Michel Helps Vikings Stadium Bill Clear Senate

Sen. Geoff Michel (R-Edina) joined 37 other state senators in passing a Vikings stadium bill late Tuesday night.

With the 38-28 vote, the plan will now head to a House-Senate conference committee to iron out any remaining issues. The Star Tribune reports both the House and Senate bumped up the amount the Vikings would pay—the House to $532 million, the Senate to $452.

The team has proposed $427 million.

In addition to changing the state's overall contribution, the Senate also tweaked how that money would be raised, adding a series of user fees on things like tickets and parking that would supplement money raised from expanded gambling, the Star Tribune notes.

The conference committee will be responsible for reconciling the two bills and producing a final bill for both chambers to vote on. If the House and Senate pass that final bill, it will go to Gov. Mark Dayton's desk for a signature.

Michel urged his fellow legislators to vote for the bill, making it clear he did not want to chance the Vikings leaving Minnesota for greener pastures.

"We want to take the wheels off this franchise and keep them for our children and grandchildren," Michel said. "I don't want to cheer for the Green Bay Packers. I don't want to cheer for the Chicago Bears. We need an NFL franchise in Minnesota."

Michel broke from his fellow District 41 legislators on the stadium bill, as Reps. Keith Downey and Pat Mazorol both voted against the plan in the House.

The House bill passed late Monday by a 73-58 vote.

In a , Downey said his passion for the Vikings doesn't mean the state should "put Minnesota judgment on the shelf."

"I am a lifelong Vikings fan and don't want them leaving Minnesota. But I voted against the current stadium bill, and barring major changes to the bill in conference committee will not support its final passage," Downey wrote. "In a nutshell, it is too big, too fancy, too expensive, the state funding doesn’t work, and the state is on the hook for the entire $600+ million of public financing until Minneapolis starts to help pay back the debt in 2021."

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