The Minnesota Vikings and their stadium is now officially green-lit. Of course, until the actual stadium is built and operational, there's danger of speaking too soon, given the scope of something this large. Still, there's cause for celebration, as Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed off on the bill that calls for a $975 million stadium in Minneapolis.
Dayton held a special ceremony to put pen to paper, and according to the Associated Press, not everybody at the event was happy with the whole thing - but that's this government at work, right? Detractors did everything they could to get it shut down, but in the end, the state and city's will to keep the team in Minnesota prevailed:
With team owners Zygi and Mark Wilf looking on, Dayton signed the bill to mostly cheers, whistles and chants of `Skol, Vikings,' the NFL team's fight song. However, one protester yelled "Shame on you! Shame on you!" as the governor put pen to paper - underscoring the strong opposition by some critics who said taxpayers shouldn't have to shoulder so much of the cost of the new venue.
Most detractors simply don't want their tax dollars paying for a new stadium. Then again, those people are generally in the crowd of folks who don't really look at the positives of such a deal, but that's a discussion for another time. There were plenty of protesters on hand - some of which had signs.
As it stands, most of the state's portion will come through a form of electronic gambling of sorts, so there is definitely some misinformation out there. Maybe the gamblers were protesting? On a more serious note, it was definitely a momentous occasion for the state of Minnesota. There was plenty of talk that the Vikings would be on their way out (perhaps to the Los Angeles stadium?) if they didn't get a new stadium to replace the Metrodome.
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