NFL News & Rumors Digest

ST. PAUL, Minn. (NFL/Newsfeed) — The Minnesota Vikings took a giant step Monday night toward a new taxpayer-subsidized football stadium when the state Home authorized legislation, but lawmakers upped the share the team would have to spend.

On a 73-58 vote, the $ 975 million stadium plan remained alive. The state Senate was to vote Tuesday on a competing program, moving the Vikings closer than ever to a replacement for the Metrodome.

Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton hailed the vote by thanking fans who have flooded lawmaker telephone lines, email inboxes and the Capitol itself to push for passage.

“The voices of the individuals of Minnesota were heard tonight,” Dayton said.

Vikings vice president Lester Bagley, who has spent about a decade attempting to get the team to this stage, mentioned franchise owners will discover it tough to stomach an amendment that would put the team on the hook for $ 105 million more.

“There’s time to work on it and get it fixed,” Bagley mentioned. “I don’t want to take away from the moment. It was a great day.”

Early in a nine-hour debate, the Residence overhauled the proposal to enhance the team’s share from the $ 427 million owners have committed to locate from private sources, including the NFL.

Rep. Larry Hosch told of being born in the course of a Vikings game, with his dad getting to break away from an overtime game to ferry his mom to the hospital. Hosch said he can’t fathom not possessing Sunday games to share with his own kids.

“It may well not make sense in dollars and cents,” Hosch stated, adding, “I can’t imagine a state with out the Vikings.”

Other people urged their colleagues not to let nostalgia cloud their decisions on a huge public subsidy.

“It’s like buying a residence and hoping you can make the payments,” mentioned Republican Rep. Mary Franson. “We are creating a stadium and we are hoping we can make the payments.”

The Vikings will play the upcoming season at the Metrodome but are free of charge to leave after that. The team hasn’t threatened to move, but fans worry they could relocate to Los Angeles or another city searching for its own football team.

Supporters weren’t ready to predict passage. The legislation appeared all but dead till NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell visited in April, raising pressure on lawmakers to act. Immediately after that, the bill limped through numerous committees.

(About:) This write-up was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For much more NFL news see: Minnesota Vikings stadium bill passes House, goes to Senate.

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (NFL/Newsfeed) — Minnesota Home Speaker Kurt Zellers could have been speaking for a lot of of his fellow lawmakers when he struggled to describe his position on a $ 1 billion Vikings stadium bill ahead of a vote that could be critical to the team’s future in the state.

“I won’t vote for it, but I want to see it pass,” the Republican mentioned in an interview late final week on sports radio.

With votes scheduled Monday on a huge public payout, 200 lawmakers are below pressure from plenty of people who oppose the project — but be concerned they will be blamed if it fails. A defeat this week, even though not fatal, would accelerate fears that the state could lose its most beloved team.

The Vikings haven’t openly threatened to leave Minnesota, and are committed to playing in the 30-year-old Metrodome this season. But stadium boosters, led by Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, say punting on the proposal could set up a nightmare three-peat for Minnesota sports fanatics. After all, the state lost the NBA’s Lakers to Los Angeles in 1960 and the NHL’s North Stars to Dallas in 1993.

“Nobody wants the Vikings to leave the state of Minnesota. Nobody desires that to happen,” mentioned Rep. Sarah Anderson, a suburban Minneapolis Republican who is undecided how she’ll vote on Monday. “It’s just a matter of figuring out regardless of whether this package will perform and is a good deal for our taxpayers.”

Stadium support doesn’t break down neatly — it has Democratic and Republican backers, but also a lot of opponents in both parties.

Fiscally conservative Republicans loathe the potential handout, but the celebration’s business wing wants to preserve a beneficial asset in the city’s core. Democrats — particularly the party’s labor base — crave the thousands of hardhat jobs that would come with a new stadium.

The Vikings would have to kick in $ 427 million — which isn’t enough for some lawmakers.

“I’m concerned about regardless of whether the owner is footing enough of the bill,” stated Sen. Julianne Ortman, the Senate’s deputy Republican leader. “I’m truly concerned that what we’ve got is a minority partner in this project dictating the terms, wagging the dog if you will.”

Vikings fans have roamed the Capitol for days, adorned with face paint, horned helmets and purple-and-gold superhero costumes. Schoolchildren on field trips have shown up to the Capitol in jerseys. The team even brought out star operating back Adrian Peterson late final month to glad-hand lawmakers.

Some would-be opponents are tripped up by their fandom. Rep. Chris Swedzinski, a Republican from rural southwestern Minnesota and a probably yes vote, stated some of his most hard-proper constituents want the stadium. He called it “a beast all on its personal.”

