SW Minnesota Today

Sen. Julie Rosen and the Minnesota Vikings are gearing up to make some serious plays to ensure that the abundance of revenue from charitable gambling gets used for its intended purpose. 

There are some legislators and officials, however, that are trying to get in the way of that. The Vikings and their Vice President Lester Bagley does not agree with the sudden change of plans either.

“We’ve been strongly advocating that the state leaders use the money for its intended purpose, which is to pay down the bonds on U.S. Bank Stadium,” Bagley said.

Rosen posted to her Facebook page addressing this issue and acknowledging it will be one of the great debates this year.

“This will be a significant issue this year. We have to make sure that the stadium reserve account doesn't turn into a slush fund for legislators to use on their own pet projects,” Rosen said in her Facebook post. “Pay down the stadium debt ahead of schedule.”

The U.S. Bank Stadium has a public dept of $1.1 billion that covered half of the cost to build the stadium. The money generated from the electronic pull-tab operations were originally intended to pay down that debt and the Vikings want to use the money generated to pay off the debt faster, according to the Star Tribune.

The problem is that the charities that run the pull-tab operations believe they are entitled to receive more money, and Allen Lund, executive director of Allied Charities of Minnesota, wants to see that happen.

“It’s time to lighten the load on charities,” Lund said. 

With almost $250 million up for grabs by 2023, it can be extremely tempting for lawmakers to want to use it for other purposes than intended as well, and Rosen is advising everyone to wait until then.

“Let it mature, and we can have a big payoff," Rosen said.