Minn. Audit Finds Missteps By Stadium Panel

ST. PAUL, MN - The government panel that's managing construction of the new Minnesota Vikings stadium made several mistakes related to managing finances in its first few months of operation.

That's the finding of a report released Thursday by Minnesota's Legislative Auditor. It finds the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority incorrectly classified about $833,000 from the Vikings for stadium construction planning as operating income, in violation of accepted accounting practices.

The audit also found the authority failed to properly verify net profit reports from the vendor that managed concessions at the Metrodome, which the authority also manages. The Legislative Auditor recommended that the authority should periodically verify that the concession vendor's underlying revenue and expense records support its reported net profits.

In response, authority officials pledged to correct the problems identified by the audit.

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