Minnesota Legislature Votes To Hand Over $800 Million So Shitty Football Team Can Build Shitty New Stadium

After several failed proposals and years of threats to relocate, it looks like the Vikings will be staying in Minnesota. The state Senate today passed a bill that would make way for a $975 million stadium, with the Vikings owners kicking in $50 million—a whole $50 million!—more than they had been saying they could. Gov. Mark Dayton is expected to approve the measure, which would keep the team in Minneapolis for the next 30 years, by which point pro football will have been sued into oblivion and Ultimate Frisbee will be our national pastime.

Here's a cost breakdown from Field of Schemes:

• The state will put in $348 million, either from electronic pulltab gambling proceeds or from stadium user fees if that's not enough. • The city of Minneapolis will put in $150 million in cash plus $189 million over 30 years for operating costs, a total that (counting the cost of borrowing the money, since the taxes to pay for it will be tied up paying off the convention center for the next few years) should come to around $375-525 million in present value. • The Vikings will put in $477 million, plus $327 million over 30 years for operating expenses. The team will get 100% revenue from NFL events, while the city and state will get money from the occasional monster truck rally.

So the politicians get to brag about keeping the team from moving to Los Angeles, and owners Zygi and Mark Wilf get taxpayers to foot a sizable portion of the bill. This is shitty, all around.

Minn. Senate vote clears Vikings for new stadium [AP] Vikings agree to accept only $800m in stadium subsidies [Field of Schemes]