vikings in the Super Bowl could have hurt the economy
When the term tortured fan base comes to mind, there are a few teams that leap into the mind’s eye. The Cleveland Browns. The San Diego Chargers. The Minnesota Vikings.
Vikings fans have seen inspired football in the 70s that ended in four Super Bowl losses. Following that, there was the botched kick against Atlanta in the ’98 conference championship. The Vikings slipped into four losing seasons from 2000-2010, while also sustaining a heart-wrenching interception in the playoffs to New Orleans. To top it all off, Blair Walsh pushed a 25-yard chip shot far left against the Seahawks in 2015.
The ‘Minneapolis Miracle’ touchdown from Stefon Diggs to secured the walk-off touchdown against the New Orleans Saints and seemingly flipped the script in the Vikings favor. Finally, they were the ones with the spectacular play that advanced them to the next round. Until they ran into the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that boasted a 3-0 record against the Vikings in the postseason.
Following the disconcerting blasting of the Vikings on the road, the natural reaction is a despondent one. After the appropriate amount of time to lick the collective wounds of the city, the most logical question from the standpoint of the city of Minneapolis is namely: was this the best case scenario?
According to Sports & Leisure International, the taxpayers of Minnesota pitched in $250 million, while the state contributed $348 million to get U.S. Bank Stadium built.
The city generates revenue back in various avenues with the spending of everything from players to fans coming in for the game. This includes a $30 to $130 million for the economic activity. It is necessary to cover the cost of the Super Bowl, which was estimated to bring in from $343 to $350 million.
However, if half the anticipated fanbase for the primer game were local fans who did not need to stay in a hotel, patronize the local restaurants and coffee shops at every meal over the week/weekend or need to use the various transportation services in the city along with parking, the city could be suffering a massive loss on the $1.1 billion investment that is the stadium.
It is near impossible to accurately estimate the revenue business and the city itself will produce off the Super Bowl. But it’s safe to say the city and state benefit more from two teams worth of players, media bases and fans coming into the city as opposed to one.
Despite the pain of the Vikings getting bounced from the postseason, Minneapolis will most likely come out a winner because of the unfortunate loss.
Photo: A Minnesota Vikings fan looks out after the NFL football NFC championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018, in Philadelphia. The Eagles won 38-7 to advance to Super Bowl LII. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)