But the Minnesota Vikings rookie is on his own now. And that, he says, is a humbling honor.

The Vikings began spring practice Tuesday — known around the league as organized team activities — but Walsh said being on top of the depth chart didn’t feel any different to him.

Longwell was let go earlier this month in a cost-cutting move by the rebuilding Vikings, who have handed this important job to the sixth-round draft pick out of Georgia. Walsh is a former soccer prodigy who became burnt out on that sport and switched to football in high school.

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Five appointed members will make up the new Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, holding sway over the massive public investment at the downtown Minneapolis site of the Metrodome. Gov. Mark Dayton and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak have until mid-June to name the members, in a decision Dayton described last week as “the first and very important responsibility” in turning the stadium deal into a 65,000-seat reality.

Dayton will name the chairman and two members, and Rybak appoints the other two.

The posts are not likely to be high-profile. But the members have an important role in representing the public’s interest in a construction project with a $498 million taxpayer investment.

“These commissioners are not employees of the Vikings — they’re employees of the people of Minnesota,” said John Wade, a Rochester business leader who served as one of former Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s appointees to the Minnesota Ballpark Authority that oversaw Target Field construction.

Ballpark Authority Chairman Steve Cramer, who guided Target Field from a law on paper to a functioning facility at the other end of downtown Minneapolis, said the new authority’s power to approve construction spending gives it the last word if disputes arise. In the Twins’ case, the team managed construction but no bills were paid without the authority signing off.

“We had the ability to stop the thing in its tracks,” Cramer said.

Cramer, a Minneapolis-based housing developer, said the ballpark group never blocked a payment but its power to do so led to “many, many hard conversations about what’s going on here to avoid being in that position.”

For instance, Cramer said one snag in the $545 million Target Field project was the unexpected $3 million to $4 million extra to fulfill the Legislature’s intent to build the stadium in an environmentally sustainable fashion.

“In the context of a half-billion-dollar project, it seems like not much. But when you’re at the negotiating table and everybody’s saying, ‘We put $230 million in.’ ‘Oh yeah? Well, we put $130 million in.’ And three or four million turns out to be a big issue,” Cramer said.

Eventually the authority came up with an extra $1.5 million and the team added some more to conform to a set of environmental standards. Cramer said the Twins ended up spending more than $50 million above their original commitment of $130 million to cover extra costs including land acquisition and construction upgrades.

The Vikings stadium cleared its last political hurdle Friday with Minneapolis City Council approval. Dayton and Rybak, both Democrats, drove the deal to completion. Now they will shape, through their appointments, how the stadium is built and run.

Former state Rep. Barb Sykora, who serves on the ballpark authority, urged Dayton to look to greater Minnesota as he selects members for the Vikings authority. Sykora, a Republican from Excelsior, said she is the only suburbanite overseeing Target Field after Dayton replaced Pawlenty’s two appointees; the other members live in Minneapolis or St. Paul.

“The Vikings are really very much a statewide team,” Sykora said. “People watch them from all over.”

Members of the new authority can see the Vikings’ finances but are required by law to keep it private. The new entity will absorb the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, which will be abolished.

Dayton appointee Ted Mondale heads the commission and has served as the governor’s top aide on the stadium issue.

The authority will deal with a huge construction project involving architects, contractors, utilities, a light-rail line, city streets and other partners.

The law allows the group to decide whether to oversee design and construction or let the team do so. If the team takes over, the authority is prohibited from covering cost overruns. If the authority runs the project, it’s required to find a construction team that will cover overruns. The law also caps the public contribution to construction at $348 million for the state and $150 million for the city.

The money comes from state taxes on new electronic pull-tab and bingo gambling in bars and redirecting city taxes originally imposed to pay off the Minneapolis Convention Center. The team will bring $477 million in private money, including proceeds from the sale of stadium naming rights and an anticipated NFL contribution.

Sen. Julie Rosen, a Republican from Fairmont who sponsored the stadium bill, said the authority would have to move quickly to open the stadium by 2016.

“It’s game on,” she said. “They have to get to work.”

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A decade-long battle for a new Vikings stadium ended with a 7-6 vote on Friday, the same split as approved the plan in subcommittee form on Thursday afternoon.

The full City Council voted on whether to pay $150 million in construction costs to help build the nearly $1 billion stadium. The city would have another $159 million in operating costs later on.

The stadium deal was signed by Gov. Mark Dayton earlier this month. Dayton thanked some of the members of the City Council on Friday in a statement:

“I want to thank the seven members of the Minneapolis City Council who voted to approve the People’s Stadium. Their vote is a testament to Mayor RT Rybak and Council President Barb Johnson who have shown the vision and courage to lead Minneapolis in putting together a stadium plan that is best for Minneapolis and Minnesota.”

The Vikings will pay $477 million and the state will pick up the rest of the bill through gambling revenue.

The stadium deal is one of the largest capital investments in the city’s history. The plan is to redirect hospitality taxes from the convention center to pay the city’s share of the stadium.

In Thursday’s meeting, people in hard hats and Vikings gear sat side by side. Some say the stadium deal is a lifeline to jobs in a construction industry during a time of massive unemployment.

“There is a strong link between them, between the things we like to do for fun and the jobs we get to support our families,” said City Council member Don Samuels. “And this is the link right here. We are making that connection today. And it costs us something, but it’s worth it.”

Lisa Goodman was one of several opponents who argued the stadium is not a good investment, but a bad one with no public referendum and no evidence of economic benefit.

“I do not want to be part of the DFL party for sure after what happened at the legislature … a group of people in the city who have pushed forward the largest public subsidy in the state and city’s history,” said Goodman.

The Vikings announced the deal Wednesday. Ellison was one of the team’s three fourth-round selections. He was chosen 128th overall out of USC and could eventually take the place of longtime battering ram Jim Kleinsasser, who retired after last season.

The Vikings signed six of their picks Tuesday.

First-round selections Matt Kalil and Harrison Smith and third-round pick Josh Robinson have yet to sign.

The NFL’s new collective bargaining agreement sets a more rigid system for negotiating contracts, which has streamlined the process for signing deals.

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They had a new offense and a new quarterback to break in and plenty of other newbies to accommodate. They finished with a 3-13 record, matching the franchise’s all-time worst.

This season, coach Leslie Frazier is trying to take full advantage of opportunities to develop his young roster.

After breaking training camp before their first exhibition game each of the previous three years, the Vikings will prepare for the 2012 season at Minnesota State University in Mankato for three weeks this summer. Frazier says he’d always like to take the team out of town for at least that long if the schedule works with the school calendar.

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The Vikings signed fourth-round receivers Jarius Wright and Greg Childs out of Arkansas, fifth-round defensive back Robert Blanton out of Notre Dame, sixth-round kicker Blair Walsh out of Georgia, seventh round linebacker Audie Cole out of NC State and seventh round defensive tackle Trevor Guyton out of California.

The Vikings have yet to sign offensive tackle Matt Kalil, safety Harrison Smith, cornerback Josh Robinson and tight end Rhett Ellison.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — It’s not over until it’s over when it comes to the Vikings Stadium.

Before the stadium deal is truly done, the Minneapolis City Council has to pass it. The debate over the amount the City will contribute to the new stadium is making the deal anything but an easy score.

Late Monday afternoon, the Minneapolis City Council began debating the Vikings Stadium with the initial vote by the Council scheduled for Thursday.

Supporters say the stadium will pass the council by the slimmest of margins, by a vote of 7-6.

The Committee didn’t vote but it’s clear some members have an awful lot of questions. While supporters say their seven votes will hold, opponents say they will do what they can to defeat or at least delay the council action.

Council member Gary Schiff peppered City officials with questions about the Stadium deal.

“On the site plan to be made tax exempt how is that in the city’s interests?” Schiff asked.

Schiff has been the Council’s most vocal critic on the stadium deal. He says his constituents in southeast Minneapolis are overwhelmingly opposed to the plan.

“Constituents I represent are saying, ‘enough is enough, we spend so much money on property taxes, our homes are underwater in their mortgages and now we are subsidizing a football enterprise?’” Schiff said.

Schiff says the deal is a bad one for the City. Over 30 years, the City would pay $340 million in construction and operating costs. With interest, that figure rises to $675 million with the funding coming from existing sales liquor restaurant and lodging taxes.

Opponents say the best chance of defeating the stadium is switching the anticipated “yes” vote of Council Member Kevin Reich, who alone among the seven council stadium supporters signed a more vaguely worded letter of support. Reich did not return WCCO’s phone calls.

However, stadium supporters, including council President Barb Johnson, said Reich is a firm “yes” vote.

“I talked to Kevin just yesterday. We were at an event together and I don’t have any indication he is changing his mind and the Mayor has spoken to him also,” said Johnson.

Supporters at City Hall insist they could pick up another vote over the next few days. There are some odd coalitions at play: liberal Council Member Schiff is teaming up with the conservative Taxpayer League to generate thousands of calls to council members in opposition.

In support of the stadium, you once again have the powerful, but odd alliance of Organized Labor and big business saying vote “yes” for the stadium.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Gary Schiff of the Minneapolis City Council has made it very clear he’s against the current bill for a new Vikings stadium in Minneapolis.

Schiff appeared on the WCCO-TV Sunday Morning Show to talk about the bill and the council’s vote on it, which will come this week. He said it will be a one vote result, but he’s not sure which way it will go. He also said this week is the council’s final chance to present any questions about the bill and address any issues they think the bill currently has.

Schiff said he wants the council to vote against the stadium bill, send it back to the State Legislature and have lawmakers come up with a better deal for the city of Minneapolis. He said the Vikings aren’t going anywhere between now and January, so there’s time to come up with a better deal.

He also said he would switch to support the stadium bill if user fees became part of the financing package again. He said it’s rare to have funding from one city coming into help finance a $1 billion stadium.

The team announced Wednesday that players will report to Minnesota State University in Mankato on July 26 and break camp three weeks later on Aug. 16. This will be the 47th straight season the Vikings train at MSU.

Specific practice dates and times have not yet been finalized, but this will be the longest training camp for the Vikings since a three-week stay in 2008.

