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Logic abounds in the Minnesota legislature! I think some are just trying to force the stadium to be in downtown because the businesses there have gotten all pissy that their business and property value will drop with the Vikings moving elsewhere. Guess what's going to happen on a much larger scale when they leave the state, you friggin' nut jobs! People don't want public funds to go to this project, but they don't realize how they benefit from having the Vikings around and how they will be hurt when they leave. So stupid.

I guess I better start deciding whether I'm going to be a Lions fan, Packers fan or Chiefs fan.

whats sickening about this whole ordeal.. I mean really sickening.. is that the Twins and Gophers have new stadiums (both played in the Dome previously) yet the Vikings have been lobbying for a new arena since Red McCombs was in town burning the ship to the ground.

Best idea I've come up with:
- Hire local non-unionized companies/contractors to do the work.
- Put their purchasing dollar to work and bend the arms of the material suppliers to lower the ridiculous margins on the entire project top to bottom. You could likely save roughly 1/4 the cost just in labor and an additional 'volume discount' on materials would easily reach into the millions just by sharpening their pencil.
- Tap the Indians for some help fercrisakes!!

Yes. And it would duplicate the deracination that afflicts in the teams' names. The Lakers, because they once were from the land of a thousand lakes, and the Vikings, because they're from the land of a gazillion Scandinavian-Americans.

they are certainly trying with the threat of a block e casino. I say screw extorting money from them open it and have a windfall of cash all dam life long. Minnesota already has 2 card clubs, Horse racing , Pull tabs , Lotto , 17..17..17 one seven Indian gaming casinos. OMG we cant expand gambling it will ruin the state. That 18th casino would just destroy us.

But the state run casino has been an idle threat for the last 7-8 years.

Economically sound decisions for a city or state to make ? lol

How many other countless decisions have our city and state governments made that aren't sound ? Please don't use that as a platform to something you happen to oppose...

You are saying because they have made mistakes in the past they should continue down the path and make more poor economic decisions?

I am a long suffering Browns fan. The last thing I would wish upon a good fan base like the Vikings is to have your team ripped from you. It is awful. Studies have conclusively shown that it is not in the best interest of the people to spend public monies on stadiums.

There are also countless social concerns associated with the professional football culture. Gambling, binge drinking, and pollution are just a few of the biggies. Of course there are social benefits but when all of the issues are measured, the bad outweigh the good.

As a huge football fan it is hard to say this: states that do not allocate public money to professional sports teams are better off than the ones that do.

CleffedUp wrote:
Yeah, it took me a couple of looks to realize it was a pumpkin puking into a toilet.

x2..on both..

I think yall are forgetting another option for yourselves. The weather is great in L.A....

Don't forget an upgrade for the cheerleaders as well.

Dayton looking to next year after stadium setback
Gov. Mark Dayton conceded Tuesday that the deal to build the Minnesota Vikings a new stadium may not happen until next year, but he said he's confident it will get done despite a critical setback in the Legislature.

By BRIAN BAKST

Associated Press

RelatedMost Popular CommentsHide / Show comments Aside from being a loon, Dayton is the sitting Democratic governor and it is... (April 17, 2012, by motnam) MORE
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ST. PAUL, Minn. —
Gov. Mark Dayton conceded Tuesday that the deal to build the Minnesota Vikings a new stadium may not happen until next year, but he said he's confident it will get done despite a critical setback in the Legislature.

A state House committee rejected the plan in a 9-6 voter Monday, and with the legislative session nearing an end, Dayton said it's up to lawmakers to decide whether to try again this year.

"I've done everything I can think of to persuade people and will continue to do so," Dayton said. "If we don't get it this session we'll get it next session. Sometimes the difficult takes a while, the impossible takes a little longer."

Dayton has made the stadium a priority, arguing that it would result in construction jobs and keep the NFL franchise, whose lease at the Metrodome expired, from leaving the state. Dayton says he has "no doubt" it will prevail in 2013.

"We have to get a stadium next year or the Vikings will leave," he said. "It's just as clear as that. We can't have it both ways. We can't not do a new stadium and have the Vikings remain here very long."

Republican House Speaker Kurt Zellers blamed Democrats for the committee setback. Only one Democrat voted for the package.

"Now it's probably up to the governor and the Democrat leader in the House to decide if they want to go forward. It was very clear last night they weren't interested in passing the bill out of committee," Zellers said.

"Somebody's going to have to pull a rabbit out of a hat for this thing to be alive at this point," said Rep. Morrie Lanning, the chief House sponsor of the stadium plan. A Senate version of the stadium bill has been stalled in that chamber for the last month.

Lester Bagley, the Vikings' point man on the stadium push at the Capitol, said after the committee vote that the team was "extremely disappointed" at the outcome. "I guess I would ask the state, what else would you expect us to do? What else can we do?" he said.

Bagley said the team would continue to push the proposal as long as the Legislature remains in session. "But this is extremely disappointing, and it sends a strong message to the Vikings and the NFL about the situation," he said. He would not say whether the committee vote made the team's future in Minnesota any less secure.

The proposal would split the cost three ways for a stadium to be built at the current Metrodome site in downtown Minneapolis: $398 million from the state from taxes on expanded gambling, $150 million from the city of Minneapolis from existing sales taxes and $427 million from the Vikings with assistance likely from the NFL.

Before the vote, Vikings officials faced tough questions from several committee members who said they weren't convinced the proposal would be a good deal for taxpayers.

"How do we as representatives of public taxpayers, how do we know we're getting a good deal?" asked Rep. Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, who later voted against the proposal. Rep. Bev Scalze, DFL-Little Canada, questioned whether a football stadium was a defensible use of public money when the state is just starting to recover from years of budget problems.

Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Grove City, repeated a frequently-heard question about the issue: "Why should we help a billionaire build a stadium he can afford to build himself?" he asked, referencing Vikings owner Zygi Wilf.

Bagley defended the project as more than just a football stadium, pointing out it would be used for everything from high school sports tournaments to national events like hosting NCAA basketball finals.

The Vikings say the Metrodome is no longer sufficiently profitable compared with other NFL venues. While the team is committed to playing in the Metrodome for the 2012 football season, it no longer has an active lease in the 30-year-old facility, and team officials have said they do not intend to sign one.

Yeah, I don't see them in Minnesota three years from now.... the writing is on the wall.

One step closer.

"How do we as representatives of public taxpayers, how do we know we're getting a good deal?" asked Rep. Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, who later voted against the proposal.