Today was the final day of the 2011 Minnesota legislative session. . .and, as you can probably gather from the lack of celebration and excitement around these parts, the legislature did not hear the Vikings' stadium bill before they shut down, meaning that the team will have to wait for a special session in order to get their bill heard and (hopefully) passed.
There will definitely be a special session of the legislature, as there was no budget agreed upon in the regular session, either, and something needs to be done before July to prevent the state government from completely shutting down. Because of that, one would think that this special session would come sooner rather than later.
The Vikings have basically ignored the overtures from Minneapolis to do a "Retrodome" stadium on the site of the current Metrodome, and have started focusing their efforts on the location of the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant in Arden Hills. The team and Ramsey County signed an agreement a few weeks ago that would fund a little more than 70% of the estimated $1 billion cost of the project, satisfying the state's demand that they find a local partner to help share in the financial burden for the project.
We will continue to monitor the stadium story for any new developments, and bring those developments to you as soon as we are able.