Counting the number of days from the first to the last open-to-the-public practices, the Vikings were in Mankato for 14 days or fewer in each of the last three years. Last season, the NFL lockout cut into camp time and the Vikings were only on the field there from Aug. 1-11.

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ST. PAUL (WCCO) — A very public war of words is brewing between two popular and controversial Minnesota House Republicans.

Over the weekend, Rep. John Kriesel logged onto Twitter to share parts of a bitter letter sent to him by Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer. In it, she wrote that the war veteran has “no courage.”

The frustration appears to have stemmed from the Vikings Stadium passage.

Kriesel sat in the front row when the Vikings bill was signed, which is a major accomplishment of his short legislative career. And he says for anyone to say he’s running away from it, or anything else, is absurd.

“I think to say that that’s not the reason I am not running is crazy,” said Kriesel.

But that’s exactly what fellow Kiffmeyer said. She’s telling voters the stadium bill was “forced” through the legislature — and Kriesel says that’s a “lie.”

So, in a note to Kriesel, Kiffmeyer told him: “Not only (do you have) no clue but no courage to run again and be accountable and see what your district thinks.”

What makes this one of those “ouch” moments is the courage part. Kriesel is a decorated Iraq war veteran. A double amputee from a terrible roadside bomb explosion in Iraq in which he watched five of his comrades die.

On Twitter, he called Kiffmeyer “a classless lady” and he’s not backing off.

“But to then just go, ‘well, you’re not running because you are afraid to face your constituents,’ which is — it’s absurd,” he said. “It shows what a classless lady she is.”

Kriesel said he’s not asking for an apology and added he doesn’t care about Kiffmeyer. But for the record, he says he’s not running for a second term because he owes it to his family.

“I have missed so much of my boy’s lives, you know, with my time in the military. My wife’s really = put her life on hold, her career goals on hold while I was recovering in the hospital,” said Kriesel.

WCCO-TV contacted Kiffmeyer repeatedly in the last two days to get her side of the story, or any kind of statement. She chose not to respond.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The Vikings are looking to bolster their receiving corps. One of the guys the team is looking at for big plays is newcomer Jerome Simpson.

Simpson, 26, made NFL headlines for one play last season in which he did a front flip over a player and into the end zone. But in the off season, he found himself out of work…until the Vikings called.

“This organization, they believe in me,” Simpson said. “I’m just blessed to have the opportunity to be able to come back and play football.”

But the real opportunity Simpson needs is with Christian Ponder, the Vikings quarterback. What the Vikings learned last season is that it’s tough to throw passes without a speedy receiver. That’s where Simpson comes in. The team is hoping he is the find of the off season.

For now, Ponder seems impressed with his skill.

“The guy is unbelievable,” Ponder said. “He’s so athletic. I think he’s going to be a great asset to our exposition.”

Simpson does not lack for confidence, and the Vikings are hoping he has something to prove.

“I love to play football,” Simpson said. “You’re going to get 100 percent out of me all the time.”

However, Simpson won’t be playing immediately. He will be suspended for the first three games of the 2012 season, because of a felony drug charge he got for receiving marijuana in March.

The law commits the state and city of Minneapolis to pay a combined $498 million, while the team will bring in $477 million from private sources.

One provision would shield “any financial information” from the team from public eyes. Critics say the blanket protection goes beyond current state law, leaving taxpayers in the dark on one of the state’s biggest public works projects. Minnesota law already allows businesses that get state money to avoid disclosing trade secrets, business plans, tax returns and other financial data.

“We now have the largest public commitment in the state’s history in an agreement with the Vikings, and we have an unprecedented lack of disclosure,” said Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, R-Lakeville, who voted against the stadium bill. “I just think that sunshine in government is good, and in exchange for nearly half a billion dollars in public commitment, there should be some sunshine on the other side of the ledger.”

The law creates a new Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority — with members to be appointed by Dayton and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak — to vet the team’s ability to fulfill its financial commitment to build, operate and repair the stadium over 30 years. The authority can demand audited financial statements and other financial information if the team breaches its agreement, but it must keep that information confidential.

That means the public won’t be entitled to find out how much the team makes on stadium naming rights or parking or how much team owners Zygi and Mark Wilf put in themselves. The list of companies that bid to build the stadium will be kept confidential until the winner is selected.

Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, said the privacy shield for the Vikings is a “sweeping overgeneralized reference” that shouldn’t have passed.

“If you follow it by the letter of the law, they do not have to disclose a single iota of information in the relationship between the public money sources and the private sector,” said Limmer, who voted against the bill after arguing on the floor that privacy issues should have been examined in the judiciary committee he heads.

The Democratic governor and other stadium supporters said the authority’s oversight of the team’s finances provides protection for the public.

“The authority should have the right to make sure that they have the financial wherewithal, but where their financing comes from really is, you know, their business,” Dayton said after signing the bill.

“To just have their books all laid open to the public, I think that’s very dangerous,” said Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, the stadium bill’s Senate sponsor.

Team vice president Lester Bagley said financial information has also been kept confidential for the Twins and other NFL teams with stadium deals. He said the Vikings shared audited financial statements with Dayton’s office and the business community during the stadium debate, on the promise of confidentiality.

Asked whether the team would voluntarily disclose more than the new law requires, he said, “We’ll abide by and conform with the legislative requirements.”

Another provision gives Legislative Auditor James Nobles the power to examine private financial information during regular audits of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, but he is also barred from releasing information classified as nonpublic.

Monday’s Capitol signing ceremony drew construction workers and fans, who cheered, whistled and sang the team’s “Skol Vikings” fight song. Protesters carrying hand-lettered signs heckled Dayton and other speakers, one of them yelling, “Shame on you! Shame on you!” at the governor.

The Wilfs shared the stage with elected officials from the Legislature and Minneapolis, where the City Council must give final approval to its share of the cost in a vote expected later this month; Rybak has said he is confident it will pass.

The city is redirecting an existing hospitality tax to pay its $150 million share of the stadium construction, while the state will cover its $348 million contribution through taxes on new electronic versions of pulltabs, a low-tech paper game sold by charitable organizations in bars and restaurants.

The new stadium will be built on the downtown Minneapolis site of the Metrodome, the team’s current home. The team will move in by 2016.

Now that the bill is signed, Dayton said he is turning his attention to naming three members of the five-person Sports Facilities Authority that will own and operate the stadium and serve as the team’s landlord. Rybak will pick the other two.

“The team is obviously anxious to get going, and the clock is ticking already in getting it opened as soon as possible, so that’ll be top priority for the rest of this week,” Dayton said.

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP/WCCO) — Gov. Mark Dayton on Monday signed off on a hard-fought agreement to build the MinnesotaVikings a $975 million stadium at the downtown Minneapolis site of the team’s current home, the Metrodome.

With team owners Zygi and Mark Wilf looking on, Dayton signed the bill to mostly cheers, whistles and chants of ‘Skol, Vikings,’ the NFL team’s fight song. However, one protester yelled “Shame on you! Shame on you!” as the governor put pen to paper — underscoring the strong opposition by some critics who said taxpayers shouldn’t have to shoulder so much of the cost of the new venue.

“This is what makes Minnesota special,” Dayton said before signing the bill, noting that Minneapolis-St. Paul is the smallest of a dozen metropolitan areas with all four major league sports teams.

The team hopes to move into the new stadium by 2016.

“I’m glad in this case as in many others, that in the moment of truth, in that critical juncture, at the most difficult point in the process when the benefits are still conceptual and the cost is very real, the majority of the Minnesota legislature stepped forward in both the House and the Senate and said we will,” Dayton said. “We can do this. We will do this. And this is what makes Minnesota special.”

The Vikings will pay just under half the cost of the $975 million project. The state of Minnesota and city of Minneapolis will share the remainder.

State lawmakers approved the bill last week out of concern that the team might leave the state unless it got a new stadium. The Vikings will sign a 30-year lease.

Business and labor leaders attended the ceremony, in a nod to the thousands of construction jobs that Dayton touted as he pushed for the stadium, as well as workers in hardhats and some Vikings fans.

It attracted a few protesters carrying signs, too: “Why not get this fired up to stop poverty” read one. Many legislators had argued against spending public money on the stadium. The state’s share is to be financed through taxes on new electronic versions of pulltabs, a low-tech paper game sold by charitable organizations in bars and restaurants.

Dayton’s signature isn’t quite the last formality for the stadium. The Minneapolis City Council must still give final approval to its share of the cost, with a vote expected later this month. The city is redirecting an existing hospital tax.

Still, the Wilfs have already begun mulling the stadium design. Zygi Wilf’s fondness for outdoor football is well known, and in an interview with The Associated Press last week he appeared to be leaning toward a retractable roof that could restore a wintry element to Vikings games that was lost when the team left old Metropolitan Stadium for the Metrodome in 1982. The team would have to pay the cost of such a roof, and it’s not clear how much that would be.

The Wilfs said they wanted a plaza with plenty of open space for fans to gather.

The Vikings pursued a stadium for more than a decade, but had little leverage until their lease at the Metrodome expired this past year. The Wilfs never threatened to move the team, but the Vikings were frequently mentioned as a potential fit for the vacant Los Angeles market. Still, the stadium legislation championed by Dayton appeared to be dying this spring before an April visit by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell resurrected it.

Gov. Dayton said the Wilfs promised him they would bring a Super Bowl to Minnesota once the stadium is built. They also promised the Vikings will be in a Super Bowl, as well.

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Dayton has been one of the biggest cheerleaders for the new $975 million project, which won final legislative approval Thursday after years of failed attempts.

The legislation commits the state to raising $348 million by allowing electronic pull-tabs and bingo in bars and restaurants. There are also backup funding measures such as a lottery game and luxury suite taxes.

Dayton plans to sign the bill at a noon ceremony at the Capitol. Minnesota Vikings owners, bill authors and leaders from the labor and business community will be on hand.

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – For the last 10 years, the goal for Vikings owners was getting approval for a new stadium.

Lawmakers finally gave an approval to the $975 million deal on Thursday.

Now, the focus is on building it.

Vikings President Mark Wilf opened up about the stadium deal to WCCO.

“We’re going to try to make it with as many elements as we can get to make it a top rated experience,” said Wilf.

