Stadium thread

[purple guy]

At this point, if I was Wilf, I would use another city as leverage to get the site HE wants. If the state wont go for it, Id pack my stuff and go where I could get what I wanted. If Im Wilf, I dont see why he has to settle for a location he doesnt want/like. There certainly needs to be compromise on both sides, but to date, the state has done nothing to support the Vikings, which is fine with me, but I dont get how they can ask for a location change when they havent done a thing yet. As I have said before, I dont think the state has any business giving the Vikings money, but if they do, I dont care either, they spend money on plenty of foolish stuff. If this gets done, it'll be a minor miracle IMO. Neither the Vikings or the state have done a very good job IMO. A bunch of half #### plans thrown together, with the lease expired there is STILL no location or blue prints for the stadium, terrible, terrible work by both sides. Neither one is any better than the other, and neither can really complain, as they have both fumbled this miserably, IMO.

[glg]

Pity. I loved the plans for Arden Hills. But I'm all for compromise as long as it gets done.

Morons at PFT. Arden Hills is not hardly rural. It's in the middle of the north suburbs, barely outside the 694/494 ring. The site has tons of open space, but that's due to its history, not it being out in the sticks.

[Demi]

*sigh*
Hopefully they do this right. Should be retractable in Arden Hills.

Instead we'll get a fixed roof in downtown Minneapolis.

Better than not getting one, but would still be a bit depressing after all this.

[CalVike]

My take is big business wants it in Minneapolis. Period. Arden Hills has a huge uphill battle ahead that may be unwinnable for them.

[DavidKarki]

My take is big business wants it in Minneapolis. Period. Arden Hills has a huge uphill battle ahead that may be unwinnable for them.

True, but Minneapolis has no money to give. And all the "wanting by big business" in the world isn't going to change that. The best they can do is re-direct the Convention Center tax in 3 years from now and even that is after deducting for the cost of paying off debt incurred to upgrade Target Center (NBA T-Wolves) to get it current and on a par with Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul (NHL Wild). Any new tax is legally subject to a referendum that's guaranteed to fail huge. (Passed in the wake of the Twins getting Target Field.)

Moreover, they can't make up their minds on a site. And just as having 3 QBs means you really have none, having 3 Vikings stadium sites means you have none. In other words, all 3 stink (i.e. no parking/tailgating) and are no cheaper than Arden Hills. The Dump site has the existing infrastructure, but also comes with the cost of upgrading TCF Bank Stadium to NFL standards (not to mention getting Zygi to accept the financial hit, which he's not at all keen on doing). Not that any local media ever reports this, so as to compare apples-to-apples.

No money + no site = no Minneapolis stadium. Those who don't like that prospect need to suck it up and get over it.

Gov. Dayton has set next Thursday as the final deadline for submitting stadium proposals. Arden Hills is ready to go and has been for some time, with an enthusiastic local partner willing to come up with funds however it must. Minneapolis has nothing but bloviating phonies presenting mirages. And Arden Hills will finally get the largest piece of undeveloped property in the entire Twin Cities cleaned up and developed once and for all, after decades of inaction. Where a polluted eyesore has long sat for no good reason, a future NCAA Final Four or Super Bowl can be held. More than that, we can show our children what some of us loved as children – the experience of (hopefully) outdoor Vikings football preceded by tailgating in a huge lot right outside the stadium. Or, simply put, Vikings football as it was and always meant to be until it was hijacked by the myopic idiots who stuck us with the ridiculous joke that is the Metrodump.....(and the franchise cursed with no Super Bowl appearance since as a result. )

Build the stadium in Arden Hills NOW, ensure the Vikings remain in MN for our children's children to follow, and at long last lift the curse!!

[CalVike]

No money + no site = no Minneapolis stadium. Those who don't like that prospect need to suck it up and get over it.

Gov. Dayton has set next Thursday as the final deadline for submitting stadium proposals. Arden Hills is ready.

Arden Hills does not have local funding that does not require a referendum at this point. The viability of Arden Hills died when the legislature refused to waive the referendum requirement on the Ramsay County 0.5% sales tax increase. Minneapolis is more likely to meet the local partner financial requirements at this point.

[thatguy]

Arden Hills does not have local funding that does not require a referendum at this point. The viability of Arden Hills died when the legislature refused to waive the referendum requirement on the Ramsay County 0.5% sales tax increase. Minneapolis is more likely to meet the local partner financial requirements at this point.

They were able to bypass the referendum if I'm not mistaken. The council voted on it and agreed to bypass the local referendum route if I remember correctly.

