ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The speaker of the house says show me a plan, the Senate Majority leader says you'll see something soon, and the Senate Minority Leader concludes a decision has to be made. Legislative leaders gathered in front of the assembled media to talk about the upcoming 2012 legislative session, and they were pressed about Vikings stadium issues.
"For most Minnesotans it's not a priority, they don't necessarily care if we fund a stadium for professional athletes," Republican Speaker Kurt Zellers said before adding he was waiting, like everyone else, for a plan to make it to the legislature.
Senate Majority Leader David Senjem was confident there will be a fair amount of discussion about the political football this session. "These are arduous things and it will go that arduous route and whether it passes or not I don't know, but I think it will go through the due process," Senjem said, adding the discussion will start sooner than later.
Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk says it's time for the Vikings to get an answer, one way or another. "Still we can't seem to advance the ball, I mean, if we just can't get it done let's just say it. I don't know what the next roadblock is but I think the Vikings deserve a vote on this issue, and we ought to send some message to the NFL on whether Minnesota wants to have a football team or not," the DFL leader said.
Earlier in the day, Ted Mondale, who has been appointed by the Governor to sift through stadium options, said the clock is ticking. "If we started with 89 options or questions we're probably down to about 7 or 8 that we need to answer. I think the longer it goes in the session and the closer it starts pinning up to elections, the odds go down," Mondale said following a Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission meeting.
Meanwhile, the communities vying for the Vikings home are scrambling to put together "local share" funding proposals. Minneapolis will need city council members to approve an extension on the existing convention center tax while Ramsey County may have to look for a new funding source that doesn't require any kind of a tax increase.
As for Shakopee, which entered the game late in the process, there's some measure of hope after Governor Dayton refused to pick a specific site or community. "We got the best possible news other than the governor saying Shakopee's the place to go," Mayor Brad Tabke said. Tabke also said city leaders are looking into possible local funding possibilities as well.
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