So with the Minnesota government finally figuring out its debt problems and convening a special legislative session to convert the compromise into law, the Vikings stadium will be be included in the package, right?
Wrong.
According to the Associated Press and other reports, the Vikings stadium bill won’t be considered during the special session aimed at resolving the budget issue. Governor Mark Dayton won’t commit to a second legislative session later in the year for addressing the issue.
“I haven’t decided. It’s not ready to be considered at this point,” Dayton said, per the AP. “We’ll have to see if negotiations proceed to a point where it can be. . . . I take calling a special session very seriously and something I would not do routinely. It would have to be circumstances that compel it, and, again, I don’t know whether those will occur or not.”
The Vikings aren’t happy.
“All I can tell you is that we are assessing our options,” V.P. of public affairs and stadium development Lester Bagley told the AP.
The Vikings are entering the final year of their Metrodome lease. Thus, leaving Minnesota likely is one of the options under consideration.