For months, the plan for the construction of a new stadium in Minnesota consisted of the state footing 33 percent of the bill, the locality in which the stadium is built kicking in another 33 percent, and the Vikings funding the final 33 percent.
With the project moving squarely into crunch time, the Vikings have demonstrated their interest in getting something done by increasing their share to at least 40 percent.
“The number’s going to be a lot higher than people have thought,” Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission chairman Ted Mondale said Friday, according to Mike Kaszuba and Rochelle Olson of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “It’s somewhere in the 40s -- 40 percent.”
If that last sentence isn’t a misstatement, it possibly means that the Vikings have moved to 40 percent for now, with the intention of going even higher. The Vikings reportedly would neither confirm nor deny the increased contribution, which of course means that Mondale’s comments were accurate.
A cynic would say that the Vikings had planned all along to bump their share up from 33 percent if/when necessary to move the process along.
It’s unclear how much progress has been made. On Friday, a reported emerged that the Vikings were “very, very close” to working out a deal with Ramsey County as the location for the stadium. But Minneapolis remains in the running, which is good news for the project, since it could spark a full-blown competition -- resulting in more money being coughed up by the local partner.
“We want to keep the Vikings in Minneapolis,” said Minneapolis City Council president Barbara Johnson. Minneapolis is expected to make an offer next week.
The clock remains to tick. The Minnesota Legislature remains in session only until May 23. That’s only 16 days away.