Question About Vikings New Stadium

[Patler]

For Rastak or anyone else who knows:

I admit, I have lost track of where the Viking's new stadium proposal is at in the process. Is it dead, active, approved, what?

Might the Vikings be on their way to the new stadium in LA in a few years?

[mngolf19]

They are really nowhere right now. Legislature won't talk to them unless they have a partner (city, county) to help them with money. And right now no one wants to ante up as a partner. Zygi will give $250M to a stadium but needs probably another $5-600M from state and partner. Won't be on the slate for 2008 session but could be for 2009. Lease runs out after 2010. Zygi seems to be most interested in Metrodome site and lots of land available around there. This would mean that if funding were approved they would have to play in Gopher's stadium for a couple years. I think all plans are ready to go, they do studies all the time. Just need funding partners to step up, then the Legislature will at least look at it but again not until 09. Plans have all been for a retractable roof with big entertainment layout around the stadium. Zygi has consistently said he has no interest in moving the team, no matter what happens and how many times he is asked. Also said it will not affect decisions on spending money to bring a winner.

[GBRulz]

I heard that they are also discussing a max capacity of 12,000 seats to (hopefully) avoid blackouts.

[Scott Campbell]

I had heard that everything came to a screeching halt when the bridge collapsed. Public money is harder to come by now. Is that correct?

[red]

I had heard that everything came to a screeching halt when the bridge collapsed. Public money is harder to come by now. Is that correct?

i would have to guess so

people realised their money should go to more important things than sports teams

[HarveyWallbangers]

Kind of a reach, isn't it? The bridge collapsed because of public support for stadiums. Sounds like the legislatures in this state who played politics with the bridge collapse to increase the gas tax another 15-25 cents.

[Lurker64]

Partly one of the issues is that the Pawlenty administration is particularly averse to raising any kind of taxes (Tim Pawlenty gets credit for sticking to his guns on this one). They only managed to raise the gas tax to pay for highway projects after overriding a Pawlenty veto. Considering the sheer number of projects more important to the well-being of the average Minnesotan than a football stadium, I believe the issue is that "money for the public funding of stadiums" is hard to come by.

[Scott Campbell]

Kind of a reach, isn't it? The bridge collapsed because of public support for stadiums. Sounds like the legislatures in this state who played politics with the bridge collapse to increase the gas tax another 15-25 cents.

Not living there, I really don't know. Do you have any insights into the politics behind the stadium funding?