After a couple of months of nothing, it appears that we could finally be getting some movement on a Vikings' stadium bill.
According to Morrie Lanning, the representative from Moorhead, has said that the Vikings' stadium bill could be introduced this week, and perhaps as early as tomorrow.
Governor Mark Dayton, who we reported the other day is already on board with getting a stadium deal passed this legislative session, is further encouraging lawmakers to get this taken care of.
While Lanning and Rosen were finishing their bill, Gov. Mark Dayton Tuesday encouraged lawmakers to approve a stadium.
"Several thousand would be put to work building the people’s stadium," Dayton said.
The Democratic governor said stadium construction workers would have jobs for three years.
"Putting people back to work is the ultimate solution to these economic problems," he said, defending building a stadium during tough fiscal times.
Without making this too terribly political, I think he's absolutely right. People need jobs, and building a stadium would, indeed, put thousands of people to work.
Now, not being terribly in tune with the construction business, I thought the normal construction time for a stadium was two years, but Dayton says that construction workers would have jobs for three. I don't know if the governor is simply taking the crappy Minnesota winter weather into account when he makes his declaration, or if he's suggesting that the stadium would end up at a site other than the current Metrodome site. Maybe it's a combination of both.
But hopefully in the very near future we'll be celebrating a brand new stadium coming to Minnesota and our team staying exactly where they belong for a long, long time.