Politics & Government

District 44 Reps Vote Yes on Vikings Stadium

Rep. Steve Simon and Rep. Ryan Winkler both supported the plan Monday.

(CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Rep. Steve Simon’s vote on the proposal. Simon actually voted in favor of a new stadium. We regret the error.)

 

After a session of deliberation, District 44 Reps. Steve Simon (DFL-District 44A) and Ryan Winkler (DFL-District 44B) both wound up voting to build a new Vikings stadium in downtown Minneapolis, according to the House Journal.

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The local legislators were among 40 DFLers who helped the proposal clear the House on a 73-58 vote late Monday.

Winkler was initially skeptical about the project but announced before the vote that he planned to support the plan.

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“It has become clear, however, that the current political environment of the state capitol is not capable of producing any other job or economic growth initiative besides the Vikings stadium bill. We face a choice, at the end of the legislative session, between doing nothing or spending our limited resources on a project with a limited return on investment,” he . “Yet, as voters experience in every election, politics often comes down to a choice between two imperfect options. I have decided that a flawed plan for creating jobs in Minnesota is better than no plan at all.”

The stadium project is expected to go before the Senate as early as Tuesday. At a town hall earlier this year, Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-District 44) spelled out a three-part test any stadium plan would have to meet to earn his support.

The project would have to:

  • Take advantage of existing infrastructure
  • Minimize the public investment
  • Ensure the public gets a return on the investment, specifically a declining public share in the team should the Vikings be sold off early.


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