MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Minnesota Vikings are disputing a reading of their lease that suggests they might have to play in the Metrodome for one more season after this one.
Vice President Lester Bagley says the team is on “firm legal footing” in its understanding that the lease expires after this season.
The head of the commission that runs the Metrodome, Ted Mondale, told reporters the commission’s lawyers believe a clause in the lease triggers a one-year extension if the team is forced to play elsewhere for part of a season. That’s what happened last year when the dome’s roof collapsed during a snowstorm.
But Mondale expects the Vikings will be playing in the Metrodome next year, regardless of what happens in the stadium debate, because there’s nowhere else the team can go.
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