Rep. Kieffer Outlines ‘No’ Vote on Vikings Stadium Bill

Rep. Andrea Kieffer on Monday voted against the Vikings stadium bill.

But if she had had the swing vote, she would have changed it.

“I was not going to let the bill die,” said Kieffer, a Republican from Woodbury. “If they needed my ‘yes’ vote, I was going to give it.”

The bill passed the House 73-58, and the Senate was expected to debate the matter today.

The main issue for Kieffer was the funding mechanism behind cost overruns for the project. She said she supports racino legislation and user fees for the stadium, but doesn’t want the state’s general fund to be the “backstop” for stadium funding.

She said it makes sense for the state to pay for the general infrastructure for the project but not “granite countertops in the bathrooms.”

Kieffer said she expects the Senate version of the bill to be “very different” and anticipates another vote after the legislation goes through conference committee.

“I don’t want the Vikings to leave,” she said. “But we’ve got to do what’s right for the taxpayers. … I will do everything I can to keep the Vikings.”

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