A significant. . .and highly controversial. . .figure in recent Minnesota Vikings history is no longer with us.
Billy Joe “Red” McCombs, who owned the Vikings from 1998 to 2005, has passed away at his home in Texas at the age of 95.
McCombs bought the Vikings from the ten-member group that owned the team at the time for a then-whopping sum of $250 million. He then made a significant effort to replace the Metrodome, but was rebuffed on numerous occasions. Following those efforts, he sold the team to the Wilf family for $625 million.