On Friday, Wilf revealed that some of the new elements will include a team store, a Vikings Hall of Fame museum, and restaurants.

But the design isn’t set in stone. Add-ons, like a retractable roof, will still need to be priced and considered before they are added to the project.

“Devil’s going to be in the details,” said Wilf.

For the Vikings, the cost will be $50 million more than originally expected, bringing their portion of the stadium to $477 million.

“It’s a big gulp moment, if you will, to put in that kind of investment here,” said Wilf.

The turning point came from fans who pulled out the purple and gold in the off-season, while lawmakers debated the bill at the Capitol over the last several days.

“We can’t be more appreciative of what they’ve meant in this process. They really made a difference,” said Wilf.

The hope now is that a new home for the Vikings will make the difference during the regular season, which includes attracting or keeping players for a winning team.

“I think with free agents, it makes a difference to know where they’re going, and not to who knows what,” said Wilf.

Four years away from completion, and a new stadium is already providing stability for both the Vikings and their fans.

The Vikings will be looking for feedback on stadium designs over the next few months.

The new stadium will be more than just a home to the Vikings. Wilf said Friday that they are in talks to bring a professional soccer team back to Minnesota, which would also play in this new facility.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents has approved an agreement with the Minnesota Vikings that allows the use of TCF Bank Stadium during the NFL team’s construction of its new stadium.

The board unanimously approved the letter of intent on Friday. It is non-binding, but sets the parameters that university President Eric Kaler and the Vikings can use to develop a lease agreement.

The Vikings will pay the university $250,000 for each game. The letter states the Vikings can play all their home games on Sunday and host one night game during the week per season.

The Vikings hope to open their stadium in 2016. Owner Mark Wilf says the Vikings are hoping to only play the 2015 season on campus but “it very well may be two” seasons.

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Now the Wilf brothers will have a home of their own, hopefully by the 2016 season.

One day after winning their seven-year fight for a new stadium, the Vikings owners started to lay out their vision for the $975 million project they hope will serve as a recruiting tool for free agents for decades.

They appear to be leaning toward footing the bill for a retractable roof, which could help them bring a Major League Soccer franchise to Minnesota. They also see a stadium and plaza with cutting-edge technology and lots of open spaces for fans to congregate.

“We’re going to try to get the maximum number of features within the budgets that we can make this a facility that is going to be exciting to the fans,” Mark Wilf said Friday. “We know it’s a competitive landscape to attract our fans to the facility and we’re going to want to make it something special. To the extent that (a retractable roof) can get there, we’re going to try to do it.”

The Vikings and the NFL are contributing $477 million toward the project, with $348 million coming from the state and $150 million from Minneapolis. If the Wilfs want a retractable roof, they will have to fork over even more money. State lawmakers put a provision in the bill that allows for a retractable roof, but the Vikings would have to pay the extra cost.

The price tag of such a feature isn’t immediately known because the architects have yet to be hired, but Zygi Wilf has long been keen on the idea of an open-air stadium like his beloved New York Giants had in the Meadowlands when he was younger.

“If it’s snowing very, very hard, we’ll open up the roof,” Zygi Wilf quipped.

When asked if that meant a roof was definitely in the plans, Wilf backed off, saying he wasn’t sure yet. The plans are in their infant stages, with just a few artist renderings shown to the public that could change dramatically over the next eight to 12 months of the design phase. The most recent depiction shows a circular stadium with a huge plaza and green space.

The Wilfs visited every new stadium in the league, from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to new football palaces in New Jersey and Dallas to research ideas for their own venue.

“Public spaces to us seem a very exciting place to gather,” Mark Wilf said. “Whether it’s the plaza outside, you hear about the Lucas Oil Stadium, the way they have the large areas where people can gather, wide concourses, clubs. We want to really enhance the ability for people to come together.”

It will be the first time in the Vikings’ 51-year franchise history that they will have a place of their own. They shared Metropolitan Stadium with the Twins for 21 seasons, then shared the Metrodome with the Twins and University of Minnesota football team for most of the past three decades.

“We want to get people out of their homes and come to the stadium and enjoy that,” Zygi Wilf said. “The features that we have there will evolve. As much as we’ve seen other stadiums, this will be our own. This will be a Minnesota Vikings stadium on its own. It will have its own footprint and own features that will be different from others.”

Sightlines in the stadium and proximity to the field will be a priority. One of the Metrodome’s endearing qualities is the noise level that the fans generate, ear-splitting volume that gives the Vikings one of the better home-field advantages in the league. The Wilfs want to recreate that atmosphere as much as possible.

“It’s very important that fans feel they’re not watching it from a blimp, that they’re watching it from close to the field,” Zygi Wilf said. “That’s very, very important. We underestimate that when we go to other stadiums, the fan experience, sit in those seats and see how it would be, and a lot of stadiums don’t have the closeness as we’re trying to get here.”

The Wilfs declined to put a number on the revenue that is expected to be generated from the new stadium and also said they weren’t ready to discuss nearby commercial development just yet. Mark Wilf said they are considering personal seat licenses as a form of generating more revenue, but have not made a decision.

They did object to depictions that the $477 million Vikings share was overstated. Critics have said the Wilfs are putting little of their own money in, relying primarily on a $200 million loan from the NFL and revenue from stadium naming rights and other related business to foot their portion of the bill.

“The reality is, whatever sources or ways we go about putting together the private investment, we’re at risk for the investment,” Mark Wilf said. “From that standpoint, it’s something that should not be forgotten.”

The stadium is scheduled to be ready for the 2016 season, and the Vikings are hopeful of bringing a Super Bowl here as early as 2017. Mark Wilf said they hope to only need to play one season at the university’s TCF Bank Stadium, “but it very well may be two.”

The stability the stadium provides should help the team attract big-name free agents, Zygi Wilf said.

“When a guy comes to a team, the traditions from an ownership standpoint and fan experience, it’s very, very important to come here and know that you can raise a family here in a way that you don’t have to worry about the future, that you have the support of alumni,” he said. “That also has the ability to attract and I think that will be the best competitive advantage that we can have from this.”

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Now that the Minnesota Vikings will get their new stadium, the worrying can begin over a gambling expansion designed to pay the state’s share of the $975 million project.

By passing the final stadium bill Thursday, lawmakers committed the state to raising $348 million by allowing electronic pull-tabs and bingo in bars and restaurants. The financing plan drew skepticism on the bill’s way through the Legislature, prompting the sponsors to include backup measures in case the pull-tab dollars don’t materialize, including a lottery game and luxury suite taxes.

Gov. Mark Dayton has pledged to sign the stadium bill into law after serving as its chief cheerleader. Backers pushed it through the Legislature after years of failed attempts, despite opposition from no-new-spending Republicans, liberal Democrats and even the top House Republican, Speaker Kurt Zellers. Lawmakers were on the receiving end of an intense outpouring of support from Vikings fans, while the state’s business leaders and labor unions also put their clout behind the project. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak brought $150 million from his city to the table, subject to a City Council vote later this month.

But money questions were on the sidelines Thursday as Vikings fans celebrated the bill’s passage. In the Senate gallery, fans broke out in a rendition of the “Skol Vikings!” fight song, earning a reprimand from the Senate secretary.

“Let’s build it!” shouted Vikings vice president Lester Bagley, the team executive who spent much of the past decade lobbying for the nearly $1 billion stadium. The new stadium will be built on the downtown Minneapolis site of the 30-year-old Metrodome, an inflatable bubble-topped building the Vikings argued did not generate enough revenue for the team to compete.

On Thursday, the Vikings and the University of Minnesota announced they have reached preliminary agreement on the Vikings’ use of TCF Bank Stadium during construction of a new Vikings stadium. Under the agreement, the Vikings will pay the university a fixed fee of $250,000 per game. The combined rent and expected concessions and sponsorship revenue that the Vikings would share with the university would amount to $300,000 per game, or $3 million per regular NFL season. The Board of Regents takes up the agreement Friday, and university President Eric Kaler could sign the letter of intent in the next few days.

The Senate vote capped an amazing comeback for the Vikings’ stadium dreams, which just a few weeks ago were fizzling before a visit from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell crystallized fears that the Vikings could leave the state without a new home.

At a celebratory news conference, owner Zygi Wilf recalled when he and his brother Mark first took ownership of the team nearly seven years ago and being asked whether they would move the team.

“We kept on fighting that this day would come, and it’s here today,” Wilf said.

Dayton publicly thanked the Wilfs for agreeing to a $50 million bump in their share in final negotiations this week.

“Without your willingness to take that last step, we wouldn’t have crossed the goal line,” the governor said.

The stadium project — with 51 percent of the construction cost covered by taxpayers — comes after years of state deficits and spending cuts to schools, health care and other programs. The state is currently in the black, but a $1 billion-plus deficit is projected for the two-year budget that starts in mid-2013.

“When this doesn’t work, it’s money right out of schools, right out of welfare, right out of health care, right out of you- name-it — everything we spend money on,” said Sen. Sean Nienow, R-Cambridge, before he cast a vote against the project.

Opponents on both sides of the political spectrum predicted that the state is likely to further expand gambling if the electronic pull-tabs — now just a low-tech paper game offered in bars and restaurants — don’t bring in enough money.

“They’ll want to double down on the bad deal. We’ve created a monster here,” said Sen. Dave Thompson, R-Lakeville, leader of the conservative faction within the GOP Senate caucus.

Stadium supporters noted that the final deal required the team to round up $477 million from private sources, $50 million more than originally promised.

Sen. Doug Magnus, R-Slayton, said he is confident the gambling money will come through. The bill envisions the new electronic games bringing in $59 million a year in tax revenue by 2014. But if tax collections end up being lower, a sports-themed lottery game and a 10 percent suite tax would kick in. Together the two measures would raise $4 million a year, Magnus said.

“Certainly there are a lot of folks that are never going to support any stadium no matter if a fairy godmother dropped one next door to us,” said Magnus, who participated in a legislative group that worked behind the scenes on a bill for two years.

