Stop me if you've heard this one. . .because, to be honest, you have. . .but according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Minnesota Vikings, the state of Minnesota, and the city of Minneapolis have reached a "preliminary agreement" for a new stadium for the team near the Metrodome.

Now, as Ted mentioned in his previous story, a "deal" and an "agreement" are two totally different things. The Vikings had an "agreement" with Arden Hills but, as we all know, nothing wound up coming of it. Now, however, there's an agreement that actually has some legislative blessing from the state of Minnesota, which is something that the Arden Hills deal never had.

According to the agreement, the Vikings' contribution would be approximately $427 million, while the state of Minnesota would contribute $398 million and the city of Minneapolis $150 million towards the construction of the stadium, bringing the total price tag to around $975 million. The city would pay $180 million in operating costs over the next 30 years. The proposed upgrades to the Target Center, which were not terribly well received, are not part of this project, according to reports.

This scenario has the Vikings paying a little less than 45% of the entire package, and I believe that the $427 million that they would still be the third-largest private contribution to a new stadium ever put forth. Naturally, it still won't be good enough for some people, but really, that's not a me problem, a you problem, or a Minnesota Vikings problem. . .that's a them problem.

The legislative session is about to hit the halfway point, and there is still some work to be done to get everybody on board with this, but this appears to be about as close as things have been since this entire circus got underway.

(Thanks to Purpledork for putting this in the FanShots first.)