Mondale makes Capitol debut as stadium point man

Published 4:04 pm Wednesday, January 26, 2011

ST. PAUL — Ted Mondale says Gov. Mark Dayton hopes state lawmakers won’t wait too long to present a plan for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium to replace the Metrodome.

Mondale made his Capitol debut Wednesday as new chairman of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission. He told a state Senate committee that the new governor supports a stadium that would be both a new home to the Vikings and a “people’s stadium” that like the Metrodome could host high school and college sports and other public events.

Mondale says Dayton doesn’t want lawmakers to wait for the last days of the session to debate a stadium bill. The likely lead Senate sponsor has indicated she hopes to debut a stadium bill by sometime in February that will include a proposed site, design and funding approach.