By Tom Scheck

Minnesota Public Radio News

The Minnesota Vikings stadium debate is likely to be front and center when lawmakers return for the 2012 session in late January. Next year is also an election year, when every seat in the Legislature is on the ballot.

That could leave tough decisions for lawmakers who worry the Vikings could leave the state but who also see polls that show most Minnesotans oppose public funding for a stadium.

Gov. Mark Dayton has been consistent about his support for a new Vikings stadium. Throughout the 2010 campaign for governor, Dayton said that he supported a “people’s stadium” that would serve the needs of the public and the Vikings. He called again for a new stadium after he won the election even before he took the oath of office.

As to the anti-stadium sentiment reflected in the polls, Dayton said he’s pushing forward with the plan anyway “because it’s right for Minnesota.”

“It’s going to create thousands of jobs,” he said. “That’s the responsibility of leadership, to look beyond the immediate polling data and say what’s right for the state.”

While Dayton has already survived one election as a pro-stadium candidate, some people running for office now are running on their opposition to a new stadium.

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