Downtown Council's Minneapolis stadium rendering
Written by
The Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Leaders of northwestern Minnesota's White Earth Tribe will ask the Legislature to let them build a Twin Cities-area casino as a way to help pay for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium.
Tribal chairwoman Erma Vizenor will pitch the proposal Thursday at a Capitol news conference. She first raised the idea in December at a state Capitol hearing on various proposals to bankroll the Vikings' stadium push.
Backers say casino revenue estimated at $300 million a year could be split between the 20,000-member tribe to meet financial needs, and the state to pay stadium costs.
But the proposal will be a tough sell to lawmakers wary of expanded gambling. Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty proposed a White Earth-owned Twin Cities casino in 2005, but a state Senate committee killed the proposal.
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