Officials in a Twin Cities suburb said Tuesday they have reached an agreement with the Minnesota Vikings to lure the NFL team away from their longtime home in Minneapolis with a retractable-roof stadium built on a Superfund site.




The site of the stadium would be the former Twin Cities Army Ammunitions Plant property in Arden Hills, about 10 miles from the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The agreement calls for an $884 million stadium and an additional $173 million for on-site infrastructure, parking and environmental costs.

Ramsey County said the Vikings will commit $407 million to the project - 44 percent of the stadium costs and 39 percent of the overall costs. The county's share would be $350 million, to be financed by a half-cent sales tax increase.

Ramsey County Commissioner Tony Bennett, whose district includes the site, said in a news release that the proposed project would ''turn an environmental liability into an asset, clean up the largest Superfund site in the state, return property to the tax rolls, put people to work and provide for much-needed transportation infrastructure upgrades.''

The announcement comes one day after Minneapolis officials pitched a plan to keep the team downtown. It also came just hours after Gov. Mark Dayton said fixing up roads near the Arden Hills site would likely cost at least $175 million and up to $240 million if it includes restaurants, hotels and other amenities.


Still, Dayton said he could support either site as long as the state share doesn't exceed $300 million.

The Vikings have been pressing for a new stadium for years, but the team's push took on new urgency after the Metrodome's roof collapsed under the weight of a December snowstorm and as the team plays out the final season on its lease. It is one of four NFL franchises thought to be possibilities to relocate to the vacant Los Angeles market.

The stadium discussion had been largely put off at the Capitol as legislators struggle to resolve a $5 billion state deficit. It picked up speed last week, with Dayton saying he had met privately with owners Zygi and Mark Wilf and he was ready to sign a stadium bill.

I could really give a rip if they play or not. This state can't afford to be spending money on another losing proposition called a pro sports team.

At least the Vikes are putting 45% into the deal, and the economy needs some kind of a boost.  New roads and the new stadium, plus there will be more hotels are restaurants built out there.  That is one heck of a large area that is just sitting and cannot be developed for homes of any kind.  So go for it.  Lots of wildlife will be displaced, but there is lots of room around for them to go to. 

I don't know any more.  How long will it take to recoup the money just to build this thing?  There are a ton of costs associated with just the building itself as well as the cost for even having a game there.  Then what will happen with the existing stadium they just "HAD" to have?  Who eats those expenses?

Personally I feel that we bit the bullet once and if the players don't like it then they should be paying the entire bill for a new one. I for one will never attend a game but yet will end up helping to fund it.  These cry babies make a HELL of a lot of money to go to "work".   They are business owners but yet we buy them, and pay them, to operate their business.   If a truck driver needs a new truck he can either make the old one work or if HE chooses he buys a new one with money out of his pocket. 

A big part of me says even first class one way plane tickets would have been much cheaper.   

hey ratso, they let you talk that way up in bemidji???? and not get hurt??

i understand the concern about its overall costs, but i believe the vikes are an asset to the state. they do bring a lot of money into the economy. dont get me wrong here i am not to excited about having to help pay for this stadium. like scenic said, a bunch of overpaid babies and rich owners should pay for it, but at the end of the day i think it would be a wise investment. look at ALL  the jobs this would create.

my big beef about this whole thing is, every other pro sports team has got a new play ground in the past what, 10 years here, why not the vikes. most notably the gophers and twins and there wasnt near the beef about those stadiums as with this one.

hell, get that casino built down on block E and have that help finance, or allow the bars to have some form of gamblin!

just ribbin you to! wont even hold it against ya your a packer fan1 OK? FAIR ENOUGH? not so sure about if they had won it all in 09 it would be done. sure would of helped.

now how am i suppose to know that? and not really in regards to your ? about already have those jobs and people filling them. where they workin now then?

my guess is they'd trnasfer to the new stadium, but the new jobs would be all the people invlved in puttin up the new stadium!

 I agree but that is a temporary job.  I don't even know if they have chosen who is building it yet. But will that firm bring most of their own people in?

 But yes that is better than no job but everyone keeps jumping up and down about how many jobs this new stadium will create.  Sorry but they need a better salesman because I am not buying it.

We are talking $884 million for the building and another $173 million for the infrastructure.  Sorry but in my book that is one hell of alot of money to spend on the private sector.  I just don't see how the state or the people can ever figure that much will be generated in return.  None of these costs for the years of service include general up keep to this $884 million project.

What happens when they find out it will cost triple what was estimated to clean the Superfund site?

This stadium issue is no different than that building sitting on Lake Bemidji (someones agenda)! How many out a state companies will be working on this 'new" stadium? I still say if Ziggy wants this, go build it yourself!!!!

Jobs? New Jobs? What Jobs?

The problem with those saying "let them leave", is that then there will be clamoring for another team, like when the North Stars left.  Now you have a vacant Metrodome, with no team, and then the "new" team or transplated team will want their own stadium like happened with the Wild.  
There are other events that can take place in either venue.  Rock concerts draw lots of money, and nobody says anything about them.  They can get up to $1000.00 for front row seating.  That's just plain crazy.  

So having a team AND a vacant Metrodome that will still be maintained is going to make this better or more sense?  As for other uses I am all for it.   Then do it.  Do it to the point they generate enough money to pay for the new one BEFORE it is built.  Make a believer out of us who are paying for this thing.


From what I have read that it only for the building.  How are the streets in your area?  Like most full of pot holes and not getting repaired fast enough because there is no money?  But now there is the "magic" money coming from where???  

Jeff just hit it on the head.  We don't have the money.  Street and bridge repairs rank way higher than any sports team.  Last I checked, we already have 4 professional sports teams and I see that their presence has eliminated all budget problems.

The new stadium is not really a matter of revenue.  Its about what is wanted.  A lot of Minnesotan's, especially those from the Twin Cities area, want the Vikings to stay.  I agree with Shane that the only way to keep them in Minnesota is for public money to pay for part of it.  It sucks, but if we don't, someone else will.  

For me, being a Packer fan has nothing to do with it.  If the state wasn't in such a financial mess, I'd say go for it.  Unfortunately now, I think that spending that kind of money on something that is a want and not a need is foolish.  The Metrodome sucks.  It is a very poor place to attend a game of any type.  I just think we have a lot of financial issues that need to be fixed before taking on spending like this.  Don't tell us there's no money for other things and then go spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build a stadium.

I am a Vikes fan and would hate to see them leave. But I completely agree with Driftwood and Ratso. We don't have the money for this at this time. If it means the team leaves oh well.

One problem I have with the government in this country is the lack of fiscal responsibility. Everyone in the government is out there trying to spend money that isn't there. It deals to massive deficits like our national debt.

Where does that stop?

Lets be fiscally responsible here and not use public money for this unless we find a new source of state revenue to cover it.