The Star Tribune says urgency on deciding the proposed Vikings stadium issue seems to be fading at the Legislature.
In a story published in today’s print edition, the paper says:
The Minnesota Vikings this week are losing one of the weapons they’ve wielded to get action on a new stadium: the perception that it needs to get done now or else.
So far, there’s no consensus at the Capitol on either a stadium site or whether (or how) state and local taxpayers would contribute to the financing of a billion-dollar stadium.
The story says even Gov. Mark Dayton, a strong supporter for getting the stadium issue resolved this session, has raised the possibility that it won’t happen:
“If we don’t get it this year, and I hope and believe we will, we’ll get it next legislative session,” [Dayton] said last week.
But Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, the chief House author of stadium legislation, says it should be handled this session:
“We need to make a decision sooner rather than later,” he said. “But we cannot make a decision until we know more specifically what Ramsey County … [and] what the city of Minneapolis [have] in mind.”
Ted Mondale, chairman of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission and Dayton’s chief stadium negotiator, said new plans for building a stadium in downtown Minneapolis behind the Dome will be released soon. But Mondale has long said that the Vikings will play next season in the Dome.
If the Vikings do want to move out of Minneapolis for next season, Wednesday is the deadline to ask the league for permission to talk with other cities.
