Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome - Deal, or No Deal

So, do we have a deal?

A tentative deal has been reached to build a Minnesota Vikings stadium near the site of the team's current home, the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis.

The tentative deal was reached Wednesday night, sources confirmed. A news conference laying out the details is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday at the Capitol.

Word of the agreement emerged after a working group met behind closed doors at the Capitol.

The parties were said to have reached a tentative deal nearly two weeks ago. But stumbling blocks remained, apparently over how to divide the costs, how the parties would divide stadium revenue from non-NFL events and over the design of a large plaza-like park that would be built on the downtown side of the new stadium.

So if there's a deal in place, that must mean the Minneapolis City Council is on board, right? Oh, wait:

Even if the bill were to pass at the Capitol, the deal still could need approval by the Minneapolis City Council. At least seven of the council's 13 members are on record as opposing the city's participation in a stadium deal without putting it to the people for a vote.

Guess not. I'm sure Mayor R. T. Rybak has things in hand, though. Oh, well, it shouldn't be difficult to flip one of the seven in opposition, especially since the other six are strongly on board, right?

Rybak is pushing the stadium deal, which has so far garnered support from all three council members who represent north Minneapolis -- Council President Barbara Johnson, Don Samuels and Diane Hofstede -- and Council Member John Quincy, whose district is in south Minneapolis. Council Members Meg Tuthill and Kevin Reich haven't publicly stated which side they're on, though Reich said Friday that he may have to support a citywide vote.

Guess you have to flip two, then.

So what does this deal mean, really? Well, if the past is any indication, it means essentially nothing. The bottom line hasn't changed in any significant way -- "local" funding is a chimera. It fell apart in Ramsey County and there is little or no appetite in Minneapolis to commit the city to hundreds of millions of dollars in new costs, either -- hence the calls for a referendum. Meanwhile, the entire legislature is on the ballot this time around and the politicians can't relish the  idea of having to put the state on the hook, either. The gambling revenue is going to fall short, too. All this in the service of building a stadium in which the average ticket price for a game will likely be north of $100, when everything is said and done.

But hey, we have a deal.