Senate Considers City Vikings Proposals

Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak and City Council President Barb Johnson spoke before the Minnesota Senate's panel on a new Vikings stadium. Despite and , Rybak earlier for a stadium built on the current Metrodome site or one of two sites just north of the city's Roman Catholic Basilica.

"Our preferred site is the Metrodome," said Rybak at the hearing. "It does save about $215 million compared to the other site that is on the table."

Southwest Minneapolis' Sen. Scott Dibble also serves on the panel, which is made up of a joint meeting of the Senate's taxes committee and its "government innovation" committee.

The other big development at the hearing, according to Minnesota Public Radio, was a proposal from the White Earth band of Ojibwe, who offered to build a casino next to the Viking's preferred Arden Hills stadium site. The proposal would generate around $300 million in revenues, which the tribe said it would split with the state.

UPDATED 9:00 a.m. 12/7/11: This article was updated to remove a livestream from TheUptake, which was no longer broadcasting the hearing. It has been replaced by TheUptake's video of Mayor RT Rybak's testimony.