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Capitol View®
Tim Pugmire

Stadium humor surfaces in Senate hearing

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Hockey's loss won't be football's gain in the Minnesota Senate.

The Senate taxes committee voted today to remove a provision from the omnibus education bill to designate ice hockey as the official state sport. The committee's chairman, Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, surprised some observers when he suggested a reference to football in the bill could have been more useful.

"I was wondering if this said football, if there might be a little economic development provision that somewhere later on in the session might be germane to the education bill," Bakk said. "I have this little economic development project that's being considered. I'm kind of looking for a place to put it."

The comment appeared to be a related to efforts to build a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings. But after the meeting, Bakk explained he was only joking, and he has no stadium plan.

The Vikings stadium issue has gone nowhere this session. A House bill to create a Twin Cities area casino and use the proceeds to build a new stadium has not received a hearing. The NFL team's Metrodome lease expires after the 2011 season.