Vikings New Stadium: Minnesota House Approves Bill To Build
The first major step towards beginning construction of the Minnesota Vikings new stadium has been completed as the Minnesota House of Representatives approved a bill to build a new $975 million stadium in Minneapolis.
The House negotiated for eight hours on Monday before they finally approved the bill by a vote of 73-58. After an amendment was passed earlier in the day, raising the originally agreed-upon $427 million contribution from the Vikings to $532 million, the team was left with roughly 55% of the construction costs.
The agreement could ultimately result in the Vikings staying in Minnesota for the next 30 years and passing the House floor is widely considered to be the first big step towards sealing the deal.
Representative John Kriesel, who is in favor of the stadium, was quoted by FoxSportsNorth.com having said:
“I think we’re all committed to getting it done now. Big step here; we have never gotten this far. So, I’m excited where we’re at, but there is still work to be done. We need to get on this now.”
The next big step towards beginning construction on the Vikings new stadium will be to pass the bill in the Senate. After which point, the Senate and House versions of the bill would be worked out in a conference committee prior to returning to the House and Senate for another vote.
Once the final tally of the House was displayed on television screens outside of the Capitol, Vikings fans began a massive celebration which went on past 11:00 p.m. on Monday night. After the results were in, Governor Mark Dayton stated:
“The Voices of the people of Minnesota were heard tonight.”
What are your thoughts on the new Vikings stadium?