I don't care what you're trying to raise money for...good or bad...people will almost ALWAYS vote it down if they think any amount of money will come out of their pocket. Which is why I'm glad America isn't a TRUE democracy.

[CalVike]

I continue to believe the clearest path to funding a new stadium is in Arden Hills, but both the legislature and the governor have said they cannot get support for their local funding plan without a referendum on the 0.5% sales tax increase, as required by state law. They should reverse that short sighted decision. Here's why.

The NFL is the most popular sports league in America, hands down. Minnesota is a tremendously successful franchise, as evidenced by local TV viewership and 13 straight years of sellouts. Right or wrong, the NFL requires local public contribution for stadiums. Minnesota needs their NFL team and must come up with their contribution, or they lose the team. It's that simple.

Leadership in Minnesota has laid out a plan that calls for $350M local partner contribution and $300M state contribution. Let's discuss each element.

For the $350M local contribution, Ramsay County put forth a 0.5% sales tax increase county wide approved by the Ramsay County Board, the same funding mechanism used by the Twins for Target Field with Hennepin County with a 0.15% sales tax increase there. As with Target Field, all this requires to go forward is for the state legislature to waive its referendum requirement. There is precedent. It should be done. But the legislature thinks they can have their cake and eat it too, get a stadium deal done while not caving on the referendum. They should cave because it's the easiest path to the $350M local partner contribution.

That's because Minneapolis is living in a dream world. Mayor Rybak put forward a Utopian plan where he funds Target Center and Vikings stadium with bonds earmarked for the convention center. Not only are said bonds not available immediately, but the Minneapolis City Council has summarily rejected his plan to date. To top it off, Minneapolis has its own referendum problem. Voters in Minneapolis voted in a requirement that any contribution over $10M toward a stadium requires a referendum. Again, the state would have to waive this requirement, something they refused for Arden Hills to date. Local funding in Minneapolis does not seem viable.

All that said, the elephant in the room is the $300M state contribution. They have put forth no plan to date. Until we see their plan, it's difficult to see how the deal gets done in a timely manner.

Still, I remain hopeful because the annoyingly non-specific rhetoric points to a deal soon.

[glg]

They were able to bypass the referendum if I'm not mistaken. The council voted on it and agreed to bypass the local referendum route if I remember correctly.

County can't bypass the referendum, that's a state law. Legislature would have to give a waiver for it (which, as CalVike notes, they did for Target Field).

That referendum law has always bothered me. What's the point of a representative government if you don't let them represent you?

[CalVike]

http://m.twincities.com/twincities/db_3 ... d=hAtUcCrp

More grass roots citizen effort to stop Ramsay County from funding a stadium.

[Eli]

If the Vikings can also build a new team facility at the location of the new stadium (ala the Arden Hills plan) do they also plan to bring summer training camp home to the Viking facility? I just read that 16 teams in the NFL now hold training camp at home and was surprised that the number is that high.

[thatguy]

If the Vikings can also build a new team facility at the location of the new stadium (ala the Arden Hills plan) do they also plan to bring summer training camp home to the Viking facility? I just read that 16 teams in the NFL now hold training camp at home and was surprised that the number is that high.

Probably not. Mankato is one of those places where it's more about heritage than anything else. I would hope they'd keep it out there too.

[CalVike]

http://m.startribune.com/news/?id=136884318&c=y

More from Strib, which has obvious bias to kill Arden Hills at any cost.

The Dayton administration and legislative leaders are quietly and at times forcefully telling the Minnesota Vikings that the $1.1 billion Arden Hills stadium plan is unlikely to work, sources close to the negotiations say. That advice has prompted team officials to re-examine previously spurned sites in Minneapolis.

"A partner without money isn't a partner, it's a friend," said one source close to the talks. "The Vikings are coming to realize that Arden Hills might not work."

A Republican source close to stadium negotiations said legislative leaders have told the Vikings several times point-blank that "there is no viable path for Arden Hills."

Supporters say those sites (in Mpls) offer three key advantages: The potential to tap existing tax dollars for a local contribution, easy access for the wealthy west metro fans who will buy lucrative seating packages, and close proximity to companies most likely to buy stadium naming rights.

The biggest question for a Minneapolis site may be whether Rybak has the political muscle to persuade a skeptical City Council to support the use of tax dollars for a new Vikings home.

[dkoby]

This is starting to sound like the politicians finally are having to accept that this deal MUST be done and are only open to a location where the most political backscratching can take place.

[Raptorman]

I knew somehow they would shoot down the Arden Hills site. It makes to much sense to build a stadium in the open area that needs to be developed.