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Vikes' new stadium clears last big hurdle

THE MINNESOTA Vikings moved to within a governor's signature of getting a new $975 million stadium on Thursday after the state Senate approved a plan that relies heavily on public financing.

(AP Photo/Star Tribune, Renee Jones Schneider)
(AP Photo/Star Tribune, Renee Jones Schneider)Read more

THE MINNESOTA Vikings moved to within a governor's signature of getting a new $975 million stadium on Thursday after the state Senate approved a plan that relies heavily on public financing.

Gov. Mark Dayton has said he'll sign the measure, meaning the Senate's 36-30 vote was effectively the final barrier for the stadium. The House passed it overnight.

After the Senate vote, jubilant Vikings vice president Lester Bagley hugged another team official and shouted, "Let's build it!" Vikings fans broke out singing the "Skol Vikings" fight song and the Senate president admonished them to take it outside the chamber.

The team chased a new stadium for more than a decade but had little leverage until its lease expired this past year on the 30-year-old Metrodome. Dayton led a newly urgent charge for the team, arguing that without a new building the state could lose its most beloved franchise.

The deal guarantees the Vikings' future in Minnesota for 3 decades.

The team would pay 49 percent of construction costs: $477 million, which is $50 million more than owners initially committed. But the public expense is still high: $348 million for the state and $150 million for the city of Minneapolis.

The bill gives the Vikings the option to upgrade to a retractable roof, but at their expense. Bagley said the Vikings haven't decided if they'll make that enhancement.

The state's share was to come through expanded gambling, which some legislators opposed on principle.

In other NFL news:

* Cleveland defensive tackle Phil Taylor's season could be in jeopardy after he injured a chest muscle lifting weights. The team said Taylor, its first-round draft pick in 2011, hurt his left pectoral muscle while working out during the team's offseason conditioning program. The Browns said Taylor will be further evaluated on Monday to determine a course of treatment. It is not yet known if Taylor tore the muscle.

* Tampa Bay defensive end Da'Quan Bowers tore his right Achilles' tendon during a workout and will undergo surgery.

* Denver agreed to terms with cornerback Drayton Florence, who was released by Buffalo last week.

* The NFL is looking for potential replacement officials while it negotiates with the officials' association on a new contract.

* The younger brother of NFL players Vernon and Vontae Davis has been charged with murder in the death of a man visiting Washington from Denver. D.C. police say Michael Davis, 19, was charged with first-degree murder while armed in the death of Gary Dederichs, 66.