ST. PAUL — Today will be another big day at the Capitol for Vikings fans — as Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signs the stadium bill into law.

Dayton has been one of the biggest cheerleaders for the new $975 million project, which won final legislative approval Thursday after years of failed attempts.

The legislation commits the state to raising $348 million by allowing electronic pull-tabs and bingo in bars and restaurants. There are also backup funding measures such as a lottery game and luxury suite taxes.

Dayton plans to sign the bill at a noon ceremony at the Capitol. Minnesota Vikings owners, bill authors and leaders from the labor and business community will be on hand.

 

Vikes owners hint at retractable roof for stadium

The Metrodome always felt like a rental property for Zygi and Mark Wilf, two New Jersey real estate developers who purchased the Minnesota Vikings in 2005 with the hopes of moving out of the place as quickly as possible.

Now the Wilf brothers will have a home of their own, hopefully by the 2016 season.

One day after winning their seven-year fight for a new stadium, the Vikings owners started to lay out their vision for the $975 million project they hope will serve as a recruiting tool for free agents for decades.

They appear to be leaning toward footing the bill for a retractable roof, which could help them bring a Major League Soccer franchise to Minnesota. They also see a stadium and plaza with cutting-edge technology and lots of open spaces for fans to congregate.

“We’re going to try to get the maximum number of features within the budgets that we can make this a facility that is going to be exciting to the fans,” Mark Wilf said Friday. “We know it’s a competitive landscape to attract our fans to the facility and we’re going to want to make it something special. To the extent that (a retractable roof) can get there, we’re going to try to do it.”