The St. Paul Pioneer Press on Wednesday reported that McCombs had upped his price on the team to $650 million, from $600 million. The paper cited an unnamed ``team source.'' McCombs has never publicly said what he's asking for the team. ``None of the media reports concerning the potential sale of the Vikings are correct,'' said McCombs' two-sentence statement, issued through the Vikings. ``I am continuing to work with our staff on preparing the Vikings for the 2005 season.'' Neither McCombs nor Fowler returned calls from The Associated Press on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Glen Taylor, a Mankato businessman who owns the Minnesota Timberwolves, has confirmed he's interested in the Vikings but has said McCombs' asking price is too high. Forbes magazine last fall estimated the Vikings' value at $604 million, near the bottom of the magazine's ranking of the 32 NFL teams but far above the $246 million that McCombs paid for the team in 1998.