Football

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Senate pushes user fees to help pay for Vikes stadium

By: Brian Bakst

Posted: 05/9/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Senate pushed more Vikings stadium financing costs in the direction of the team and fans Tuesday as supporters grasped for extra votes to keep the proposal alive.

Ahead of a critical vote on the nearly $1 billion facility, senators revamped a longstanding stadium plan to impose a collection of user fees while also increasing the upfront private contribution by $25 million.

Passage by the Senate would set up final negotiations and precede a new round of votes by the Legislature. The House approved a bill Monday that requires the team to kick in $532 million toward the stadium -- $105 million above what a franchise official previously called a "set in stone" ceiling.

It was clear stadium supporters wanted to turn to offence rather than defence as the bill reached the Senate. It was Sen. Julie Rosen, the stadium bill sponsor, who promoted user fees on suites, parking and Vikings merchandise. Another backer pushed for the higher team contribution, and that amendment was approved unanimously.

The user fee amendment -- adopted on a 40-26 vote -- would levy a 10 per cent fee on suites and on parking within a half-mile of the stadium, and impose a 6.875 per cent fee on Vikings clothing, trading cards and other memorabilia.

Sen. Dave Thompson, R-Lakeville, said the deal to date has been negotiated by people too willing to please the team.

"When stadium proponents are putting things on that make the deal less appealing to the Vikings, you wonder if it's been put on just for the purpose of attracting votes and then getting pulled out in conference committee," said Thompson, the leader of the conservative faction within the Senate GOP caucus. "But I guess time will tell."

Earlier Tuesday, a Vikings executive warned state lawmakers against making major changes to the financing proposal, saying they risked losing the team's support for the deal. Vice-President Lester Bagley criticized changes made by the House when it passed the bill on Monday, particularly a provision that shifted more cost from the state to the team.

"People who are opposed to this are going to do all they can to muck this up," Bagley said.

Bagley pointed to a bill for a new Twins ballpark that cleared the Legislature in 2002, only to fall apart later. It took the team another four years to win legislative support for a workable bill.

Bagley didn't immediately return a call from The Associated Press.

Though the Vikings have misgivings about the changes the House made to the bill, its approval Monday marked the team's first victory in its years-long quest for a new stadium. Bagley called it "the first hurdle" in a process.

Bagley said the team's owners aren't prepared to shell out $105 million more beyond a prior $427 million private commitment toward construction of the stadium.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 9, 2012 C7

Factual inaccuracy? Something missing? Help improve our journalism.

Know about news? Share your story suggestions, photos and video.

Spelling error? Punctuation problem? Send us an email if you’ve found a typo.

More Football

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.