Minnesota Vikings Stadium Bill To Be Submitted Today

After all of the discussion, debate, and speculation, the Minnesota Vikings' stadium bill will be submitted to the Minnesota legislature today, and will become official on Monday, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

The plan would raise up to $300 million in state funds through various means, such as the Vikings lottery game, taxes on sports memorabilia, taxes on luxury seats, and a tax on player salaries.

The most controversial part of the bill, however, is the fact that the bill will allow a local government to levy their own taxes, whether they be sales taxes or any other kinds of taxes, without having to put said tax to a voter referendum.

Senator Julie Rosen of Fairmount and Representative Morrie Lanning of Moorhead will introduce the bill to each chamber of the legislature today, and it will be formally introduced on Monday.

The bill doesn't specify a particular site for the stadium, and there are three sites currently in the running. After the jump, the Pioneer Press outlines the pros and cons of each site at this point in time.

Hennepin County Board Chairman Mike Opat and a number of business leaders are pushing an area west of the Twins stadium in Minneapolis. The site would require expensive relocation of current occupants, and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak does not support building there.

Rybak prefers tearing down the Metrodome and rebuilding on or near that site. However, that site appears to have no local funds, since Hennepin County doesn't support it and Rybak has said his city can't afford to pitch in. It's also possible that tearing down the dome would force the team to play at the University of Minnesota's stadium for several years, a prospect the team doesn't fancy.

Ramsey County has been negotiating with the team over a site near Interstate 35W and U.S. 10 at the shuttered Twin Cities Army Ammunitions Plant in Arden Hills. However, it's unclear how much progress those talks, which have been occurring in earnest for months, have made. Ramsey County officials have said they're growing impatient and are not interested in getting into a bidding war with Hennepin County.

I, personally, still think that the Ramsey County site is the best option. . .they appear to have been the most serious about getting involved with the stadium process thus far, and I really, really hope that the team doesn't end up ticking off Ramsey County the way they did to Anoka County a few years back.

But, we're finally getting more serious about a potential Vikings' stadium getting taken care of. Hopefully this can get through the legislature and we can stop listening to garbage about the "Los Angeles Vikings."

Permanently.