Minn. Lawmakers Oppose Stadium Options

The mayor of Minneapolis is scrambling to keep the NFL’s Vikings from vacating the region and facing some pushback from city and state lawmakers.

Mayor R.T. Rybak recently presented a number of site options and funding plans for a new stadium for the team, which has been pushing for a replacement for the 30-year-old Metrodome.

One plan would reportedly increase the city’s sales and lodging taxes and another would rely on fees from a downtown casino to fund a stadium that could cost more than $1 billion.

But if Rybak is expecting to push through a plan with the support of his city council, he’d better start looking elsewhere.
Six members of the 13-person Minneapolis city council recently told the Minneapolis Star Tribune they opposed Rybak’s plan and several others haven’t made up their minds.

“I can think of 20 or 50 things I’d rather put sales tax revenue toward before we put it toward building a new football stadium,” Councilor Cam Gordon told the paper.

And at the state level, a bipartisan group of legislators also doesn’t seem sold on Rybak’s ideas.

“We have the marriage of two bad ideas here: public funding for a stadium and that funding coming from gambling,” Rep. Frank Hornstein said of Rybak’s proposals.

The team reportedly favors building a stadium in the suburb of Arden Hills. The team’s lease at the Metrodome expires after this season.