Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome XV -- Back to the Unicorn

So yesterday's plan is gone and we're back to the pull-tabs:

House and Senate Republican leaders said lawmakers will vote on a Minnesota Vikings stadium bill on Monday and they've taken their last minute plan off the table.

House Speaker Kurt Zellers said that they will take the vote even though he doesn't know that the plan -- which would use gambling revenue to pay for the state's share -- will pass and he personally "cannot" support it.

Back to you, Mark Dayton:

The fate of the stadium is now in the governor’s hands...This is his top priority," said Zellers, who spent months refusing to say how he would vote on the plan.

Gov. Mark Dayton said he was just fine with the responsibility.

Of course he is -- he's the one public official involved in this thing who doesn't have to face the voters in November.

“I am very pleased that the Republican legislative leaders have agreed to my request for up-or-down votes in both bodies on a new “People’s Stadium” that would provide jobs for several thousand Minnesotans and keep the Vikings here.  Now everyone will be able to hold legislators accountable for that momentous decision," Dayton said in a statement.

The "People's Stadium." Yep, the one you'll be able to enjoy for only $100 a ticket. Or more. Let my friend and fellow blogger, Brad Carlson, ask the right question:

The one thing that has rankled me throughout this whole process is how Gov. Mark Dayton has called this the "people's stadium." Well if that is really the case, why not have "the people" who use it actually pay for it?

Why not, indeed? Most of the time, the answer appears to be "because shut up," paired with a slap across the face with dangling Helga braids.

I'm not going to stay long on the topic, because I've already pointed out, repeatedly, what you need to know about the proposal that will get the vote on Monday. There is no way that charitable gambling will come close to covering the costs of the deal. Legislators who support the bill are spending money they don't have. If this thing goes through, it will be very interesting to see how the state of Minnesota markets the bonds, which would be backed by a revenue stream that has never been used before. In other words, it's a billion dollar bet.