“I’ve got folks that I know are active in the tea party that have mentioned, you know, I’m going to suspend my rational believed right now, Chris,” Swedzinski mentioned. “I know what I think and I know where this country’s headed if we continue down this path – but don’t lose the Vikings.”

Stadium supporters say even if the bill isn’t best, it’s time to settle the problem.

“At this time, in this political climate, it’s almost certainly the very best we can do,” mentioned Rep. Paul Marquart, a Democrat from northwestern Minnesota. “We’re fourth and inches. Let’s push this point across the objective line.”

If the bill passes the Property (it can be read at http://bit.ly/Vikingsbill), it will go to the state Senate. Several amendments are expected to be provided, and a lengthy debate is most likely.

(About:) This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For far more NFL news see: Minnesota pols in difficult position as Vikings stadium vote nears.

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Minneapolis (NFL/Newsfeed) – Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman rebuffed the notion that he “fleeced” the Cleveland Browns by trading the No. three choose in the 2012 NFL Draft, allowing Cleveland to pick former Alabama operating back Trent Richardson.

In the wake of Friday’s first large draft-day deal, some reports speculated that the Browns could have taken Richardson with the No. 4 pick they originally held since the Vikings had been bluffing about other feasible trades.

“We did have offers on the table, I can tell you that. I’m not going to tell you who or what. But I will say Cleveland did the right thing,” Spielman told the St. Paul Pioneer Press on Monday.

“I think each teams benefited from that trade,” Spielman said. “Cleveland got a really special operating back (Trent Richardson), and it’s very essential for their offense — and I feel we were able to achieve what we wanted.”

The Vikings took former USC left tackle Matt Kalil with the No. 4 pick. They also received fourth-, fifth- and seventh-round picks from the Browns.

Spielman sounded really pleased with the option of Kalil.

“You look at the totally free-agent industry every year,” he told the newspaper. “You’ve observed some pretty excellent receivers who hit the market place this year. You’ve noticed some corners who hit the industry this year. But I can’t remember when a premier left tackle ever has been out there to hit the industry. That’s the other piece of it that you think about.”

(About:) This write-up was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For much more NFL news see: Spielman says Vikings had other offers on table for No. three choose.

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Anybody who believed the specter of a Minnesota Vikings move to Los Angeles would be the elephant in the space Friday when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met with Minnesota lawmakers were getting naive: The topic was very significantly talked about.

Gov. Mark Dayton himself confirmed that, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“One of us — a legislator — brought the topic up,” the governor mentioned following the meeting. The NFL “said they would like to have a team in Los Angeles (and) they would like to have it not be the Vikings,” he added.

State Sen. Julie Rosen, sponsor of a stadium bill approved by an initial committee on Friday, also said a potential move to the West Coast was discussed.

“There is no ultimatum, but we did clearly talk about L.A. We did clearly speak about that is an open market,” Rosen mentioned.

“I do think there is a feeling in some legislators and even in some people throughout the state that they would by no means leave. So it was excellent to hear from the NFL, and from a extremely prominent owner, that they do have the right to move or be sold.”

Goodell and Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II, head of the league’s stadium committee, had been in Minnesota on Friday to pressure lawmakers into moving forward after a state House committee voted down a $ 975 million new stadium proposal earlier in the week.

Although the Vikings will play next season in the Metrodome, their lease there has expired, and the facility is not considered adequate for NFL use in the future.

(About:) This write-up was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more NFL news see: Could Minnesota Vikings adhere to Lakers in moving to L.A.?.

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A Minnesota Senate committee narrowly approved a public subsidy on Friday to support the Vikings create a new football stadium, reviving the team’s struggling effort just hours immediately after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell visited the state Capitol to jumpstart what had been a stalled stadium debate.

The Senate’s Neighborhood Government and Elections Committee passed the bill on an 8-6 vote following a hearing that stretched nearly four hours. Although the stadium bill nevertheless faces a lengthy haul in the waning days of Minnesota’s legislative session, the committee’s vote gave it new life four days after a companion bill’s defeat in a House committee sparked near panic amongst supporters.

“We’re very pleased with the progress and that the bill moved forward,” Lester Bagley, the Vikings’ vice president for stadium improvement, stated right after the Senate committee vote. “It’s been an up and down week, touch and go.”

The setback in the House had prompted the go to Friday by Goodell. He ad Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II met Friday morning with Gov. Mark Dayton and legislative leaders to anxiety the urgency of resolving the Vikings’ decade-lengthy pursuit of a replacement for the Metrodome.

