Minnesota Vikings rejoice! as state House lawmakers approve stadium bill - NFL News
Things are finally looking up for the Minnesota Vikings in their quest for a new $ 975 million stadium in Minneapolis as the State house finally passed the bill to provide government subsidy.
It was a historic day as the hearings took place on Monday and the approval of the bill led to cheers from Vikings fans gathered outside.
The bill was approved by a 73-58 margin by House lawmakers but it was not the original bill proposed by the Vikings and governor, Mark Dayton as the lawmakers increased the share to be paid by the Vikings through their own funds.
Originally the bill called for the Vikings to provide $ 427 million as their share in the stadium’s costs with the rest to be paid by the State and Minneapolis city council.
However, the lawmakers increased that contribution to $ 105 million more taking up the Vikings total to $ 532 million.
Minnesota Vikings vice president and point man for stadium negotiations, Lester Bagley was not too happy with the additional cost and still said discussions will be done over the amendment.
"There's time to work on it and get it fixed. I don't want to take away from the moment. It was a great day."
Governor Mark Dayton who championed the bill throughout the intense back and forth negotiations over the stadium subsidy was ecstatic at finally having the bill approved.
"The voices of the people of Minnesota were heard tonight,"
Adding further he told the crowd gathered outside.
"Minnesota's a can-do state. We've been successful because we say, 'Yes we're going to move ahead. Yes, we're going to create more jobs. Yes, we're going to do the things we want to do to remain vital and strong."'
This was the culmination of years of lobbying by the Vikings for a new stadium as revenues from their current home of the Metrodome were not enough to keep the franchise competitive with their rivals.
The new stadium still faced some huge criticism from lawmakers who are not comfortable with having an increase in gambling as the main source of funding for the stadium.
However, for now the bill has passed and Vikings fans can rejoice that their team will get a new place to call home in the near future.
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