SB Nation Minnesota - Vikings Stadium: Senate Approves Plan, But Again Makes Amendments

Vikings Stadium: Stadium Conference Committee To Meet At 9 PM

2012-05-10T00:00:04Z

After earlier stating that the House could "likely to possibly" meet on Wednesday night to discuss the most recent stadium proposal bill for the Minnesota Vikings, there is now at least one official meeting that will take place on Wednesday night. The Stadium Conference Committee will meet at 9 pm to discuss all things Vikings' stadium.

Stadium Conference Committee meets at 9 pm TONIGHT in 15 Capitol.
— Jodi Boyne (@jkboyne) May 9, 2012

The meeting will be an open meeting according to DFL representative Terry Morrow and will be broadcast live on Twin Cities Public Television on channel 2.2.

"@tptAlmanac: #Vikings Conference Committee meets at 9 tonight. Watch live on @tpt MN Channel 2.2 #tptalmanac #mnleg #mngop #dfl"
— Mary Lahammer (@mlahammer) May 9, 2012

The House is expected to discuss the stadium but nothing is set in stone, although it appears that there is a strong possibility that it will be addressed.

The #mnleg House is expected to meet at 10 pm and may take up the #Vikings stadium bill, which may not be public until an hour before.
— R. Stassen-Berger (@RachelSB) May 9, 2012

Be sure to stay with SB Nation Minnesota's StoryStream for any news on the Vikings' stadium situation. For more on the Vikings, head over to Daily Norseman. And for more NFL coverage, be sure to check out SB Nation's NFL hub.

Vikings Stadium: House "Likely To Possibly Take Up Stadium" At 10 PM

2012-05-09T23:13:15Z

As of Wednesday night, it seems that the Minnesota House of Representatives will maybe consider talking about the latest version of the Vikings stadium bill...maybe. As of the time of this post, the House decided to take a recess until 10 pm on Wednesday night prior to "possibly" talking about the stadium proposal.

House calls recess until 10pm Rep Dean says "likely to possibly take up stadium" #vikings #mnleg @tpt #tptalmanac
— Mary Lahammer (@mlahammer) May 9, 2012

Originally, it was assumed that the House and Senate both had a 12-hour waiting rule on proposed bills, but the House utilized Joint Rule 3.01 which states that either House or Senate may suspend the Joint Rules by a vote of two-thirds.

It has been made clear that the House will take it's time while debating the bill and will be sure to address it when they are ready, whether that is Wednesday night or at a later date.

#mnleg House Speaker Zellers said the #Vikings bill will come up when it's ready, could be tonight...or not.
— R. Stassen-Berger (@RachelSB) May 9, 2012

Vikings Stadium: Amendment Challenging NFL Blackouts Likely To Be Eliminated

2012-05-09T19:55:26Z

The Minnesota Vikings stadium bill underwent quite a few changes over the past couple of days as it made its way through the House and Senate, but not all of the amendments are expected to stick. Which amendments get thrown out will be decided when the parties meet for a conference committee, but the one regarding the NFL's blackout policy is almost certainly being eliminated.

It isn't easy to change something the NFL implements all over the league, unfortunately, something the amendment's originator acknowledged while talking to the Pioneer Press on Wednesday.

Sen. Roger Chamberlain, R-Lino Lakes, expects his amendment to die when House and Senate lawmakers mesh competing bills in conference committee. But he felt compelled to include it anyway. He said it was "archaic" how the NFL bans home games from being televised in a home team's market if they are not sold out within 72 hours.

It's unfortunate that it'll be thrown out, too, as Chamberlain's reason for including it makes a lot of sense.

"Economic studies have shown that blackouts do not increase game-day attendance and in the end they deprive fans the opportunity from watching a game," Chamberlain said Wednesday, May 9. "If we're going to pay for the team to have a stadium to make money why not take away blackouts, which have no economic effect."

It'll be interesting to see which other amendments make their way into the bill before it reaches the governor's desk considering so much time was spent on them prior to voting on the actual bill.

Vikings New Stadium Closer To Reality After Senate Passes Bill

2012-05-09T12:28:06Z

Two days worth of good news is something we haven't seen in a while regarding the Minnesota Vikings and their need for a new stadium. Fortunately for fans of the Vikings, they got a boost in their hopes as the Minnesota Senate followed the House of Representatives' lead and passed a bill authorizing the use of over $500 million from the state for a new Stadium to be built.

There were hours upon hours of debate on the subject in the Senate before the bill was passed, and it got to the point where it looked like they might even be in danger of their 7 a.m. deadline being too soon. In the end, they got their bill though filled with amendments that were different from the House's companion bill.

With time running short in the legislative session, the bills now head to a House-Senate conference committee to resolve the differences. A compromise bill would need a second approval in both chambers before heading to the desk of DFL Gov. Mark Dayton, who has led the charge for a new Vikings stadium to replace the Metrodome.

