After nearly nine hours of debate in the Minnesota House of Representatives, state lawmakers finally approved a new $975 million stadium for the Vikings late Monday night.The bill passed by a 73-58 margin.
It isn’t the original bill negotiated by the governor, key lawmakers, the Minneapolis mayor and the Vikings. The House increased the Vikings share of the cost by $105 million, from $427 million to $532 million.The Vikings would also have to share the proceeds from the naming rights for the stadium with both the state and the city of Minneapolis, according to the Associated Press.
The state was originally set to pay $398 million, with the money coming from an expansion of gambling. However, the new version of the bill reduces the state’s contribution to $293 million.The city of Minneapolis would contribute $150 million by redirecting an existing hospitality tax.
It’s unclear if the Vikings and the NFL will scoff at the additional $105 million price tag or just pony up the money and be happy that a new state-of-the-art stadium will finally replace the Metrodome.The Vikings have pushed for a new stadium for more than a decade, but their efforts gained real momentum once their lease at the Metrodome expired.
The legislation appeared all but dead until NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell visited Minneapolis last month, raising pressure on lawmakers to act.
The bill still needs to pass a Senate vote, which is expected to take place Tuesday.
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