More on blackout lifting

The Vikings needed some help to get Sunday's home opener against Atlanta televised locally, but team officials say they aren't worried about it becoming a trend.

Vice president of sales and marketing Steve LaCroix said KMSP-9 purchased the final 400 tickets to avoid the blackout and that the station and the Vikings would add those tickets to the 1,100 donated to families of the victims, rescue/relief workers and those injured in the I-35W bridge collapse as part of Sunday's Heroes Day initiative.

LaCroix said less than 1,000 tickets remain for the next home game, Sept. 30 against Green Bay, and that it wasn't disappointing that the team needed an extension of the NFL deadline and help from its local broadcasting partner to get the opener on local television.

"Disappointing, I think, is not really the case as much as we wanted to make sure we sold out," he said. "It's Heroes Day. It's a big initiative for us. Home-field advantage is important and then being on TV exposes this team to the full fan base, which is important as well."

The NFL announced Thursday that it had extended the normal 72-hour deadline until 2 p.m. today.

This will be the 97th consecutive home sellout for the Vikings, including playoffs and exhibition games.

KMSP-9 will televise the game beginning at noon.