A deal to build a Minnesota Vikings stadium next to the Metrodome neared completion Thursday, as stadium planners worked late to put the finishing touches on an agreement among the state, the team and Minneapolis. How to make it all work was the subject of a midday conference call involving numerous executives and business leaders, a call that reinforced talk a deal was imminent, to be announced as soon as Friday or early next week. Even a signed deal, however, still must win the support of many legislators and Minneapolis City Council members who are reluctant to commit hundreds of millions in public funding to a sports entertainment project costing at least $900 million. The complicated whirl of stadium politics was on full display Thursday, with conflicting reports about where things stand, a new stadium financing scenario involving casino gambling from the White Earth Tribe and a House tax committee hearing that Mayor R.T. Rybak said was a veiled effort to coerce recalcitrant council members to support the stadium. Gov. Mark Dayton, speaking on WCCO Radio, said he believed all sides were close to an agreement but not yet there. "I'm hopeful that they'll get something resolved in the next couple days, but there is no guarantee of that," he said. "Of course, that's the beginning of the process. It has to get the support of the Minneapolis City Council. It has to get the support of the Legislature." Source: Star-Tribune
good, let's get this freaking thing done finally. the fans of minnesota didn't deserve to be dragged through this crap this whole time after being some of the best fans in the league for so many years.
Looks a lot nicer than the Niners new proposal, and cheaper to boot. Gotta love the cost savings associated with NOT building in the Bay Area.
