Let’s forget about Carter’s snubbing and focus on Doleman. The newly-minted Hall of Famer was an 8-time Pro Bowler, a 3-time All-Pro and a member of the NFL’s official all-decade team. He finished with 150 1/2 career sacks, good for fourth all-time (keeping in mind that sacks didn’t become an official stat until 1982). His greatest year was 1989 when he recorded 21 sacks, the Vikings all-time record until 2011 when Jared Allen broke it. In all, Doleman topped the double-digit mark in sacks 8 times. Interesting fact: Doleman’s second-best season sack-wise came not as a member of the Vikings but the 49ers. But most will remember him from his time with the Vikings, when he led a fearsome defensive line that also included Keith Millard, Henry Thomas and Al Noga.

The Vikings of the 1990s are now represented in the Hall of Fame by three men: Doleman, John Randle and Randall McDaniel. One day Cris Carter will join them. Hopefully.

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To briefly summarize the summary: Minnesota lawmakers want the new stadium to have a roof. And they want the Vikings to pay for 1/3 of the construction (or, in their fancy money-language, $1 for every $2 kicked in by the state and whatever local government ends up landing the venue). And there are going to need to be a lot of new taxes to pay for it, including a tax on sports memorabilia and a pro football player income tax surcharge, whatever the hell that is.

Also, naming rights will be sold. So get ready for Target Stadium.

The summary proposes the creation of a Minnesota Stadium Authority which will be responsible for choosing a site and running the new facility. If sufficient construction funds are raised but the Vikings fail to sign a lease, the funds will go toward a future stadium and Metrodome upkeep. The summary also states, “The lease is not signed and construction does not start if the current labor conflict is not resolved.”

So what does this all mean to the average fan? I guess it means, if you live in Minnesota, you’re going to be paying a little more for that signed Chuck Foreman card. And there will be a new scratch-off game, perhaps with more ads starring John Randle as a man who can jump-start cars with his biceps (fingers crossed).

The really important thing here, obviously, is the roof issue. As far as I know the Vikings have still not budged in their desire to have an open-air stadium. The language of the summary makes it clear that lawmakers are not interested in anything but a stadium with a roof. The Vikings have said they will pony up 1/3 of the cost for an unroofed stadium and not a penny more. The state however is making it clear that they expect the Vikings to cough up 1/3 of the cost of whatever stadium they decide to build.

Obviously, this is only a summary of the initial bill, and a lot could change. By the time lawmakers are done batting this around, the stadium could have water slides shooting out the side of it, and a roof that’s lifted off by balloons on sunny days.

I’m guessing most fans won’t care what the stadium is named, what it looks like, where it is or how it’s paid for as long as the team playing inside it doesn’t stink. Unfortunately, fans don’t decide stuff. Politicians and rich owners do. So look for a long, arduous, sometimes contentious, almost certainly tedious battle to ensue.

And maybe one day there will even be football again.

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And now the Vikings’ reaction. As you might have guessed, despite the shiny new roof about to be installed on the building, the Vikings are not budging an inch in their insistence that the Dome is outdated and a new stadium is required for them to continue operating in Minnesota. Their statement reads:

It just so happens that, at the same time this story was coming out, another stadium-related story was breaking. According to KSTP, the Vikings have submitted a letter of intent to Ramsey County as a first step in beginning negotiations about building a new stadium on the site of the former munitions plant in Arden Hills.

The Arden Hills site would reportedly require an expensive clean-up before meeting environmental standards (it was a munitions plant after all). The suburban site is considered attractive because, unlike the current downtown Metrodome site, there would be room for an expansive parking lot and therefore more tailgating. Local politicians like the potential for further development that would come with a stadium on that site.

Of course none of this really addresses the biggest question of all: how to pay for the new stadium. The team itself has proposed using revenue generated by the popular Vikings scratch-off lottery game (gotta love those John Randle commercials) to put at least a small dent in the reported $700-$900 million price tag for a new venue.

Then there’s the question of whether the stadium will feature a fixed roof, a retractable roof or no roof. Team owner Zygi Wilf favors an open-air facility; Minnesota officials favor a roof. The one thing everyone can agree on? The Metrodome is a dump.

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