Over the long term, supporters also expect the stadium to be a good deal for the state. Sen. John Harrington, DFL-St. Paul, said he expects the return on the state’s investment to be substantial over time. The Metrodome was built for $55 million, including $33 million in public money, and ended up bringing in hundreds of millions in tax revenue over the past three decades. Harrington said he voted yes on the stadium to help put people to work.

“I have 20 percent unemployment on the east side of St. Paul,” he said. “I need every job in this bill that we can possibly come up with.”

The deal guarantees the Vikings’ future in Minnesota for three decades. Bagley said the team’s billionaire owners, New Jersey developers Zygi and Mark Wilf, supported the final plan, even with the additional private cost, because time was running out. Senate passage came on the last day the Legislature was allowed to take votes.

“It’s a good deal for the state, it’s a good deal for our fans and it’s a good deal for Minneapolis. It’s a fair deal,” Bagley said.

The Vikings intend to take advantage of an NFL loan program, sell naming rights and possibly impose seat license fees to help cover the team’s end of construction costs. They will be bound by a 30-year lease on the stadium and pay about $13 million a year in operating fees. Minneapolis will kick in about $7 million a year for operating costs, and a public authority will have the power to rent the stadium on non-game days for concerts, conventions and special events such as monster truck rallies.

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Even after Gov. Mark Dayton signs the Vikings stadium deal, there’s still a lot to get done before the first snap at the new stadium.

In the meantime, the team will still play most of its home games at the Metrodome.

“It’s historic, it’s old, we love it, but it needs to be changed,” said fan Erica Flanagan.

Looking at the artist renderings, fans want to be out of the old and into the new.

“We have one of the worst game day experiences in the NFL,” said Cory Merrifield with SavetheVikes.org. “Now we’ll have a state-of-the-art facility.”

However, to get there will take some time.

Dayton must appoint a new sports commission in 30 days and the new commission will make its transition within 90 days. Then the commission, team, city and state must agree on the next steps.

The design and architectural phase could take a year, and then it’s onto construction.

“We’re looking at a 20 to 22 month construction period,” said Ted Mondale, chair of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission. “We don’t have time to sit around.”

The new stadium is expected to hold 65,000 seats, 150 suites and 7,500 club seats. A retractable roof may still be an option, but only if the team agrees to pay for it.

If you’re wondering what the new stadium might look like, you can look to Indianapolis. During the debate, many said it will have a feel like Lucas Oil Stadium.

“This is an event,” Mondale said. “This is the type of thing you drive from North Dakota, and pay $100 a ticket to go see, and have the best day of the year. And nothing less than that should be the goal.”

The stadium is going to be much bigger than our current Metrodome, which will actually make construction easier. Work can be done on and around the dome, all while building the new stadium — and that will take two years.

The Vikings would play at TCF Bank Stadium in the third and final year of construction, and the U of M reached an agreement to make that happen.

The new stadium would be completed by 2016.

Mayor R.T. Rybak told reporters today that the construction at the Metrodome site isn’t the only positive for the city. The Target Center will also get an upgrade once the city approves the deal.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP/WCCO) — After a plan to build the Minnesota Vikings a new home cleared its final hurdle Thursday in the state Senate, the team executive who spent much of the past decade lobbying for the nearly $1 billion stadium could hardly contain himself.

“Let’s build it!” vice president Lester Bagley shouted, hugging Vikings’ communications director Jeff Anderson.

In the gallery above the Senate chamber, Vikings fans broke out in a rendition of the “Skol Vikings!” fight song, earning a reprimand from the Senate secretary. But it held no sting for Bagley and others associated with the team.

Vikings fan Larry Spooner, of Plymouth, wept and said Thursday was the happiest day of his life.

“I’m sorry, it’s a simple life,” he said. “This means we’re cool; we’ve got this off our plate. We can worry about our tight end, or quarterback.”

Spooner said his happiness exceeded the wealth of Steve Jobs, adding that Jobs, if he were alive, would probably trade places with him.

The Senate vote capped an amazing comeback for the Vikings’ stadium dreams, which just a few weeks ago were fizzling before a visit from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell crystallized fears that the Vikings could leave the state without a new home.

Gov. Mark Dayton has promised to sign the bill, a $975 million plan to build on the Metrodome site in downtown Minneapolis with just over half the cost paid with public money.

At a celebratory news conference, owner Zygi Wilf recalled when he and his brother Mark first took ownership of the team nearly seven years ago and being asked whether they would move the team.

“We kept on fighting that this day would come, and it’s here today,” Wilf said.

Dayton, who served as a main cheerleader for the deal for months, publicly thanked the Wilfs for agreeing to a $50 million bump in their share in final negotiations this week.

“Without your willingness to take that last step, we wouldn’t have crossed the goal line,” Dayton said.

On Thursday, the Vikings and the University of Minnesota announced they have reached preliminary agreement on the Vikings’ use of TCF Bank Stadium during construction of a new Vikings stadium. Under the agreement, the Vikings will pay the university a fixed fee of $250,000 per game. The combined rent and expected concessions and sponsorship revenue that the Vikings would share with the university would amount to $300,000 per game, or $3 million per regular NFL season. The Board of Regents takes up the agreement Friday, and university President Eric Kaler could sign the letter of intent in the next few days.

The Vikings had pursued a stadium for years but gained leverage only when its lease on the Metrodome expired this past year. The team argued that the 30-year-old Metrodome didn’t generate enough revenue for it to compete. Dayton, a Democrat, argued that without a new building the state could lose its most beloved franchise.

The deal guarantees the Vikings’ future in Minnesota for three decades.

The team would pay 49 percent of construction costs: $477 million, which is $50 million more than owners initially committed. But the total public expense is slightly higher: $348 million for the state and $150 million for the city of Minneapolis.

“We’ve scored a touchdown, and it’s a touchdown for the state of Minnesota and it’s a touchdown for the Vikings fans,” said Sen. David Tomassoni, a Democrat from Chisholm, prior to casting his vote in favor the bill.

Even before the final Senate vote, the stadium bill had taken on an air of inevitability after the House approved it and adjourned for the year hours earlier. Opponents who sharply criticized the state’s share backed by expanded gambling couldn’t muster the votes to block the bill.

“Everybody wants a yes vote, everybody wants a stadium, but at what cost?” said Sen. John Howe, a Republican from Red Wing who voted against the final deal after supporting a Senate bill that included fees on luxury suites, parking and Vikings clothing.

Supporters countered by reminding their colleagues of the pain of losing the Lakers and the North Stars to other states in past decades, and said they were inundated with messages from Vikings fans urging them to keep the team here.

“It’s time,” said Sen. Geoff Michel, a Republican from Edina. “It’s time for us to adopt a framework that allows us to keep a Minnesota franchise. It’s time to keep the Minnesota Vikings here so that our children and our grandchildren, yes, can wear purple.”

Sen. Scott Newman, a Hutchinson Republican who voted no, said the state should be spending its money instead on things like health care, education and infrastructure.

“I know it happens across the nation, but it saddens me to think that our citizens believe that this is a wise expenditure of tax money,” Newman said.

Bagley said the team’s multimillionaire owners, New Jersey developers Zygi and Mark Wilf, supported the deal even though $50 million of the cost was shifted from the state to the team because time was running out. The Senate voted on the final day available for voting this year.

Under the bill, the Vikings would pay about $13 million annually in operating fees, though a public authority gets the power to rent out the building on nongame days for concerts, conventions and special events. The Wilfs would get exclusive rights to recruit a professional soccer team to Minnesota.

The bill gives the Vikings the option to upgrade to a retractable roof, but at their expense. Bagley said the Vikings haven’t decided if they’ll make that enhancement.

The Vikings intend to take advantage of an NFL loan program, sell naming rights and possibly impose seat license fees to help cover the team’s end of construction costs.

The state’s share was to come through expanded gambling, which some legislators opposed on principle. Others worried the state overestimated the money it would get by authorizing charitable organizations to offer electronic versions of pull tabs, a low-tech paper game offered in bars and restaurants around the state.

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The letter says the Vikings will reimburse the university for all changes they require for TCF Bank Stadium, and all non-game day expenses and game-day operational expenses related to the franchise’s use of the facility. In addition, the Vikings will pay rent to the university and share a portion of additional concessions and sponsorship revenues.

Under the agreement, the Vikings will pay the university a fixed fee of $250,000 per game. University general counsel Mark Rotenberg said that the additional revenue to the university is expected to be $50,000 per game, resulting in a combined rent and expected concessions and sponsorship revenue amount of $300,000 per game, or $3 million per regular NFL season.

The letter of intent provides the following:

TCF Bank Stadium changes

• Installation of specialized heating coils under the playing surface.

• Installation of temporary bleacher-style seats in the western end zone plaza. Any new seating is subject to approval by the university’s building code division.

Duration of lease and days of play

• Two scenarios are allowed. The Vikings may lease TCF Bank Stadium for up to four consecutive NFL seasons anticipated to start in 2013; or, they can play at the facility for all or part of one NFL season, anticipated to be the 2015 season. A standard NFL season includes 10 football games (two preseason and eight regular season games), plus any home playoff games.

• TCF Bank Stadium will be available for Sunday games only and one weeknight game per season, on a date that must be approved by the university.

• The Vikings will work with the NFL to minimize scheduling conflicts with the university’s intercollegiate athletic activities and other campus events.

Alcohol

• The terms of alcohol sales at TCF Bank Stadium during Vikings games are subject to Board of Regents approval at a later date. Gov. Mark Dayton signed legislation on April 27 that returns full authority to the Board of Regents with respect to the sale of alcoholic beverages during intercollegiate athletic events at TCF Bank Stadium, Williams Arena, and Mariucci Arena, so long as the university provides for the sale of alcohol to the general public at a convenient location in the Stadium at least through half-time during intercollegiate football games. This legislation expires July 1, 2014.

Copies of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents resolution and the letter of intent will be available at the Board of Regents meeting on Friday morning. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. at 600 McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak Street S.E., Minneapolis.

The Vikings owners beamed as they celebrated finally landing public funding for a new $975 million stadium that will keep the team in Minnesota for another generation.

