With only a few weeks remaining in the legislative session, the Vikings stadium drive has surprisingly gained momentum despite the difficult economic environment. The state’s economic woes may actually be hastening a stadium decision.
With the state perhaps facing a $5 billion deficit for the 2012-13 biennium, legislators might be more willing to approve a bill for a new Vikings stadium this year than next. Prevailing wisdom has been that the legislature would put off a decision until 2011 because 2010 is an election year and many legislators prefer to distance themselves from stadium legislation, but the state deficit keeps growing and this year might be a more favorable budget time to act on a new facility.
If a stadium bill passes it could be for a retractable roof facility costing about $870 million, according to a Vikings source. The facility is likely to be funded by taxes related to the stadium and the Vikings, and perhaps hospitality industry taxes paid by visitors. The Vikings are expected to pay for about one-third of the stadium.
Various sites for the stadium will likely be mentioned but the Metrodome location appears to be the front runner. That site has existing infrastructure, while locating the stadium in other places might add a few hundred thousand dollars more to the project.
A new Vikings stadium could be built in about three years, with the team possibly able to play one year of the construction period in the dome. The other two years would certainly have the Vikings playing at the Gophers’ TCF Bank Stadium.
Evidence of the Vikings’ legislative push includes a recent speech by owner Mark Wilf at a Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Executive Briefing, and a re-launch of the Minnesota Momentum Website. That site claims the stadium project will create 7,500 construction jobs for the state.
The Website encourages stadium supporters to recruit others to join the cause and provides other information. www.minnesotamomentum.com