A better point to mention is that the state of Minnesota, Hennepin County, and the city of Minneapolis have spent something like $1 billion (twice the cost of replacing the I-35W bridge) on stupid sports stadiums less than a mile from where this bridge stood.
Again, MnDOT is not likely to have any say whatsoever about sports stadiums. The politicians decide that. Whatever is left over after they satisfy their spending urges is allowed to be used for bridge replacement/repair and other “unimportant” duties.
I used to live in Minnesota — nearly 30 years ago. At that time, they pushed through a white elephant stadium in downtown Minneapolis to replace the one where the Mall of America now stands. From memory, we the people of Minnesota voted three times NOT to spend tax money on that stadium. The people were overruled by their elected officials.
I suspect that this new stadium that is being talked about is to replace the one that replaced the one I remember. I also suspect that none of the elected officials who forced this down the taxpayers throats were voted out of office (if they ran). I don’t know about that for sure, since I moved out of state in 1979.