Minnesota Vikings Stadium Update

For those of you that are constantly watching the news, twitter and facebook for updates on the battle for a new Minnesota Vikings Stadium, you don't have too much longer to wait. The bill in the Minnesota legislature has suddenly gained new life and become the hot topic (yet again) across all of the news stations. The problem with the whole bill is two fold:

 1. The financing is super complicated.

 2. If Minneapolis is getting something special, it's sister city St. Paul wants something special. Almost like the State Legislator is playing parent to it's two child cities. A weird analogy, but true.

 Personally, I support the money for the stadium coming from the gambling profits. It's simple, it makes sense, and it's paid for by people that are choosing to spend their money that way. Another option is to create an additional tax on the people that use the most: season ticket holders, single game buyers, concession items, etc. I support this as well, but I do think that if they're going to impose an extra use tax on these people, that same usage tax needs to apply to the unofficial jersey and memorabilia sellers as well. Don't forget, these guys will profit just as much as the other guys if a new stadium goes through. It's going to be an interesting race to the finish. With the legislature almost calling it quits for the year, they sure did wait until the last minute to deal with this bill. And if they don't pass it, I think we can all agree that we'll be saying Bye Bye Vikings in the very near future.

Minnesota Vikings Cheerleader Tryouts

In case you didn't hear, yesterday were the 2012 Vikings cheerleader tryouts at the Mall of America. My facebook was alight with people talking about it - kind of creepy, considering the fact that these girls are parading around in their undies for any passerbys to see. Nonetheless, it is an athletic event, and being a part of a professional NFL cheerleading team is something that many girls aspire to. I couldn't find any video of yesterday's event to share, but I do have one from the 2010 auditions. And let's face it - it's pretty much the same deal. Check 'er out:

Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders

Have you ever thought about what it takes to be a Minnesota Vikings cheerleader? Well, it takes a lot more than just showing up for game days. There's tons of photo shoots, meet and greets and events that they have to attend. For example, they put on a holiday show at the Mall of America that included THIRTY routines that have been performed at games throughout the season. They also brought in their Alumni dance team ND the youth all stars who both performed at the show. Check it out:

Vikings Stadium Bill Moving Forward

In an interesting turn of events this week, the Vikings stadium proposal has taken on an interesting new potential investor: The White Earth Nation. They've offered a $400 Million deal in exchange for the ability to place a casino in the metro area. They would continue to split revenues with the State on a 50-50 basis, continuing to generate money for the state. There is a split feeling around the Capitol about this plan, some believe that it would bring much needed revenues to the state, some believe that it's essentially equivalent to the state investing in a casino which could have severe ethical implications long term. While that may be true, it is also true that the state wouldn't actually be investing any money in the project AND they wouldn't be part of running the casino, they would just be receiving money for allowing the casino to operate. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, in this girl's opinion. If people are going to gamble, they're going to gamble. Why not let it help support valuable needs within the state at the same time?