One of the biggest changes between the two versions was the Senate's bill shifting $25 million of the proposed money spent on the Stadium over to the Vikings from the state. The House's version had $105 million shifted. The Senate also spent a large amount of time pushing for 'user fees' inside the Stadium being used to add to costs rather than the charitable gambling that had previously been in the bill.

Time is running out on the Legislative session, so they'll need to hurry if we want a resolution to the now quickly moving events of the Vikings Stadium drama.

For more on the Minnesota Vikings as their Stadium Issues continue to filter through the local government, head over to The Daily Norseman. More news and analysis on the NFL in general can be found at sbnation.com/NFL.

Vikings Stadium Bill Update: After Many Hours Of Debate, Senate Vote Coming

2012-05-09T04:34:56Z

The amended Vikings stadium bill passed through the House and on to the Senate in the eleventh hour on Monday night. On Tuesday, there have been nearly 11 hours of debating on the amendments and there are conflicting reports as to whether or not closing remarks have taken place and a vote is near. Whatever may be the case, reporters on the scene are confident a vote is getting closer:

They WILL get it done, however it may be 6:59AM RT @TC__15:What are the odds that this doesnt get resolved by the 7 am deadline?
— Aj Mansour(@AjMansourKFAN) May 9, 2012

AJ Mansour may have been joking, because he is now saying that a final vote may get done within the next hour.

Minnesota Stadium Bill Update: Senate Amendment To Increase Vikings' Share By $25 Million

2012-05-08T20:48:32Z

The Minnesota Senate passed an amendment to the Minnesota Vikings stadium bill on Tuesday, representing an apparent compromise with the House's largely unpopular plan that was revealed on Monday evening.

The Senate amendment is set to increase the Vikings' share by $25 million, lowering the state's stadium contribution from $398 million to $373 million. Political reporter Tom Hauser of Twin Cities station KSTP broke the news on Twitter Tuesday afternoon:

Increasing Vikings share of stadium by $25 million in the Senate seems to be compromise with the House $105 million increase.
— Tom Hauser (@5hauser) May 8, 2012

A Vikings spokesman recently called the House's $105 million increase 'unworkable', but an $80 million decline by the Senate's proposed plan certainly appears viable for all parties. The Senate is reportedly set to review roughly 50 amendments throughout a busy Tuesday, so stick right here with SB Nation Minnesota for more updates as they happen.

Minnesota Vikings Stadium: Senate Debate Continues

2012-05-08T19:21:31Z

After a four-hour delay, the Minnesota state senate is debating the Minnesota Vikings' stadium bill. This debate could continue on into the evening as there are more than 50 amendments to the bill according to reports.

Eric Durkee, a Vikings public relations and stadium development employee tweeted this picture of the debate:

#newMNstadium bill being discussed in Senate. Over 50 amendments. twitter.com/durkeee/status…
— Eric Durkee (@durkeee) May 8, 2012

If the bill passes, then the a joint House/Senate committee will have to reconcile the differences between the different versions of the bill before it lands on the governor's desk to sign into law.

One key point raised by stadium supporters is the importance of keeping the Vikings in Minnesota. Some dismiss this idea as a scare tactic, while stadium supporters are legitimately worried about the Vikings long-term stability in Minnesota.

Sen Michel (R): "We don't want the Vikings to leave. We want to take the wheels off this franchise and have them here for our grandkids"
— Jeff Goldberg (@jgoldbergfox9) May 8, 2012

Sen Marty (DFL): "The NFL needs a team here, and frankly that's why they're not going to move"
— Jeff Goldberg (@jgoldbergfox9) May 8, 2012

Those interested in the senate debate can watch it online on the senate's UStream channel.

This SB Nation Minnesota story stream will have updates as they break. For more on the Minnesota Vikings, go to Daily Norseman.

Minnesota Vikings Spokesman Calls New Stadium Bill 'Unworkable'

2012-05-08T14:41:43Z

Minnesota Vikings spokesman Lester Bagley has dubbed the new Vikings stadium bill "unworkable."

Bagley made the comment after the Minnesota House made heavy revisions to the original plan, including a big increase on the amount of money the Vikings are expected to pay.

On Thursday morning, Sports Radio 100.3 tweeted:

Bagley: "We made it very clear that [this amendment] violates a negotiated agreement...that particular provision is unworkable." #Vikings
— KFAN1003 (@KFAN1003) May 8, 2012

The amendment in question, added to the bill Monday, stipulates that the team must pay an additional $105 million for the stadium, and that naming rights revenue be divvied up between the team and the public .

The Pioneer Press put it thus:

An amendment introduced by Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, passed 97-31. It lowers the state's contribution by $105 million and raises the team's by that amount, and allows the public to share in naming rights revenue, which had been assigned to the team.

The Senate is hearing a different version -- according to the Pioneer Press, it's a significantly different version -- of the bill Tuesday.

This SB Nation Minnesota story stream will have updates as they break. For more on the Minnesota Vikings, go to Daily Norseman. You can also get all of your professional football news over at SB Nation's NFL hub.