Minnesota Lawmakers Align Against Gambling for Stadium

ST. PAUL  (AP) - A group of Republican and Democratic Minnesota legislators say they'll band together to fight any effort to expand gambling to help pay for a new Vikings football stadium.

Several gambling proposals are being considered as state leaders craft a public financing plan. They range from a downtown Minneapolis casino to slot machines at horse tracks to electronic gambling terminals in bars.

Republican Sen. David Hann says it's a mistake to rely those money streams because they depend on problem gamblers and carry other social costs.

The stadium financing scramble has picked up as the Vikings lease in the Metrodome nears an end. The team can move after this season; franchise owners want public help paying for a proposed suburban stadium.

Minneapolis officials planned to release a stadium plan later Thursday.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)