For two East Coast brothers whose purchase of the team in 2005 was viewed with skepticism and nervousness by a community that has lost professional sports franchises before, the Wilfs sure have come a long way — in the eyes of the fans and state lawmakers.

“We’re here to stay,” Zygi Wilf said Thursday night at a press conference to celebrate the passage of a stadium bill.

The cheers from purple-clad fanatics in the back of Gov. Mark Dayton’s reception room weren’t always so hearty.

The Wilfs have been pushing for a new stadium to replace the drab and outdated Metrodome ever since they arrived seven years ago. And no matter how many times they assured everyone they were committed to staying in Minnesota, their lack of roots in the meat-and-potatoes Midwest served to undercut their efforts.

Glitzy Los Angeles always loomed in the background, with fans worrying that the nation’s second-largest city would steal the Vikings away from mid-market Minnesota much like it stole the Lakers back in 1960.

Legislative leaders chafed at giving public money to outside businessmen and fans had difficulty fully embracing the new owners of the most popular sports team in the state.

As the Wilfs ran into road block after road block, frustrations ran high both inside and outside the organization. They were continually told to wait their turn while other facilities were built for the Twins and University of Minnesota football team, and many thought they would have to threaten to move or sell the team to get any traction with legislators who had grown weary of stadium politics.

From the day they arrived in the Twin Cities, Zygi and Mark steadfastly refused to play that card, perhaps compromising the built-in leverage they had to pressure lawmakers in the process.

“We knew from day one that we were going to fight to ensure that this day would come,” Zygi Wilf said. “Our commitment to having Viking football here for generations was always the overriding factor.”

For two guys from rough and tumble New Jersey, they sure know a thing or two about “Minnesota Nice.”

Rep. Morrie Lanning, a Republican who was the stadium’s chief House advocate, said it was a wise strategy.

“They handled it exactly the right way and I think it would’ve made matters worse, or more difficult, if they had actually threatened, which they never did,” Lanning said.

In some ways, they never had to. Two groups working feverishly to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles grabbed plenty of headlines themselves, and the dots were easily connected when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell visited last month.

“We always understood that in talking with league officials and knowing what’s happening around the country, that if we weren’t able to do something here, there were going to be other people looking to buy this team or move this team,” Lanning said. “That’s a very real possibility that now is no longer going to be happening.”

It came down to the wire. The Vikings’ lease at the Metrodome expired last season and setback after setback threatened the franchise’s 51-year history in Minnesota.

Separate deals with Anoka County in suburban Minneapolis and Arden Hills in suburban St. Paul fell through in previous years, and this legislative session went into overtime as supporters and opponents vehemently argued their positions.

“I never had a doubt that we were going to build a stadium,” Senate Majority Leader David Senjem, a Republican, quipped. “It was just what year and which team is going to play in it.”

Even Lester Bagley, Vikings vice president of public affairs and stadium development, started to wonder if it was possible to make it happen in Minnesota.

“Oh yeah. There was a lot of defeat and ups and downs and points in this debate where it was ‘This might not be able to get done.’” Bagley said after the final vote came down in the Vikings’ favor.

The Wilfs had to pledge $50 million more to close the deal. The Vikings and NFL will put $477 million toward the project, the state has pledged $348 million and the City of Minneapolis will chip in $150 million.

Now Vikings fans can exhale, secure that Minnesota will not join the list of cities — Baltimore, Cleveland, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Houston — that have lost NFL franchises and had to scramble to try to get one back.

“We just secured the Minnesota Vikings for the whole next generation,” said Vikings fan Steve Smith of Oronoco. “The little kids with the school buses coming by right now, they’re going to be grown men the next time they have to deal with this. That would make me proud.”

The new stadium should be ready for the 2016 season, and the two brothers who were once outsiders will have a new home — in their new home — for decades to come.

“This will be truly special,” Mark Wilf said. “As hard as we’ve worked for this day, we will commit going forward that this will be first class and special, and something that all Minnesotans can be truly proud of.”

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings’ pursuit of a $975 million stadium went to the floor of the state Senate on Thursday and even opponents predicted it would clear its final hurdle.

Gov. Mark Dayton has pledged to sign the bill that would guarantee the team’s future in the state for the next 30 years. The public expense would be high: $348 million for the state and $150 million for the city of Minneapolis.

The Vikings would pay $477 million, slightly less than half the cost, after their share was raised in final negotiations. The House approved the bill 71-60 at about 3:30 a.m. Thursday.

“It’s time,” Sen. Geoff Michel, a Republican from Edina, said on the Senate floor. “It’s time for us to adopt a framework that allows us to keep a Minnesota franchise. It’s time to keep the Minnesota Vikings here so that our children and our grandchildren, yes, can wear purple.”

Sen. Scott Newman, a Hutchinson Republican who opposed the bill, predicted it would pass. He said the state should be spending its money instead on things like health care, education and infrastructure.

“I know it happens across the nation but it saddens me to think that our citizens believe that this is a wise expenditure of tax money,” Newman said.

For supporters, saying yes to the stadium was the only way to lock down a treasured team no longer bound by a stadium lease. The Vikings have said the 30-year-old Metrodome is outmoded and they can’t make enough money in it to compete in the NFL.

Vikings vice president Lester Bagley said the team’s billionaire owners, New Jersey developers Zygi and Mark Wilf, supported the deal even though $50 million of the cost was shifted from the state to the team because time was running out. The Legislature had only two days left to act.

“It is a heavy lift, but it is the right thing to do for Minnesota,” Bagley said.

The Vikings intend to take advantage of an NFL loan program, sell naming rights and possibly impose seat license fees to help cover the team’s end of construction costs.

Under the bill, the Vikings would sign a 30-year lease on a stadium to be built on the site of the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The team would pay about $13 million annually in operating fees, though a public authority gets the power to rent out the building on non-game days for concerts, conventions and special events. The Wilfs would get exclusive rights to recruit a professional soccer team to Minnesota.

The bill gives the Vikings the option to upgrade to a retractable roof, but at their expense. Bagley said the Vikings haven’t decided if they’ll make that enhancement.

The state’s share was to come through expanded gambling, which some legislators opposed on principle. Others worried the state overestimated the money it would get by authorizing charitable organizations to offer electronic versions of pull tabs, a low-tech paper game offered in bars and restaurants around the state.

Outgunned but not going quietly, opponents expressed disgust that lawmakers were bowing to baseless fears of the team leaving if it doesn’t get a new stadium.

“I think the state got rolled. Our constituents got rolled,” said Rep. Tina Liebling, a Democrat from Rochester. “I think we can do much better.”

Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen was among those to slam the state’s decision to authorize thousands of mini-gambling devices in bars and restaurants and take a cut of the profits. He characterized the plan as preying on people addicted to gambling.

“Rather than Robin Hood, we’re robbing the poor to subsidize the rich,” said Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe.

But ardent fan Larry Spooner Jr., the leader of a band of Vikings fans who held daily vigils at the Capitol during stadium discussions, was giddy with excitement. Spooner said he would hold off on celebrating until all of the votes were done.

“We are Vikings fans,” he said. “We are prepared for the worst.”

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A reworked Minnesota Vikings stadium bill that passed the state House early Thursday has the team paying $477 million, significantly more than the owners previously said they would contribute.

Though the package was tougher, it was clearly the team’s only chance to replace the Metrodome, a 30-year-old facility the Vikings say has outlived its usefulness.

Vikings vice president Lester Bagley says the team’s billionaire owners, New Jersey developers Zygi and Mark Wilf, decided to lock in the deal rather than hold out for better terms, knowing the Legislature had only two days left to act. Bagley says it’s “heavy lifting,” but the right thing to do for Minnesota.

Only a Senate vote stands between the franchise and the $975 million stadium the Vikings would move into ahead of the 2016 season.

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota lawmakers worked out the final version of a bill for a new Vikings stadium Wednesday and raised the amount the team would pay by $50 million, a calculated move that could soon put the team in the new facility it has long coveted.

The reworked bill has the Vikings paying $477 million, a significant cut above the figure team officials had once described as “set in stone.” But though the package was tougher, it also is the closest the team has come to winning a replacement for the Metrodome, a 30-year-old facility that the team says has outlived its usefulness.

Early Thursday, a Vikings officials said the team’s billionaire owners, New Jersey developers Zygi and Mark Wilf, are backing the deal.

“The Vikings and the Wilfs have stepped up,” said team vice president Lester Bagley. “The Wilfs have stepped up and made a huge commitment to Minnesota and a huge commitment to Vikings fans.”

For weeks team executives had insisted they wouldn’t up their contribution.

Rep. Morrie Lanning, a Republican who was the stadium’s chief advocate in the House, said getting the required votes depended on upping the team contribution.

“We knew we had to drive a hard bargain and we drove a hard bargain,” he said.

He said a vote would come with or without the team’s approval.

As revised, the $975 million stadium would draw on $348 million in state money, plus $150 million from the city of Minneapolis. The new stadium would be built on the site of the Metrodome near downtown Minneapolis.

The deal isn’t final. It’s subject to approval by the House and Senate, and would then go to Gov. Mark Dayton for his signature, a near certainty given the months he has pressed legislators to come up with a stadium deal that would guarantee the Vikings don’t leave the state.

The state’s share was to come through expanded gambling, which some legislators opposed on principle. Others worried the state overestimated the money it would get by authorizing charitable organizations to offer electronic versions of pull tabs, a low-tech paper game offered in bars and restaurants around the state.

Still others opposed any new taxes to benefit the billionaire Wilfs.

The Vikings have been seeking a new stadium for more than a decade, arguing that they couldn’t compete in the outdated Metrodome. But the team had little leverage until its lease expired after last season. The Vikings are obligated to play this season in Minnesota but could move after that.

The most frequently mentioned relocation market, Los Angeles, doesn’t appear ready to host a team, but Minnesotans have painful memories of losing franchises before. The NBA Lakers left for Los Angeles in 1960, and the NHL North Stars moved to Dallas in 1993.

Losing the Vikings, the state’s most popular team, would hurt far worse. Dayton made a new stadium a top priority last fall, touting the project as a job creator in addition to preserving a valuable asset.

