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Gov. Dayton says only Minneapolis sites appear feasible for Vikings stadium

By Joe Kimball | 01/18/12

Gov. Mark Dayton weighed in on the Vikings stadium issue today, saying there are problems with the Arden Hills site and that two Minneapolis sites appear more feasible. And he seems to like the Linden Hills site, near the Basilica, the best.

He said: "Unless the Legislature is willing to change its insistence on a voter referendum before Ramsey County can impose any kind of tax increase, the only two feasible sites become the Metrodome and Linden Avenue, both in Minneapolis."

Dayton said the Linden Avenue site "offers significant advantages over the Metrodome, particularly its proximity to Target Center, Target Fields, downtown hotels ... and the like."

And he seemed disappointed that there hasn't been more progress on the site selection, financing plans and a political will to provide state funding for the NFL team.

Dayton has said he wants the state to contribute significant state funds to help the Vikings build a new stadium. Some legislators, though, aren't convinced that the state subsidy is appropriate.

But he still appeared confident that a stadium deal can be ready for the Legislature to consider this session.

He likened the situation to first and goal on the five-yard line. (Although that might not be the best analogy after this Vikings season.)

Comments (4)

Submitted by Pat Berg on January 18, 2012 - 8:29pm.

I luv my Guv, but I'm less than happy with his near-obsession on trying to push this thing through at all costs. I am particularly disappointed by his statement about the voter referendum in relation to a possible Ramsey County site. He's as much as said that he doesn't want to subject this to the will of the voters because he knows it would lose. Which is the next best thing to thumbing your nose at how the taxpayers want their taxes spent.

Frankly, if Wilf and Co. can't come up with their own money to finance their own little venture, then I'll be happy to hold the door for them so it doesn't hit them on the way out.

Submitted by mark wallek on January 18, 2012 - 11:47pm.

Put the stadium out in Arden Hills. Another venue downtown is not going to save downtown. As a taxpayer, I do not want one penny of my tax dollar going to a stadium that the sporting ownership should be paying for exclusively. The state should instead put it's money either in the bank, into the roads that are in abominable shape, or perhaps lower college tuition for all the kids not on sports scholarships.

Submitted by David Greene on January 19, 2012 - 9:37am.

@mark

One of the reasons our roads are in such an abominable shape is the sprawl that our region continues to experience. More sprawl means more new roads which means less maintenance of existing roads.

An Arden Hills stadium and related development will exacerbate the problem.

Putting the stadium in Minneapolis is not about saving downtown (if downtown needs saving at all). It's about smarter planning for a future where gas is much more expensive and transit has a much higher mode share.

Submitted by Eddie H-J on January 20, 2012 - 1:38pm.

Everyone knows that the Metrodome site is the most logical--it's time to simply tell the Vikings to buck up.