Here’s what Sports Headliners knows about a possible new Vikings stadium after following the issue for years and talking with a stadium authority late last week.
Legislative supporters of the Arden Hills site didn’t have enough votes to pass a stadium bill during the regular session but might during a special session, according to the source who spoke anonymously. But a better move is to form a blue ribbon committee to study all the stadium options and make a recommendation for the 2012 session. Don’t rush to judgment on this controversial issue that demands public support.
If the stadium issue is unsettled going into next year, the Farmers Market site in Minneapolis could eventually become home to the Vikings. That location ties in with Target Field, Target Center and the many bars and restaurants in the area. “The business guys like the clustering of facilities,” the source said.
Either the Metrodome or Farmers Market site conforms better than Arden Hills to Governor Mark Dayton’s mantra to build a “people’s stadium.” The Minneapolis sites are more centrally located, better served by mass transit, have superior road access, won’t require expensive highway upgrades, and offer proximity to hotels, bars and restaurants. Major attractions like an NCAA Final Four need additional facilities for their activities including hospitality amenities and exhibition space.
Whatever site is chosen, legislation needs to stipulate “sweetheart” usage deals for nonprofits like MIAC baseball teams that have benefitted in the past from playing in the Metrodome.
The source said Vikings owner Zygi Wilf is enamored with the Arden Hills site after talking with two owners who have successful stadium operations in the suburbs, Jerry Jones with Dallas and Robert Kraft from New England. The source believes the Vikings could charge $30 per car for the projected 21,000 parking spaces in Arden Hills.
With a career background in real estate, it’s assumed Wilf also likes the potential for commercial development at Arden Hills.
A Ramsey County location for the stadium should lessen decades old complaints from the east metro that Minneapolis “gets everything,” but the source said not necessarily so. “They (the more paranoid) still think they will get screwed (on the stadium),” he said. “Even when the Xcel Center was built, they thought Minneapolis would figure a way to get the team (the Wild).”