Growing skepticism over the state of Minnesota's financing plan for a new Vikings stadium has "created fresh and serious doubts about the project even before its first legislative committee hearing," according to Mike Kaszuba of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Gov. Mark Dayton and supporters of a new stadium scrambled yesterday to "blunt doubts that electronic bingo and pulltabs could raise enough money to pay the state's share" of the $975M project "without putting taxpayers at risk if gaming revenue falls short." Dayton and Revenue Commissioner Myron Frans over the weekend "reached out to charitable gambling officials to dull growing criticism" of the state's $398M financing proposal. Charities had "fought for years to increase their take from pulltabs and bingo, only to see stadium supporters take much of the new revenue to pay for a Vikings stadium." The impasse "left key legislators unsure about pressing forward, particularly those on House and Senate panels where the stadium legislation would get its first votes." One legislator said yesterday -- two days before the bill's first Senate hearing -- that the proposal was "being held together with 'duct tape.'" House Commerce & Regulatory Reform Committee Chair Joe Hoppe said, "I think people are going to have trouble voting for it if it's causing the charities heartache. There are ways to work it out -- I don't know exactly how" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 3/13).
