Vikings to a Plot of Land East of the Metrodome?

Can you feel the excitement?

There could be news today or Friday about new plans to build a Vikings stadium along the back side of the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis, Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission Chairman Ted Mondale said Thursday morning.

An agreement involving the Vikings, Minneapolis and the state would lay the foundation for a bill to be introduced this session.

Vikings Vice President Lester Bagley agreed there could be an announcement soon, although he couldn't say exactly when. "We're making good progress," he said. "There are a couple issues left to clean up. It's a complicated agreement."

An agreement, eh? Kinda like what Tony "Charmin" Bennett had, right?

Well, maybe this time it's for real. You never know. We get this cautionary note from Ted Mondale:

"There are five to seven items we need to button up," Mondale said, adding: "We hope to have an announcement for you in the next couple of days."

A potential translation, for those of you who do not speak Mondalese -- in this context, "items" could mean "Minneapolis City Council members."

There are a number of things to remember. First, the city of Minneapolis charter limits the amount of money the city can spend for stadia to an amount that's about the equivalent cost of a highball at Hubert's, unless there is a referendum on the matter. It's worth noting that even the threat of a referendum pretty much killed Bennett's legacy quest in Arden Hills. So the local financing portion is pretty dodgy.

Second, the White Earth tribe is willing to be the deus ex machina/ATM for the deal, but good luck with getting their proposal past the tribes that run the other metro-area gaming ventures and their protectors in the lege. And even if the White Earth tribe and its supporters are able to thread that needle, will the money they would ostensibly generate cover the state's portion of the financing, or the portion that is supposedly the responsibility of Minneapolis? One would assume that the White Earth portion would be the state's ante.

One other question that has yet to be addressed -- if the White Earth are going to build a casino, where would they build it? By the Dome? Block E? Last I checked, you don't have to pay for parking at Mystic Lake or Treasure Island. There's not a lot of free parking in downtown Minneapolis. Or are the high rollers going to arrive on the light rail line?

Perhaps the agreement could allow building the casino someplace else. They might want to consider Arden Hills; rumor has it there's a lot of land out there. 

In other words, you may hear about an "agreement" tomorrow or in the next few days. But until and unless a lot of other things happen, the agreement will mean about as much as the tattered papers that Tony Bennett ruefully clutches in his hand.