Despite Dayton’s efforts, the legislation appeared stalled until NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell visited the Capitol in late April to urge lawmakers to act. After his visit, the stadium plan revived and limped through committees, with Vikings fans in jerseys, face paint and purple spandex looking on at every turn.

The legislation finally reached floor votes this week. In both the House and Senate, lawmakers sought to reduce the state’s share of the project — by $105 million in the House, and by $25 million in the Senate.

After the House first moved to rework the bill, Bagley warned that legislators were risking loss of the team’s support for the deal and said the team wasn’t ready to commit to more money.

Under the original plan negotiated last winter by the governor, key lawmakers, the Minneapolis mayor and the team, the Vikings would pay $427 million and the state would pay $398 million, with the money coming from an expansion of gambling. The city of Minneapolis would kick in $150 million by redirecting an existing hospitality tax.

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EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — Adrian Peterson is progressing ahead of pace through his left knee rehabilitation. The Minnesota Vikings won’t promise he’ll play in their first game.

Head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman said Wednesday that such a declaration “wouldn’t be fair” to anyone. But Peterson left no doubt: He said he’s “set” on being ready to take the field at full strength on Sept. 9 when the Vikings start the regular season.

The Vikings opened part of Peterson’s regular rehab drills to the media, with more than three-dozen reporters and photographers watching him run around at the indoor field at Winter Park.

Peterson tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in a game last Dec. 24.

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Both the House and Senate were standing by Wednesday for the final product of a conference committee that by late afternoon had yet to meet.

The Vikings were closer than ever to a replacement for the 30-year-old Metrodome, but big hurdles remained. Both the House and Senate this week passed bills raising the team’s $427 million contribution — by $105 million in the House, $25 million in the Senate.

Throughout the franchise’s latest push for a publicly subsidized football stadium, team executives insisted they wouldn’t pay more. The $427 million figure was “set in stone,” Vikings Vice President Lester Bagley said as recently as last week.

But in convincing votes, lawmakers went on record demanding that the Vikings and private partners foot a bigger share of construction costs. It’s part of a broader skirmish over how much, if any, tax money should benefit a private enterprise owned by wealthy New Jersey developer Zygi Wilf.

Emerging from a closed-door meeting Wednesday, Republican House Speaker Kurt Zellers said he hasn’t spoken to the Vikings about the level of their stadium contribution and said it was “partially up to them to decide” whether to chip in more.

“The Vikings didn’t get whatever they wanted,” said GOP Sen. Julie Rosen, the bill’s chief sponsor. She said the team will have to come up with more to come away successful.

A final bill would need to pass both the House and Senate before going to Gov. Mark Dayton, a strong stadium booster who would presumably sign it. Then it would be up to the Vikings whether to accept the deal.

Conference committee members, legislative leaders and Dayton administration officials spent hours Wednesday behind closed doors in multiple simultaneous meetings. They were careful to avoid bringing together a quorum of conference committee members that would trigger a state law requiring legislative meetings to be conducted in public. They revealed little about the discussions.

Rep. Morrie Lanning, the bill’s House sponsor, said he was “not in a position to comment” when he stepped out of one meeting. A few hours later, Ted Mondale, Dayton’s chief stadium negotiator, also declined to talk.

“We’re playing some cards,” he told TV cameramen and reporters as he walked by.

Stadium backers risk losing some of their votes if the final resolution drags out. Two House members who voted yes on the bill — Reps. Greg Davids, R-Preston, and John Kriesel, R-Cottage Grove — both were to leave town Thursday on trips planned before the Legislature missed a self-imposed April deadline to finish the session.

As for the team’s contribution, Wilf won’t be cutting a personal check — at least not for most of it. The team expects to tap into an NFL loan program for as much as $200 million. It could also cash in on naming rights, sell seat licenses and leverage other new revenue streams from a state-of-the art-stadium.

Following Tuesday’s Senate vote, Bagley said the team is standing by the amount it pledged earlier, but he acknowledged the final package is “to be determined.”

The Vikings say their costs go beyond the upfront contribution. Officials note that they will pay annual rent and help defray operating costs of the building, which a public authority would also rent out for concerts, conventions, monster truck pulls and other activities.

The Senate added a new dynamic by adopting user fees on suites, parking and Vikings merchandise. The state would impose a 10 percent fee on suites and parking within a half-mile of the stadium, and a 6.875 percent fee on Vikings clothing, trading cards and other memorabilia.

It’s all meant to soothe concerns of lawmakers about a gambling expansion pegged to retire public debt. The stadium bill contemplates tens of millions of tax dollars from new electronic pull-tab and bingo games in bars and restaurants. The robust estimates have drawn plenty of skepticism.

Another $150 million will come from a redirected sales tax in Minneapolis, where the new stadium would be built.

The current Vikings stadium plan would be the third priciest in football, behind recently built facilities in Dallas and New York. The public contribution by percentage could still shift, but in all likelihood a Minnesota subsidy would cover between 40 and 50 percent of construction.

That would put the Vikings package somewhere in the middle of NFL projects over the past dozen years.

In Cleveland, for instance, the Browns’ $290 million stadium opened in 1999 after three-quarters was financed by taxpayers. The gleaming Giants and Jets $1.6 billion stadium was built entirely with private funds.

The possibility the Vikings could move added an element of pressure to the current deliberations. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has personally lobbied Minnesota leaders to pass a stadium plan, and chatter about efforts in Los Angeles to nab a team is rampant.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

“I’m guilty of it,” Carter said. “I put bounties on guys. (If) a guy tried to take a cheap shot on me, I put on bounty on him right now.”

Carter said it was common practice back then to protect players from those who wanted to hurt them.

Carter claims former All-Pro linebacker Bill Romanowski threatened him before pregame warmups years ago.

“I’m going to end your career, Carter,” Carter recounted and said he then put “a little change” on Romanowski’s head before the game.

WCCO Sports Reporter Mike Max said it doesn’t surprise him.

“I hate to separate the two eras, but I always thought in Cris Carter’s era, it was a little bit looser,” Max said. “If someone protected him, he might throw him something.”

After the bounty scandal in the New Orleans Saints program, Max said the game will be changed forever and that the NFL will crack down hard on those who take part in the practice.

“If there’s a whisper, it will get investigated, because the NFL has to clean it up,” Max said. “Their biggest enemy right now is the concussion.”

Max said people are scared of the long-term effects of concussions, and that goes hand-in-hand with the bounty program.

Construction workers in downtown Minneapolis, near the existing Metrodome, tell WCCO they are confident that the new stadium will bring an employment windfall to the Twin Cities.

“I want all my guys to go back to work! It’s supposed to be union contract work and it has been a long time coming,” said Al Humphrey, a construction worker, working the predawn hours Wednesday, decked out in his yellow vest.

Many are happy all the bickering is near an end and one expressed relief that the Twin Cities will not be left without an NFL franchise.

“I don’t want us to be like Los Angeles, the only major city in the United States without a pro football team,” said John Jersey, a Minneapolis office worker.

It is the prospect of thousands of new jobs that, according to construction experts, could be around for as long as four years, not to mention the new permanent one associated with the finished stadium.

“I am just happy they are finished with all of the drama and bull! We need the stadium, it is going to create a bunch of jobs and we just need it, period,” said Rob Gunderson, a downtown construction worker.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO/AP) — The Minnesota Senate voted in favor of the new Vikings stadium –- 38 to 28 — just before midnight after debating for 11 hours on Tuesday.

The biggest difference between the House and Senate bills is how much the team would have to pay for the new stadium.

The Minnesota Senate pushed more Vikings stadium financing costs in the direction of the team and fans Tuesday — $25 million more to be collected privately.

They also revamped a longstanding stadium plan to also impose a collection of user fees.

Now, the conference committee will meet to discuss the nearly $1 billion facility. They will look at where the two sides can try to work out the differences on Wednesday morning.

The passage by the Senate sets up those final negotiations and precede a new round of votes by the Legislature. The House approved a bill Monday that requires the team to kick in $532 million toward the stadium — $105 million above what a franchise official previously called a “set in stone” ceiling.

It was clear stadium supporters wanted to turn to offense rather than defense as the bill reached the Senate. It was Sen. Julie Rosen, the stadium bill sponsor, who promoted user fees on suites, parking and Vikings merchandise. Another backer pushed for the higher team contribution, and that amendment was approved unanimously.

The user fee amendment — adopted on a 40-26 vote — would levy a 10 percent fee on suites and on parking within a half-mile of the stadium, and impose a 6.875 percent fee on Vikings clothing, trading cards and other memorabilia.

Throughout a debate that stretched from early afternoon past nightfall, there were plenty of close calls. Senators twice approved amendments they overturned later. One would have imposed a more aggressive slate of user fees that could cut into Vikings profits and a second would have subjected portions of the bill to a potential Minneapolis voter referendum.

Sen. Dave Thompson, R-Lakeville, said the deal to date has been negotiated by people too willing to please the team.

“When stadium proponents are putting things on that make the deal less appealing to the Vikings, you wonder if it’s been put on just for the purpose of attracting votes and then getting pulled out in conference committee,” said Thompson, the leader of the conservative faction within the Senate GOP caucus. “But I guess time will tell.”

Earlier Tuesday, a Vikings executive warned state lawmakers against making major changes to the financing proposal, saying they risked losing the team’s support for the deal. Vice President Lester Bagley criticized changes made by the House when it passed the bill Monday, particularly a provision that shifted more cost from the state to the team.

“People who are opposed to this are going to do all they can to muck this up,” Bagley said in an interview on ESPN 1500 radio, speaking generally about amendments added to the bill.

Bagley pointed to a bill for a new Twins ballpark that cleared the Legislature in 2002, only to fall apart later. It took the team another four years to win legislative support for a workable bill.

Bagley didn’t immediately return a call from The Associated Press.

Though the Vikings have misgivings about the changes the House made to the bill, its approval Monday marked the team’s first victory in its years-long quest for a new stadium. Bagley called it “the first hurdle” in a process.

Bagley said the team’s owners aren’t prepared to shell out $105 million more beyond a prior $427 million private commitment toward construction of the stadium. Under a plan negotiated last winter by the governor, key lawmakers, the Minneapolis mayor and the team, the state would pay $398 million, with the money coming from an expansion of gambling. The city of Minneapolis would kick in $150 million by redirecting an existing hospitality tax.

