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St. Paul (AP) ― Two football teams itching to escape the Metrodome got closer to the goal Wednesday, but they still have considerable ground to cover.

Separate committees in the House and Senate kept alive new stadium plans for the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Vikings. The Gophers bill is due for a House floor vote on Thursday while the Vikings proposal has many more committee stops to make.

Those actions -- combined with a Minnesota Twins ballpark plan that's also on the move -- leave open the possibility the Legislature will vote on more than $1.5 billion in stadium construction before adjourning in May.

"It's time to get these things done," said Sen. David Tomassoni, DFL-Chisholm. "The longer we wait, the more they cost."

Despite the progress, both football stadium bills attracted criticism Wednesday. Both advanced on divided voice votes.

A House Ways and Means Committee hearing that began with the "Minnesota Rouser" quickly gave way to a more discordant tone.

Several lawmakers are uneasy with the university's revamped plan that links a higher state contribution to the Minneapolis stadium to a Dakota County land deal. And other legislators said the entire stadium discussion rubs them the wrong way.

While debating the Gopher bill, Rep. Michael Paymar, DFL-St. Paul, said he would like to see football return to campus but he's having trouble stomaching the trio of stadium bills.

"I just wonder where our priorities are. Three stadiums?" Paymar said. "Something is wrong with our priorities as much as I'd like to see this happen."

Backers are working hard to distinguish the university proposal from the professional sports requests. They point out that the school plans to raise half of the $249 million cost from private donors, student fees and other non-tax sources, a greater proportion than either the Twins or Vikings bills.

The Vikings are seeking permission to raise the sales tax in Anoka County by 0.75 percent and recapture sales tax money that would otherwise flow to state coffers. Those steps, along with a $280 million contribution from team owner Zygi Wilf and the NFL, would pay off debt on the proposed $790 million stadium project.

The stadium would anchor a 740-acre commercial development project in Blaine. Wilf and Vikings officials told the Senate State and Local Government Operations Committee that the 72,000-seat stadium could lure another Super Bowl and other high-profile events and conventions.

While legislative leaders have put the Vikings third in the stadium line, Wilf isn't giving up this year. "We're well on our way," he said after the vote.

All three stadium plans still need to clear the Senate Tax Committee. The two pro sports teams are resisting calls to put local sales tax hikes before voters, as state law requires.

James Hafner, a Coon Rapids resident who spoke out against the Twins and Vikings plans, said the Vikings tax would cost every Anoka County resident $45 more per year in taxes.

"Don't let anyone tell you it's pocket change, because it's not," he said.

The university's financing plan doesn't call for any direct tax increase, and it enjoys the widest support among legislators.

The university moved its football games to the Metrodome in 1982. Its former on-campus home, Memorial Stadium, was demolished a decade later.

After two years of coming up short at the Capitol, the university reworked its stadium plan last month.

The latest version calls for an annual state contribution of up to $9.4 million for 25 years. That's $2 million a year higher than the previous plan sought, but it lops in half the proposed student fee and gives the state rights to 2,800 acres of university-owned land in Rosemount.

After 25 years the state would own the land, which the public can use for hiking, cross country skiing and wildlife viewing. But the university would be able to continue research there and have a say in how it's managed during the transition period.

Influential Rep. Jim Knoblach, R-St. Cloud, said he's not sure its a wise deal for the state. It would assume costs of managing the property, be prohibited from selling it for commercial or industrial use, and have to share it with the prior owner.

"I am wondering what we are getting for $2 million," Knoblach said.

He intends to try to block the land exchange with an amendment on the House floor, and some other lawmakers made clear they'd back him.

But Rep. Dennis Ozment, R-Rosemount, told his colleagues that there are downsides to rejecting the deal. Nearby parcels are being sold off at $36,000 an acre and being torn up to access valuable gravel deposits.

"The university could make far more money than what we're talking about here," Ozment said, adding, "This is a treasure you cannot replace."

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The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission owns The Metrodome.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)