Vikings History

Minnesota was granted an NFL franchise at the league owners’ meetings in Miami on Jan. 28, 1960. The team began play in 1961. The founding group consisted of Max Winter, E. William Boyer, H.P Skoglund, Ole Haugsrud and Bernard H. Ridder, Jr. In late summer, 1960, former Los Angeles Rams Public Relations Director Bert Rose was named the team’s first General Manager. When Bert Rose was selected as General Manager, one of the first steps he took was to recommend to the Board of Directors that the club be nicknamed the “Vikings.” A nickname should serve a dual purpose, he said. First, it should represent an aggressive person or animal imbued with the will to win. Secondly, if possible, it is desirable to have it connote the region that the particular team represents. The “Vikings” scores well on both points. Certainly, the Nordic Vikings were a fearless race. Following many years of victories in the British Isles and France, under Erik the Red, they sailed in open boats across the North Atlantic seeking new peoples to conquer. Their entire history is punctuated with the aggressive desire and will to win. While Minnesota is populated by the descendants of settlers from many nations, the area has a rich Nordic lore, perhaps due to the mythology of Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox, perhaps due to the preponderance of the “sons” and “sens” in the phone book. The Vikings, too, were Nordics; hence the name represents in a large part the solid stock of people who call Minnesota their home. The Vikings have called two stadiums “home” in their 47-year history. Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On September 10, 1961, the Vikings played their first-ever home game, a 21-17 preseason loss to the LA Rams at Metropolitan Stadium. Over 21 seasons the Vikings compiled a 97-59-4 record, including playoffs, at Met Stadium and possessed one of the most dominant home field advantages in professional football. December 20, 1981, marked the last game ever played at the Met, a 10-6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Capacity of the Met was 48,446 in the stadium’s final year. The Vikings moved indoors in 1982 to the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. Seating capacity for the Metrodome is 64,121. It also features two Sony Jumbotron replay screens, 115 private suites owned and operated by the Vikings. In 25 seasons at the Metrodome the Vikings have a 132-73 record, which includes a 6-4 mark in NFL playoff action.The 2007 season marks the Vikings’ 26th campaign playing their home games in the Metrodome, 4 seasons longer than the Vikings played at Metropolitan Stadium. Construction of the Metrodome was financed through a successful partnership of public and private interests. Funded initially through the sale of 30-year bonds, the facility’s debt was retired 14 years ahead of schedule. The Minnesota Vikings were largely responsible for the tenant-generated portion of the funding that retired that debt. The Metrodome has been host to many marquee sporting events, including Super Bowl XXVI, the 1987 and 1991 World Series, the 1985 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the 1992 NCAA Final Four basketball tournament and the 1998 NFC Championship Game. The Metrodome hosted an NCAA Men’s Basketball Regional in 2000, 2003, and 2005 and the 2001 NCAA Men’s Final Four.