During the process that the new Minnesota Vikings' stadium went through, I would like to think that we did at least a little bit in order to get things moving along, keep them moving, and help them to their ultimate conclusion. However, there's at least one person out there that I'm more than willing to acknowledge did significantly more than we did.
Cory Merrifield started the Save the Vikes website three years ago, and I would be hard-pressed to name anybody that was more helpful in the stadium process than he was over that time period. Now that the quest to get the Minnesota Vikings a new home is complete, Merrifield has bigger goals, according to a release that his site put out not long after the final Minneapolis City Council vote.
"I would love to represent the fans in the planning and construction of the new stadium as a part of the sports authority," Merrifield adds. "I also plan to keep fans updated on SavetheVikes.org about stadium updates and construction."
Governor Mark Dayton and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak will be announcing the formation of the new sports authority in a few weeks here. If Mr. Dayton and Mr. Rybak are listening, if it helps. . .or even if it doesn't. . .we would like to throw our support behind Cory Merrifield to be a part of the new Minneapolis sports authority as the voice of the fan. The fans need to be represented in something like this, and few fans are better suited to the task than Mr. Merrifield is.