New Vikings stadium 75% done, events being booked

Minnesota Vikings stadium construction is 75 percent done and events already are on the calendar for the first few months after it opens next July.

And the facility, dubbed U.S. Bank Stadium, is being credited with nearly $1 billion in downtown Minneapolis development even before it is enclosed.

"We already have seen more development than around the Metrodome," state Rep. Joe Hoppe, R-Chaska, said Wednesday after hearing the latest news from the stadium developer, the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority.

While Hoppe said he did not know if taxes brought in by the new development would be equal to the $348 million the state contributed to the stadium and $150 million from Minneapolis, he said…