Though the Vikings will play subsequent season in the dome, their lease there has expired. That has raised fears the franchise could get snatched by Los Angeles or another city seeking its personal football team — a prospect Goodell did not precisely squelch.

“They were here fundamentally to say, `This is it folks,”‘ Dayton stated following the meeting.

The Senate bill moves on to the Jobs and Financial Growth Committee, Vikings director of corporate communications Jeff Anderson wrote on Twitter. Anderson mentioned the bill nevertheless had a couple of committees to pass before it would be place to a floor vote.

“This is a positive step but several a lot more remain,” Anderson wrote in response to an inquiry on the bill’s status.

Lawmakers are hoping to wrap up their session before the finish of April, and even Bagley acknowledged “there’s not that considerably time left.”

(About:) This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For a lot more NFL news see: Minnesota Senate committee OKs Vikings stadium subsidy bill.

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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton on Wednesday that there would be “serious consequences” for the Vikings if a stadium bill is not completed.

A Minnesota Home committee voted down a bill on Monday that would have offered for a new stadium at the internet site of the Metrodome, leaving the Vikings’ long-term fate up in the air. The team is committed to playing in the Metrodome for the 2012 season, even even though its lease expired last year.

According to the St. Paul Pioneer-Press, Eric Grubman, the NFL’s executive vice president of ventures and organization operations, said the scenario was “ripe for change.”

“I don’t know if that means a sale. I don’t know if that implies a move. You have a quite dejected ownership,” Grubman stated.

In an interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune, Grubman said “there are plenty of willing buyers.”

“I assume the Wilfs do not want to sell the franchise, but I think there is a point exactly where they almost certainly would be open-minded to listening to options,” he said. “To my information, they have not been prepared to do that at this point … I doubt the commissioner would put probablilities or threaten or anything like that. But I would not be shocked if the commissioner tells the governor, if he asks, what other cities are interested in the Vikings because we are aware of that.”

If a deal isn’t reached this year for a new stadium in Minnesota, Grubman stated he believes the league’s criteria for approving relocation of the franchise would be met.

“Who’s holding this up?” Grubman asked. “Who doesn’t want this to be voted on? Stand up and be counted.”

Roger Chamberlain, a state senator who introduced a competing bill to shift significantly of the stadium cost from the taxpayers to the Vikings, answered the league’s concern.

“It’s disappointing to believe the NFL or the Vikings are driving policy for Minnesota government,” Chamberlain wrote in an e-mail. “They need to be willing to come back to the table and negotiate. The Vikings and NFL are in a significantly far better economic position than our state.”

Dayton holds out hope a bill can be reached this year, if not just before the finish of the session, then perhaps in a particular session after the November elections.

Goodell has yet another phone call scheduled for Thursday with Dayton and Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II, who chairs the league’s stadium committee.

(About:) This report was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For far more NFL news see: Goodell: Minn. faces ‘serious consequences’ over stadium bill.

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The Vikings, Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota finalized a bill Wednesday night that would location a new football stadium at the existing internet site of the Metrodome in time for the 2016 season, ProFootballTalk.com. reported.

The sides called a press conference for Thursday at 9 a.m. neighborhood time at the state Capitol in St. Paul, according to the Star Tribune.

If a bill is finalized and later passed by state lawmakers (and approved by the NFL), the proposed stadium would expense $ 975 million, and would open in time for the 2016 season.

Until then the team would have to play at Mall of America Field and TCF Bank Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota. The Metrodome would be torn down.

The Minnesota Legislature is scheduled to adjourn its present session in late April.

(About:) This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more NFL news see: Report: Deal reached on bill for new Vikings stadium in 2016.

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The Minnesota Vikings announced Saturday that George Paton is becoming promoted from director of player personnel to assistant common manager.

Paton has been a single of GM Rick Spielman’s most trusted advisors for years. He worked alongside Spielman with the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins before coming to the Vikings in 2007.

The St. Louis Rams expressed interest in Paton for their vacant GM position, but Paton ultimately pulled his name out of the running to remain in Minnesota. The Rams later agreed to terms with Atlanta Falcons director of player personnel Les Snead to become their GM.

Spielman was promoted to GM earlier this offseason, giving him full manage of football operations.

Spielman praised Paton’s “work ethic, leadership, professionalism and keen eye for identifying talented football players” in a statement announcing that he would stay with the Vikings.

“George has been an integral component of our personnel department since he arrived in 2007,” Spielman said. “His work ethic, leadership, professionalism and keen eye for identifying talented football players will continue to be a major asset for our organization as we take on the challenges of competing in the NFC North and winning the Super Bowl.”

(About:) This write-up was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more NFL news see: Paton spurns Rams to stay with Vikings as assistant GM.

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