$350 Million Plan Out The Window

Before we get too far into this, I want to tell each of you one thing:  Step away from that ledge.

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton sent alarmists into a frenzy on Tuesday when he made the unsurprising announcement that the State Legislator would not allow a Ramsey County sales tax to be a mechanism paying for about one-third of the Vikings stadium plan without a public vote.  This is a disappointing development for stadium supporters as the Metrodome lease expires on February 1st of this coming year and a vote would not be able to make it to the public until after that date.

While many are quick to label this is the final blow to Zygi Wilf’s stadium endeavor in Minnesota I immediately jumped over to ESPN’s website to see what Kevin Seifert had to say on the matter, as my experience has been that he has long been the most accurate predictor of the Vikings stadium woes.

Seifert doesn’t deny the severity of the issue but doesn’t seem overly surprised by the legislature’s decision not to raise taxes for a sports stadium when they refused to do so for schools and health.  He also points out that the $350 million is just one-third of the funding needed, and that perhaps another mechanism can be found before it is too late.

Much like the NFL lockout, or even DirecTV’s recent battle with FOX, these big money issues that are in the public eye tend to remain unresolved until the last possible moment.  The big question is whether or not the outcome will be a pleasing one when things finally break.

According to Seifert, Dayton plans to endorse both a stadium site and a funding mechanism by Monday, and that a pre-Thanksgiving special session addressing the issue is likely. 

November is looking to be a big month for the Vikings… no matter how many games they win or lose.

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