March 01, 2011

Where's the Vikings stadium bill?

The Minnesota Vikings stadium plan is surging ahead in the newspapers, but less so in the legislature: Minnesota House Taxes Committee chair Greg Davids is complaining that two months into the legislative session, there's still no bill: "There should have been a bill the opening day of session. I don't understand the timing issue — why we're waiting. ... They need to get on with it, and get things moving."

Things aren't much further along in the state senate, where Sen. Julie Rosen had promised to have a stadium bill introduced in late January, but now says any legislation could still be several weeks away. (The Minneapolis Star Tribune doesn't seem to have bothered calling Rosen for comment for its story on Davids' frustration.) Presumably the holdup is figuring out exactly how to pay the estimated $700 million public cost, which no one has quite figured out how to do yet amid a $5 billion state budget deficit. On that front, Davids also said he would be opposed to any statewide or regional sales tax to fund a stadium; not clear on where he'd stand on a county sales tax.

Meanwhile, the Vikings at least got some love from the all-powerful Arden Hills city council, which voted 4-0 last night to explore a stadium plan on its abandoned munitions plant site. Of course, given that it'd likely be Ramsey County that'd have to pay for the thing, and the county commission is already on board, this doesn't really add much. Still, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf has to figure he can use all the friends he can get right now.