A Republican legislator this week floated a plan to seek a constitutional amendment to allow slot machines at Minnesota’s two horse tracks to fund construction of a new Vikings football stadium.
Rep. Tom Hackbarth, R-Cedar, proposed a plan that is similar to one suggested earlier this year that called for construction of a new casino to raise the funds needed for a new National Football League stadium.
The Vikings currently play at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins recently played their last game under the dome as a new, non-enclosed ballpark, Target Field, is under construction and set to open in the spring. The University of Minnesota Gophers football team also previously used the Metrodome but now have a new stadium of their own.
While state lawmakers have approved funding plans for those two teams, a stadium funding package has eluded the NFL’s Vikings. The team has said it would contribute about $250 million towards the cost of building an estimated $950 million stadium.
