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Dayton Says Vikes Stadium Should Have Fixed Roof

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (WCCO) -- The Vikings final pre-season game is Thursday night and that's kicking off a lot of talk about a new stadium.

Gov. Mark Dayton returned to the State Fair on Thursday -- and was talking lots of sports.

There are a lot of moving parts to this billion dollar-plus stadium project. But the governor says time is running short -- and he wouldn't be surprised if the Vikings consider moving to another market.

Dayton made the comments at the State Fair on KFAN radio.

He told the Bumper to Bumper Show, he now believes a new Vikings stadium should have a fixed roof and not a retractable roof to save money.

He said he'd like to call a special session within weeks to vote on it.

"We're really talking about the end of October, the beginning of November. Then we've got a six-month lead. The Vikes say for every year of delay the cost is another $50 million to the projects, which is probably a low number," Dayton said.

Another obstacle emerged Thursday -- Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch said she supports a stadium referendum in Ramsey County so voters can give a thumbs up or down to a stadium, possibly killing the project.

Dayton said if there's a referendum, he wants it to be held fast, and not linger into next year.

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