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Will the NFL's Minnesota Vikings move to Birmingham?

February 17, 1979
Mike Lynn, general manager of the National Football League's Minnesota Vikings, announces they are seriously considering moving from Minneapolis. Lynn named Birmingham, Los Angeles, and Phoenix as potential sites for the relocation.

Max Winter, controlling owner of the Vikings, said he will move the team if a domed stadium isn't built. Two years ago, the legislature passed a bill providing a new facility for them, based on a 2% tax on liquor sales. However, the legislature is currently trying to repeal the bill. The Vikings lease of Metropolitan Stadium expires at the end of the 1979 season. "After that date, we have no legal obligations, whatsoever, to say here," Lynn said.

On Birmingham's position, Lynn said, "Personally, I haven't been in touch with anybody from Birmingham. However, in talking with Mr. Winter the other day from his home in Hawaii, he did say he had talked with somebody from Birmingham."

A. E. "Pee Wee" Burgess, one of the main investors in the World Football League's Birmingham Americans and Birmingham Vulcans, insists they aren't as serious as they claim. "They are just rattling their sabers. They're just mentioning us - along with those other cities - in hopes people up there will give them what they want. They're not moving here - or anywhere else. And besides, they can't without the approval of the NFL. And they won't get that - you can be sure of that."

September 1979

			1979-80                             National Football League
xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx
	Atlanta Falcons		Baltimore Colts		Buffalo Bills		Chicago Bears		Cincinnati Bengals
	Cleveland Browns		Dallas Cowboys		Denver Broncos		Detroit Lions		Green Bay Packers
	Houston Oilers		Kansas City Chiefs		Los Angeles Rams		Miami Dolphins		Minnesota Vikings
	New England Patriots		New Orleans Saints		New York Giants		New York Jets		Oakland Raiders
	Philadelphia Eagles		Pittsburgh Steelers		San Diego Chargers		San Francisco 49ers		Seattle Seahawks
	St. Louis Cardinals		Tampa Bay Buccaneers		Washington Redskins

Epilogue
In 1981, the Minnesota Vikings moved into their new home, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

			Teams of the                            National Football League
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	Akron Indians 1926		Akron Pros 1922 to 1925		Arizona Cardinals 1994 to 2025		Atlanta Falcons 1966 to 2025		Baltimore Colts 1950; 1953 to 1983
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	Baltimore Ravens 1996 to 2025		Boston Braves 1932		Boston Bulldogs 1929		Boston Patriots 1970		Boston Redskins 1933 to 1936
	NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Boston Yanks 1944 to 1948		Brooklyn Dodgers 1930 to 1943		Brooklyn Lions 1926		Brooklyn Tigers 1944 to 1945		Buffalo All-Americans 1922 to 1923
			NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Buffalo Bills 1970 to 2025		Buffalo Bisons 1924 to 1929		Buffalo Rangers 1926		Canton Bulldogs 1922 to 1926		Carolina Panthers 1995 to 2025
	Chicago Bears 1922 to 2025		Chicago Cardinals 1922 to 1959		Chicago Staleys 1921		Cincinnati Bengals 1970 to 2025		Cincinnati Reds 1933 to 1934
			NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO
	Cleveland Browns 1950 to 2025		Cleveland Bulldogs 1924 to 1925; 1927		Cleveland Indians 1923; 1931		Cleveland Rams 1937 to 1945		Columbus Panhandles 1922
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	Columbus Tigers 1923 to 1926		Dallas Cowboys 1960 to 2025		Dallas Texans 1952		Dayton Triangles 1922 to 1929		Denver Broncos 1970 to 2025
			NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Detroit Lions 1934 to 2025		Detroit Panthers 1925 to 1926		Detroit Wolverines 1928		Duluth Eskimos 1926 to 1927		Duluth Kelleys 1923 to 1925
	NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Evansville Crimson Giants 1922		Frankford Yellow Jackets 1924 to 1931		Green Bay Packers 1937 to 2025		Hammond Pros 1922 to 1926		Hartford Blues 1926
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	Houston Oilers 1970 to 1996		Houston Texans 2002 to 2025		Indianapolis Colts 1984 to 2025		Jacksonville Jaguars 1995 to 2025		Kansas City Blues 1924
			NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO
	Kansas City Chiefs 1970 to 2025		Kansas City Cowboys 1925 to 1926		Kenosha Maroons 1924		Las Vegas Raiders 2020 to 2025		Los Angeles Buccaneers 1926
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	Los Angeles Chargers 2017 to 2025		Los Angeles Raiders 1982 to 1994		Los Angeles Rams 1946 to 1994; 2016 to 2025		Louisville Brecks 1922 to 1923		Louisville Colonels 1926
			NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Miami Dolphins 1970 to 2025		Milwaukee Badgers 1922 to 1926		Minneapolis Marines 1922 to 1924		Minneapolis Red Jackets 1929 to 1930		Minnesota Vikings 1961 to 2025
	New England Patriots 1971 to 2025		New Orleans Saints 1967 to 2025		New York Bulldogs 1949		New York Giants 1925 to 2025		New York Jets 1970 to 2025
	NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO
	New York Yankees 1927 to 1928		New York Yanks 1950 to 1951		Newark Tornadoes 1930		Oakland Raiders 1970 to 2019		Oorang Indians 1922 to 1923
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	Orange Tornadoes 1929		Philadelphia Eagles 1933 to 2025		Phoenix Cardinals 1988 to 1993		Pittsburgh Pirates 1933 to 1939		Pittsburgh Steelers 1940 to 2025
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	Portsmouth Spartans 1930 to 1933		Pottsville Maroons 1925 to 1928		Providence Steam Roller 1925 to 1931		Racine Legion 1922 to 1924		Racine Tornadoes 1926
	NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Rochester Jeffersons 1922 to 1925		Rock Island Independents 1922 to 1925		San Diego Chargers 1970 to 2016		San Francisco 49ers 1950 to 2025		Seattle Seahawks 1976 to 2025
	NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO
	St. Louis All-Stars 1923		St. Louis Cardinals 1960 to 1987		St. Louis Gunners 1934		St. Louis Rams 1995 to 2015		Staten Island Stapletons 1929 to 1932
							NEED LOGO
	Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1976 to 2025		Tennessee Oilers 1997 to 1998		Tennessee Titans 1999 to 2025		Toledo Maroons 1922 to 1923		Washington Commanders 2022 to 2025
	Washington Football Team 2020 to 2021		Washington Redskins 1937 to 2019

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01/20/1980 Pittsburgh Steelers vs Los Angeles Rams SUPER BOWL XIV

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Last update: October 22, 2025