The Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting that a deal on a proposed Minnesota Vikings stadium on the site of the old Twin Cities Army Ammunition dump is coming closer to fruition.
The most intriguing part of the story, in my opinion, is this:
Sources reported Wednesday that stadium negotiators had dropped the cost of the $1 billion proposed project by nearly $200 million, the Vikings had upped their contribution from $407 million and the state, Ramsey County and the team had resolved who would own and operate the stadium in suburban Arden Hills.
The cost has magically gone down by $200 million? Strange. . .that's about what it would cost to put a roof on a new stadium. While I think it's unlikely that the new Vikings' stadium would be built without a roof of some sort, since that would significantly limit its use, I am intrigued to find out how, exactly, the price went from around $1 billion to closer to $800 million.
In any case, it appears that something is finally going to get done and be ready to present to a special session of the Minnesota legislature, whenever that special session takes place. Considering that the entire government will shut down on Friday if a budget deal isn't reached, one would think that it would have to be sometime soon.