"Progress" moves slowly, but continues toward a deal to use tax payer dollars to fund a billion dollar stadium for the struggling Vikings.
Governor Mark Dayton met with Republican leaders Friday in an effort to meet his self-imposed deadline to reach a deal for a new stadium by Thanksgiving.
In spite of overwhelming popular opposition and at the height of the worst economy and highest unemployment numbers that the state has recorded in decades, Dayton and the Republicans have made it clear that the new stadium is a shared priority.
In a creative vision for revenue reallocation, Dayton suggested that he would support using the states legacy funds to pay for a new stadium, according to MinnPost. The Legacy Amendment, passed in 2008, designates a small percentage of tax revenue to support arts and natural heritage projects.
Dayton has been bringing the full force of his charismatic energies to make the deal happen, Kare11 News reported. Tuesday he was at the Capitol leading a meeting that included Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Ryback. Ryback is committed to wooing the team away from the current front-running Arden Hills location, with three Minneapolis sites, according to MinnPost.
Which side will be the first to yell "Bingo!" and win the tense game of Russian Roulette is uncertain, but the shared message from all parties is that Minnesota needs the continued economic responsibility of subsidizing the storied and consistently average franchise.
Critics of the plan to spend state money on a private stadium may take heart that fans in the city of Los Angeles, now in it's second decade without a professional football team, occasionally court the team to relocate.