Another day, another vote in regards to the new Minnesota Vikings stadium. The newest bill has passed tons of hurdles to get to the point it's currently at, and it looks like the next one is going to remain a Yes as well.
Friday, the Minneapolis City Council is expected to go to a vote on the bill, with the votes at present looking like they will end 7-6 in favor of it. Though the vote is close, an April vote had the same numbers and there has been little wavering around the council to make any waves. Good news for a bill that's been steaming along so far.
Meg Tuthill of the 10th Ward in particular has been adamant about her support of the new stadium plans, thanks to the stadium's ability to hold plenty of different events in addition to Vikings games:
"The other thing is I have never called this a Vikings stadium. I am not interested in single-use. I am very interested in multiuse. The large national conventions like AA. I know we have two religious organizations, I think the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians, that we're [working with] right now to have them come. I love having the Vikings fans come, but in all honesty, those folks are here for about four hours, the majority of them.
"But our conventions bring in folks for three or four days. Think about that. They're staying in our hotels, renting cars, eating in our restaurants, shopping, enjoying some of the other amenities that we have downtown like the Hennepin Theater District, it just makes economic sense. I'm very interested in that. Then of course there's the monster trucks, the NCAA [Final Four], we're hoping for another Super Bowl. There are other events. This is a stadium that is for multiple uses."
Perhaps the thought of hosting a Super Bowl in Minnesota alone should put the dollar signs in the eyes of the council members.
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