But lawmakers will have the final say on how big a taxpayer subsidy is provided.

The Vikings are no longer under a Metrodome lease, leaving some to worry they could bolt if they don’t have a new stadium after next season.

“We don’t want the Vikings to leave,” said Sen. Geoff Michel, R-Edina. “We want to take the wheels off this franchise and keep them for our children and grandchildren. I don’t want to cheer for the Green Bay Packers. I don’t want to cheer for the Chicago Bears. We need an NFL franchise in Minnesota. This is the bill. This is the day.”

Opponents weren’t buying the threat of team flight.

“I want to know where the Vikings are going if they leave,” said Democratic Sen. Barb Goodwin of Columbia Heights.

She added, “I think we’re scaring a lot of people for no good reason.”

The Vikings stadium bill will head to a conference committee that will likely start at about 9 a.m. Wednesday. That’s where the House and Senate will have to try and work out their differences with the bill.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The state Senate voted 47-20 on Tuesday to strip out a clause giving the Vikings five years to establish a major league soccer franchise before anyone else can. The provision would have let the soccer team play at a new stadium with no additional rent.

Republican lawmakers complained it would give a corporation a publicly endorsed monopoly. Many Democrats sided with them.

The Vikings ownership has floated the idea of bringing a soccer expansion franchise to play in a new stadium during non-football months.

The amendment came about seven hours into Senate debate on the Vikings $975 million stadium package.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO/AP) — The Minnesota House has voted to pass the $975 million stadium bill late Monday night.

The amended plan that passed 73-58 Monday night would raise the Vikings’ share to $532 million, or about 55 percent of construction costs.

That knocks about $105 million off the state’s contribution.

The team has said it wouldn’t pay more than $427 million.

The Senate will consider its own version of the bill. Differences would be worked out in a conference committee.

The Vikings haven’t openly threatened to leave Minnesota, and are committed to playing in the 30-year-old Metrodome this season.

But stadium boosters, led by Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, say punting on the proposal could set up a nightmare three-peat for Minnesota sports fanatics. After all, the state lost the NBA’s Lakers to Los Angeles in 1960 and the NHL’s North Stars to Dallas in 1993.

“Nobody wants the Vikings to leave the state of Minnesota. Nobody wants that to happen,” said Rep. Sarah Anderson, a suburban Minneapolis Republican who is undecided how she’ll vote on Monday. “It’s just a matter of figuring out whether this package will work and is a good deal for our taxpayers.”

Stadium support doesn’t break down neatly — it has Democratic and Republican backers, but also plenty of opponents in both parties.

Fiscally conservative Republicans loathe the potential handout, but the party’s business wing wants to preserve a valuable asset in the city’s core. Democrats — especially the party’s labor base — crave the thousands of hardhat jobs that would come with a new stadium.

The Vikings would have to kick in $427 million — which isn’t enough for some lawmakers.

“I’m concerned about whether the owner is footing enough of the bill,” said Sen. Julianne Ortman, the Senate’s deputy Republican leader. “I’m really concerned that what we’ve got is a minority partner in this project dictating the terms, wagging the dog if you will.”

Ortman said she thinks fears about the team’s possible departure have been overhyped, but signs of pressure are everywhere.

Vikings fans have roamed the Capitol for days, adorned with face paint, horned helmets and purple-and-gold superhero costumes. Schoolchildren on field trips have shown up to the Capitol in jerseys. And a few die-hards presided over a mock tailgate outside of the building.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Head coach Leslie Frazier stated, “Ryan has meant a great deal to the Vikings organization both on and off the field over the past six seasons. We wish him all the best in the future and thank him for his service to the Minnesota Vikings.”

Longwell, a 16-year veteran, also tweeted earlier in the day about the news.

“To all in Viking Nation. Can’t thank you enough for your cheers over the past 6 years! You’ve been awesome to me and my family. God Bless!”

The Minnesota Vikings had already drafted Georgia place-kicker Blair Walsh in the sixth round last month. Longwell will be 38 in August. He spent six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.

Longwell signed a four-year contract last summer that called for a $1.75 million salary this season.

Longwell is the third all-time leading score in Vikings history and is the Packers’ all-time leading scorer. Last season, he was 22-for-28 on field goals and made 38-of-39 extra points.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Supporters of a new Vikings stadium pleaded for votes in the Minnesota House on Monday, calling it their “one chance” to preserve the team’s future in the state.

In a sign of the tough road ahead, the chamber swiftly overhauled the $975 million proposal to raise by $105 million the amount the team would kick in, with support from both Republicans and Democrats. The debate was expected to stretch into the evening, possibly past midnight.

Discussion on the House floor was overshadowed at times by the chants of Vikings boosters rallying in the rotunda outside. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and Vikings players, including quarterback Christian Ponder, fired up purple-clad fans, who chanted, “Build it!”

Ponder drew cheers when he said, “I want to be here in Minnesota for the rest of my life.”

The Vikings have pushed for a new stadium for more than a decade, but their efforts went nowhere until their lease at the Metrodome expired. Rep. Morrie Lanning, the bill’s sponsor, said the team likely would leave the state if the legislation fails.

“Whatever you think of this bill, this is our one chance,” said Rep. John Kriesel, R-Cottage Grove. “This bill works, it’s been fine-tuned and it will build a stadium.”

The House vote will serve as the first test for a proposal that must also clear the Senate and likely would face House-Senate negotiations before another round of votes.

The plan negotiated by the governor, key lawmakers, the Minneapolis mayor and the team would have the Vikings cover about $427 million of the construction costs, or about 44 percent. The state would pay $398 million, with the money coming from an expansion of gambling. The city of Minneapolis would kick in $150 million by redirecting an existing hospitality tax.

But almost every aspect of the deal was being tested on the House floor. The first major amendment would cap the state’s share at $293 million, while requiring the team to come up with $532 million from private.

A plan to pay the state’s share through a gambling expansion survived an attempt to remove it when House members turned back a push to replace that money with fees on tickets, concessions and other fan purchases.

The Vikings will play the upcoming season at the Metrodome, but are free to leave after that. The team hasn’t threatened to move, but fans fear they could relocate to Los Angeles or another city seeking its own football team.

“If they don’t do it now, they’re out in L.A. by next year, or someplace else,” said J.P. Charney, 24, of Minnetonka, who came to the Capitol with his brother to support a new stadium.

Dayton made the stadium issue his top priority last fall, urging lawmakers to act to avoid losing a valuable asset. Dayton has also touted the thousands of jobs that stadium construction would bring.

The governor has acted as lead cheerleader for the project, joining in chants of “Build it!” in a raucous rotunda rally with construction workers before the House debate Monday.

“Minnesota’s a can-do state,” he told the crowd. “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.’”

Supporters weren’t ready to predict passage. The legislation appeared all but dead until NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell visited in April, raising pressure on lawmakers to act. After that, the bill limped through several committees.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said stadium supporters picked up momentum after fans and construction workers mobilized to support the project over the weekend. Dayton appeared at rallies at the Mall of America on Saturday and a Minneapolis sports bar on Sunday.

“I feel that the numbers are close and the numbers are moving in our direction,” said Rybak, who has been lobbying legislators for the project.

One Democrat, Rep. Ryan Winkler, announced Sunday he was changing his “no” vote to “yes” because he saw the stadium as the only job-producing project likely to come out of the Legislature this session.

NewsRadio 830 WCCO’s Steve Murphy Reports

Hundreds Of Vikes Fans Rally As House Debate Begins

Hundreds of Vikings fans swarmed the capitol rotunda just as the stadium debate began.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — One way or another, our long, long Viking stadium issue is coming to a conclusion, starting with the critical vote in the House probably sometime late Monday night.

We all have and can continue to argue the merits of any public participation in the building of stadiums and ballparks. These arguments have gone on in Arizona to Dallas, Indianapolis to renovations in Kansas City. They had the vision and understanding: it’s the price you pay to keep big time sports and all the events which go along with a new venue.

It took 10 years of rhetoric and arm twisting to build the Metrodome for $68 million — but without air conditioning at first because it was just good enough, in the words of one stadium official, to “get fans in, let ‘em see a game and let ‘em go home.”

Yet despite the lack of amenities and spartan feel to the Dome, it still hosted a Major League All-Star game, a Super Bowl, two basketball Final Fours, a bunch of regional tournaments and of course two World Series, to say nothing of non-sporting events, concerts and the like. But we all knew the Dome did not have a future. The Gophers left, the Twins left and now the Vikings’ lease is up.

The pass-the-buck mentality of our so-called legislative leaders over the past decade has put us in this spot. “Let the next governor deal with it.”

The time is now, yet a week ago, they were still talking “roof or no roof” on the new facility.

Last week was a complete clown show in St. Paul. Look, we all have stadium fatigue, but it’s time to quit worrying about saving face and partisan politics and the horse trading, step up and do what virtually every other big league community has done. They’ve had plenty of time to figure it out.

Some people are going to be unhappy no matter how the vote goes, but like it or not, House speaker Kurt Zellers will have the tag on the guy who drove the Vikings out of Minnesota if it fails.

This is it. Trust me. The NFL will not be coming back this way.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Right now, it’s 4th and goal, the 2 minute warning or any other sports cliché you want to try. But a vote on the Vikings stadium is coming up Monday.

Union members who represent the construction trade are hoping their voices are heard, they want jobs so a new stadium is in their best interest.

While they push for fans to call their lawmakers there is also some push back from those who feel the price tag is too heavy for Minnesotans to carry.

Union members who are looking for jobs and Vikings fans who want to make sure the team stays in Minnesota came together to make noise about Monday’s vote. They hope their solidarity is enough to pressure lawmakers to vote yes for a new Vikings stadium.

In south Minneapolis, their message resonated throughout Mac’s Industrial Sports Bar: Vote yes on a stadium bill so construction can begin.

Hundreds showed up in their Viking’s gear, hoping to get the word out that it’s game day at the Capitol Monday, the day Minnesotans will learn if lawmakers support a stadium.

