EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- The Minnesota Vikings have spent more than a decade trying to get public funding to help them build a new stadium to replace the drab and outdated Metrodome.
After a meeting with two prominent state senators on Tuesday, owner Zygi Wilf feels the team is getting closer to making that happen.
Zygi and brother Mark Wilf met with Sens. Julie Rosen and Dave Senjem to discuss the team's work on presenting a package to the Legislature for a vote.
"They're very encouraged on the progress we're making," Zygi Wilf said. "And we feel that a deal is going to be in the works shortly."
Rosen said they talked about moving the stadium issue forward in the next legislative session.
"People do want a resolution on this; it's either up or down. A lot of people are working on getting this thing done," she said.
Rosen, R-Fairmont, has been the lead Senate sponsor of stadium legislation. Senjem last week was elected Senate majority leader after a leadership shuffle among Senate Republicans, and his elevation to that post has been seen as a positive for stadium prospects because he's been more open to partial public funding than have other prominent GOP lawmakers.
Stadium backers in the Legislature hope to release a proposal in bill form, identifying both a specific site and a way to cover the state's share, in advance of the legislative session that begins on Jan. 24.
The team's lease at the Metrodome expires on Feb. 1, essentially turning the Vikings into a free agent without a home. The Wilf family has said all along that they are committed to getting a deal done to keep the team in Minnesota long-term.
"We want to make sure, as many as the people we've met on the Legislature, the governor, and the fans, to establish a home that will ensure this franchise for generations to come," Zygi Wilf said. "A home that we can be proud of, a home we can enjoy with our families and also to keep on the traditions of Minnesota Vikings football."
The Vikings are proposing a $1.1 billion stadium in the St. Paul suburb of Arden Hills. But some state leaders have urged the team to also consider sites in downtown Minneapolis. Zygi Wilf said the team remains committed to Ramsey County and Arden Hills, but is keeping all of its options open. The only sure thing, he said, is that all the sites are in Minnesota.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press
