"A top National Football League official, after meeting Tuesday with Gov. Mark Dayton, gently upped the pressure for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium by saying that a political stalemate on the project could mean "opening the door" for the team to move.

Eric Grubman, the NFL's executive vice president of NFL Ventures and business operations, said that there was no imminent plan to move the team, and said he was "optimistic and encouraged" after meeting with the governor and DFL and Republican legislators.

Grubman's meeting with the governor came a day after Dayton said he wants a special legislative session by Thanksgiving to decide whether the state should contribute financially to a $1.1billion Vikings stadium in Ramsey County's Arden Hills. Dayton, in announcing more stadium-related moves, said he would meet Wednesday with the Vikings, Ramsey County officials and representatives of Block E in Minneapolis, who want to build a casino on the downtown Minneapolis property and perhaps use some of the revenue to help finance a stadium."