“You’re the ones that count this is for you this is for the people of Minnesota,” said Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton.

Dayton, Mayor R. T. Rybak and union officials took the stage to rally supporters, all say this is more about jobs, than anything else.

“Thirteen-thousand jobs are hanging in the balance, 7,500 building trades jobs and with 20 percent-plus unemployment in the trades certainly that would be a boost to our brothers and sisters who are in the construction trades,” said Bill McCarthy, president of the Minnesota Regional Labor Federation.

“A billion dollar payroll in this community we are about to make an investment to make sure another generation can do that,” said Rybak.

But there are those who feel this stadium bill is not in the best interest of Minnesota tax payers.

“It increases taxes number two, it does use general fund money that could be better appropriated for other needs within the state education, health care, public safety, these are all areas of budget reduction over the last couple of years,” said Phil Krinkie, president of The Taxpayers League of Minnesota.

Krinkie believes the bill should be more Minnesota taxpayer-friendly than a Vikings-friendly financial proposal.

Stadium supports say even it the bill isn’t perfect, it’s time to settle the issue.

The House meets in session at 10 a.m., the Senate at 1 p.m.

The rally for stadium supporters begins at 9 a.m. at the Capitol.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) — Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Zellers could have been speaking for many of his fellow lawmakers when he struggled to describe his position on a $1 billion Vikings stadium bill before a vote that could be critical to the team’s future in the state.

“I won’t vote for it, but I want to see it pass,” the Republican said in an interview late last week on sports radio.

With votes scheduled Monday on a huge public payout, 200 lawmakers are under pressure from plenty of people who oppose the project — but worry they will be blamed if it fails. A defeat this week, while not fatal, would accelerate fears that the state could lose its most beloved team.

After years of trying, stadium supporters know better than to predict the outcome.

“I think it’s within striking distance,” Lester Bagley, the team’s chief stadium lobbyist, said on Friday.

The Vikings haven’t openly threatened to leave Minnesota, and are committed to playing in the 30-year-old Metrodome this season.

But stadium boosters, led by Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, say punting on the proposal could set up a nightmare three-peat for Minnesota sports fanatics. After all, the state lost the NBA’s Lakers to Los Angeles in 1960 and the NHL’s North Stars to Dallas in 1993.

“Nobody wants the Vikings to leave the state of Minnesota. Nobody wants that to happen,” said Rep. Sarah Anderson, a suburban Minneapolis Republican who is undecided how she’ll vote on Monday. “It’s just a matter of figuring out whether this package will work and is a good deal for our taxpayers.”

Stadium support doesn’t break down neatly — it has Democratic and Republican backers, but also plenty of opponents in both parties.

Fiscally conservative Republicans loathe the potential handout, but the party’s business wing wants to preserve a valuable asset in the city’s core. Democrats — especially the party’s labor base — crave the thousands of hardhat jobs that would come with a new stadium.

The Vikings would have to kick in $427 million — which isn’t enough for some lawmakers.

“I’m concerned about whether the owner is footing enough of the bill,” said Sen. Julianne Ortman, the Senate’s deputy Republican leader. “I’m really concerned that what we’ve got is a minority partner in this project dictating the terms, wagging the dog if you will.”

Ortman said she thinks fears about the team’s possible departure have been overhyped, but signs of pressure are everywhere.

Vikings fans have roamed the Capitol for days, adorned with face paint, horned helmets and purple-and-gold superhero costumes. Schoolchildren on field trips have shown up to the Capitol in jerseys. And a few die-hards presided over a mock tailgate outside of the building.

The team even trotted out star running back Adrian Peterson late last month to glad-hand lawmakers.

Some would-be opponents are tripped up by their fandom. Rep. Chris Swedzinksi, a Republican from rural southwestern Minnesota and a likely yes vote, said some of his most hard-right constituents want the stadium. He called it “a beast all on its own.”

“I’ve got folks that I know are active in the tea party that have said, you know, I’m going to suspend my rational thought right now, Chris,” Swedzinski said. “I know what I believe and I know where this country’s headed if we continue down this path — but don’t lose the Vikings.”

Rep. Kerry Gauthier, a Duluth Democrat, said he was won over even before hundreds of construction workers lobbied at the Capitol during a critical moment last week.

“I think it’s good for Minnesota all the way around,” said Gauthier. “Not only do we put people down here to work, but that prevents people from having to leave town to go to work in my city, so it keeps our guys and women working.”

Not all Democrats are swayed by the job-creation argument. Rep. Susan Allen, a Minneapolis Democrat, said she heard from labor lobbyists who told her the project would bring at least 200 jobs to her cash-poor south Minneapolis district, mere blocks from the stadium. But she and other Democrats look at the state’s proposed $400 million share and see money that’s not feeding the hungry, housing the homeless or caring for the sick.

“In our district, we have over half the children living poverty, the unmet needs are so great,” said Allen, who plans to vote no. “I wouldn’t be able to defend my vote in light of all those circumstances.”

Other lawmakers fret over what they see as shaky financing, saying the state overestimates the tax revenue it will bring in by expanding legal gambling. And some on both sides of the aisle object to increased gambling on moral grounds, no matter the money.

Stadium supporters say even if the bill isn’t perfect, it’s time to settle the issue.

“At this time, in this political climate, it’s probably the best we can do,” said Rep. Paul Marquart, a Democrat from northwestern Minnesota. “We’re fourth and inches. Let’s push this thing across the goal line.”

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Esme Murphy had several guests on WCCO Sunday Morning to weigh in on what’s to come. Watch their full interviews below.

Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission Chair Ted Mondale

Sen. Julianne Ortman

Prof. Larry Jacobs

Vikings VP of Public Affairs and Stadium Development Lester Bagley

Ninety-nine sitting lawmakers were part of the 201-member Legislature the last time a Minnesota professional sports team won approval for a stadium subsidy, the 2006 Twins ballpark legislation. It prevailed with a few House votes to spare but by the barest of Senate margins before a signature by a Republican governor.

The Twins bill raised a Hennepin County sales tax but also offered a state exemption on construction material sales taxes. The Vikings bill depends on diverted sales taxes in Minneapolis and an expansion of gambling in bars and restaurants.

The financing approaches differ and past votes are no guarantee of future action. But they can be a helpful guide. Lawmakers who voted “yes” before could be seen as more inclined to back another stadium bill than those who were on the “no” side back then.

Some then-House members are now in the Senate, but here’s a look at where those votes fell:

— Overall, 53 lawmakers who opposed the final Twins bill are in line for a vote on this plan; 46 backed the Twins ballpark legislation.

— Of Republicans in the House then and now, 13 voted “no” and nine were “yes.”

— Among Democrats who remain in the House, 21 voted “no” and 20 were “yes,” with one absence that day by a still-serving member.

— Of Republicans serving in the Senate now (including some ex-House members), 12 opposed the Twins plan and five backed it.

— Among current Democratic senators (counting a trio of ex-House members), seven voted “no” on the final bill and 12 said “yes.”

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The undrafted local hopefuls are another faction that contributes to the experience of rookie camp.

Spencer Ohm grew up in Blooming Prairie, Minn. And he grew into a good quarterback at Concordia University in St. Paul, where he put up impressive numbers in his college career.

Over the weekend, Ohm got to live a quarterback’s dream.

“It was something I’ve dreamed of since I was a little kid,” Ohm said. “And once I got the call, it was really exciting.”

What the Vikings are looking for in quarterback position is what he wants to be. Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier said the team needs leaders who can take command of both the team and the situation on the football field.

For Ohm, being a leader means playing like his favorite Vikings quarterback, Brett Favre.

“Who doesn’t want to be like Brett Favre when you put on this red jersey,” he said.

No matter what happens between Sunday and the rest of his football career, Ohm will always look back and feel good about his time at rookie camp.

“There’s a long road ahead,” he said. “But it’s still something I’m going to embrace, regardless.”

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – It’s a fourth-and-long situation just two days before the Minnesota House is slated to vote on a new stadium agreement.

Gov. Mark Dayton, Vikings defensive end Jared Allen, and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak rallied fans at the Mall of America Saturday alongside Lester Bagley, the Vikings vice president of stadium development, Sen. Julie Rosen, (R-Fairmont) and Rep. Terry Morrow (D-St. Peter).

Hundreds of stadium supporters filled the rotunda outside Sears, shouting phrases like, “Now or never” and “Remember in November.”

Allen drew the most applause when he said the “Dome isn’t the place fans deserve.” The record-winning defensive end urged fans to come to the Capitol on Monday and call their lawmakers over the weekend.

“You guys are the taxpayers, call and tell them what you want,” he said. “You guys want a new stadium, so we can break the sack record again.”

Dayton told the crowd he wants the team to always be the Minnesota Vikings, never the Los Angeles Vikings or Tucson Vikings.

The rally came after Dayton vetoed a high-priority Republican tax bill Friday, which could have netted votes for the stadium bill.

On Thursday House Speaker Kurt Zellers said he wouldn’t line up the votes to pass the stadium bill, because the Dayton dismissed priority bills. Earlier this week, Republicans said their tax bill contained enough business tax relief to create 14,000 jobs – more jobs than a Vikings stadium would create.

When asked about the angry response to that veto Saturday, Dayton told reporters: “Frankly, if people vote against the stadium to try and make me look bad, they are just going to make themselves look worse.”

Monday, House lawmakers will consider the original plan replacing the current Metrodome with a new Vikings facility. That plan would be financed through expanded gambling and revenues from new electronic pull tab machines placed at bars and restaurants.

The nearly $1 billion plan would call for $427 million from the team, $150 million from Minneapolis and $398 million from the state. Critics call the deal bad for taxpayers. Season ticket holders at the rally said the stadium would give an economic boost and ensure the Vikings stay for another generation of Minnesotans.

Vikings fan John Schreiner, who attended the rally, said he’ll show up Monday to support his team.

“I will take the day off on Monday to head to the State Capitol, and be able to provide some influence to support a stadium for the benefit of all Minnesotans,” he said. “That’s where I believe we have the greatest challenge, and I would like to see a lot of Vikings supporters there to perhaps provide context.”
Photo Gallery: Vikings Stadium Pep Rally