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A reworked Minnesota Vikings stadium bill that passed the state House early Thursday has the team paying $477 million, significantly more than the owners previously said they would contribute.
Though the package was tougher, it was clearly the team's only chance to replace the Metrodome, a 30-year-old facility the Vikings say has outlived its usefulness.
Vikings vice president Lester Bagley says the team's billionaire owners, New Jersey developers Zygi and Mark Wilf, decided to lock in the deal rather than hold out for better terms, knowing the Legislature had only two days left to act. Bagley says it's "heavy lifting," but the right thing to do for Minnesota.
Only a Senate vote stands between the franchise and the $975 million stadium the Vikings would move into ahead of the 2016 season.
