We noted earlier this week that Minnesota Vikings officials hoped to reach agreement soon with city and state leaders on a two-pronged stadium proposal, a bill-ready plan that would call for a new facility to be built on or near the Metrodome site.

Whether that agreement has been reached, as the Star Tribune suggests, or will be announced Tuesday, as the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports, it's important to understand what it means -- and what it doesn't. In essence, it puts the Vikings where they were in May 2011, when they made a similar agreement to build a stadium in suburban Arden Hills, Minnesota.

That deal was ultimately quashed by state legislators who were opposed to proposed local tax hikes. A new agreement to build on the Metrodome would require approval from at least two political entities, the Minneapolis City Council and the Minnesota state legislature, before the Vikings could declare victory.

The Star Tribune reports the preliminary cost of the stadium would be $975 million, of which the Vikings and NFL would contribute $427 million. The state would pay $398 million, about 25 percent more than it was expected to contribute in Arden Hills, and Minneapolis would contribute $150 million and also pay $180 million in operating costs.

I think the best way to look at this news is it gives the Vikings a chance to have a chance. State legislators weren't going to give any stadium proposal serious consideration until a specific site and hard numbers were available in a single bill. That now seems to be the case, or soon will be. And that's when the real games will begin.