Stadium quotes show little heat
If the Vikings stadium issue is heating up, then why are so many folks playing it cool? It was hard to feel much warmth at the Capitol today and even harder to get folks to talk about the subject. But a few key lawmakers did, and here are some of their comments:
"We've had discussions, informal discussions, with the Vikings and others but we haven't been in contact with them about a specific proposal." -- Gov. Tim Pawlenty
"We don't even have a draft of any kind of legislation. We've just talked about some potential new revenue streams that are really user related, Vikings-fans related, that we think can build an open air stadium." -- Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook
"I think it has to be absolutely revenue neutral from the state's standpoint. And I think it has to be based on folks who are actually going to the games versus just normal taxpayers out buying goods and services and paying sales tax that's going to fund the stadium." -- House Minority Leader Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove
"We've had some very preliminary discussions with the Vikings on it. But the first concentration has to be the budget." -- Rep. Loren Solberg, DFL-Grand Rapids
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