Barring some unforeseen circumstance, the Minnesota Vikings will have a new stadium in Minneapolis. The state Senate approved a final version of the Vikings stadium bill on Thursday afternoon by a 36-30 vote, as reported by Patrick Kessler of WCCO and others on the scene. Senate approval completes the bill's contentious journey through the state legislature. Gov. Dayton and the Minneapolis City Council still have to approve the bill, but those steps are considered formalities at this point.
The final bill calls for public contributions totaling $498 million toward the total cost of $975 million. The city of Minneapolis will pay $150 million of that total with another $348 million coming from state revenues collected on gaming. The Vikings, and the NFL G4 stadium loan program, will contribute a total of $477 million.
Initially, the compromised plan supported by Gov. Dayton and the Vikings, along with leaders from both parties, called for a team contribution of $427 million. The House amended the original bill in a Monday night vote to shift another $105 million in costs the Vikings, something the team called "unworkable." A Senate version of the bill passed after the House vote called for an additional $25 million from the Vikings.
On Wednesday night a conference committee comprised of three members of each chamber met to reconcile the two bills into a workable deal that would garner enough support to pass both the House and Senate as well as pass muster with the Vikings.
The Vikings gave their approval to the new bill overnight, and the House approved the measure before sunrise on Thursday.
Gov. Mark Dayton is expected to sign the bill Thursday.
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