MINNEAPOLIS -- Next Thursday, the Minnesota Vikings will allow non-season ticketholders to begin purchasing seats for their new stadium. Ahead of that date, the Vikings say they've already got commitments for 37,000 seats in their new home, and have raised about $97 million of the $125 million they hoped to generate through their seat license program.

The Vikings are one of 18 teams to use a seat license program in their new stadium, and their program, which is capped at $125 million, is in the middle of the NFL in terms of size. The team plans to have "stadium builders' licenses" on about 75 percent of the 65,000 seats in the stadium, and has set the average price of the one-time fee at $2,500, with the cheapest starting at $500.

"Our original goal, for December of this year, was actually $93 million," said Van Wagner Team and Venue Services vice president Jason Gonella, whose firm is helping the team with marketing and revenue for the new stadium. "We're already pacing ahead of where we wanted to be for the end of the year, so we're very happy with how that's going. Really, that's a testament to the tremendous interest of the existing fans that were at the Metrodome and went to TCF [Bank Stadium]."

At a ticket sales update for media on Wednesday morning, the Vikings said they already have commitments for 91 of the 131 suites in the stadium, and discussed their plans to convert three of the four loge lounges to 15 mini-suites, which are about half the size of traditional suites and seat 10 people each.

On April 30 -- the first day of the NFL draft -- the Vikings will start their public on-sale process for tickets in the new stadium. Fans who don't currently have season tickets will be able to visit the stadium preview center, which sits a block south of the new stadium, and purchase tickets for the 2016 season. Those fans can schedule appointments by visiting vikingslegacy.com or calling 952-918-8599.

Gonella said between now and April 30, fans who buy tickets for the 2015 season at TCF Bank Stadium will still have priority over the general public for seats in the new stadium.

Vikings chief marketing officer Steve LaCroix did not have any news on naming rights for the stadium, but said the Vikings could announce a sponsorship deal later this year, reiterating the team would like the stadium to be sponsored by a prominent Minnesota-based company.