As the process of getting a new Vikings stadium built in Minnesota moves toward official consideration by the Legislature, any and all proposed plans for a new venue must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. CT on Thursday.
According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, there’s an eleventh-hour contender.
The city of Shakopee (it’s not easy resisting a juvenile remark here) and its 32-year-old, newly-arrived mayor, Brad Tabke, hope to get into the bidding. “We think that this stadium is one of the easiest solutions. We know that there are a lot of problems with other locations,” Tabke said at a news conference on Wednesday.
“The timing is obviously difficult,” Vikings spokesman Jeff Anderson said. “It’s our belief that it’s time to narrow the sites down to one rather than add additional locations.”
The other proposals will include the team’s preferred location at Arden Hills, Ramsey County, and only one possible project in Minneapolis. Unfortunately for the Vikings, Minneapolis plans to submit the one proposal that the Vikings dislike the most: a $907 million renovation of the Metrodome.
During senate hearings late last year, the powers-that-be twisted the team’s arm to consider Minneapolis locations, and the Vikings were warming up to two possibilities. With Minneapolis submitting the one the Vikings don’t want, the entire process has an even more awkward feel as it moves toward a build-or-get-off-the-bidet moment.
