Mark Dayton has shown more commitment to leading the political fight for a new Vikings stadium than his most immediate predecessors, Minnesota governors Tim Pawlenty and Jesse Ventura.
Dayton is interested in seeing a Vikings stadium plan approved and apparently doesn’t have a favored site. His mandate last week directing both the Met Council and the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission to fast-track a review of the Arden Hills stadium proposal is indicative of the urgency with which he regards the issue.
The two agencies are to review various aspects of the Arden Hills site but a reliable stadium source told Sports Headliners that what he’s watching for are the findings regarding road infrastructure and environmental cleanup.
Road costs have been a much publicized potential problem at the site. Then, too, the proposed site is a former munitions plant that has been vacated for decades. Would an environmental cleanup be cost prohibitive?
The source said additional costs of “$50 million” each to improve roads and also clean the site would be problematic for the proposed partners in the Arden Hills project, Ramsey County, the state and the Vikings. All three, the source said, have “capped” their contribution amounts for the proposed $1 billion retractable roof facility.
If the review by the Met Council and MSFC is favorable for Arden Hills, it seems likely Dayton will want to call a special fall legislative session. But even if the DFL governor is positive about the suburban site, he does have to work with a Republican controlled legislature.
“The governor does want to deal with this,” the source said.
The Arden Hills site can probably count on a wave of momentum this fall with the Vikings playing their NFL schedule, including home games at the Metrodome where the club’s lease expires after the season. Fans are likely to call legislators and urge support for the site that has open spaces for tailgating, an amenity that stills has appeal almost 30 years after the Vikings vacated Met Stadium.
Meanwhile, Minneapolis supporters continue to work quietly on a Farmers Market plan for the stadium. But that site doesn’t seem to have the governor’s interest now.