The Minnesota Vikings will be playing at TFC Bank Stadium for the next two seasons while their new stadium is built. The team had talked to the NFL in the past about moving one home game to London for the 2013, 2014 and 2015 seasons. The team played in London last season against the Pittsburgh Steelers and won’t go this season but with a report out that the NFL wants to have four games in London during the 2015 season, it is a strong possibility that the team may consider another trip overseas.
It is no secret that the team is renting out TFC Bank Stadium from the University of Minnesota and in this age of big business, it may be worthwhile to avoid paying that rent for one game next season and playing a game in London. The league paid the Vikings the amount of revenue that they would have made playing at the Metrodome and it can be assumed that revenues will go down with a smaller stadium the next two years. There were no problems with their trip last season so it stands to reason that the team wouldn’t object much to another game at Wembley Stadium.
If there were four games in London in 2015, that means that a quarter of the NFL’s teams will be making the trip and everyone knows that the league isn’t going to move games out of major markets so the smaller markets like in Minnesota are going to get considered again. The league may also want to showcase another one of their big young stars. If the Vikings were to take Johnny Manziel with the No. 8 pick in May’s NFL Draft, the league is going to want to showcase him to a whole new audience.
It is something that is still in the planning stages so must be looked at. The league appears to want to get as many teams to London as they can and if that means making two trips in three years, so be it. It could be the start of something that is a yearly thing. It is something that fans in Minnesota should be watching for in the coming weeks and months.