from what i heard, its going to be outdoors, might be more frozen then our tundra !!

"nyrpack" wrote:

"nyrpack" wrote:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/05/13/vikings-stadium-situation-gets-more-complex/

I don't know Formo, don't get your hopes up too high. Corporate welfare gutter whore Zygi might find more opposition than he's counting on.

"DakotaT" wrote:

Ramsey County's proposed sales tax is so much bigger than what Hennepin County levied for the Target Field because Ramsey County, which is smaller and less populous, generates far fewer sales. But the prospect of higher sales taxes - St. Paul would have the highest basic sales tax in the state if the plan were approved - creates a potential political pitfall.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman appears to be keenly aware of that.

On Thursday, Coleman repeated he is undecided about the plan but expressed a number of reservations.

"I'm looking to get more details on the numbers before I know where I'm at," he said, emphasizing that he likes the Arden Hills site and supports the idea of keeping the team in Minnesota. "Whether it has direct benefit for the city of St. Paul is one of the things I'll be asking because, frankly, a huge chunk of that sales tax would be generated within the city of St. Paul."

Calling the Vikings a "statewide asset," Coleman challenged the assumption in the entire stadium discussion that a host unit of government be called on to pay a major share of the cost. "There are fairer ways to do this," said Coleman, who said he has not been part of stadium discussions.

He suggested a statewide liquor tax. "If you put a penny a drink - not 1 percent, a penny - you could pay debt service on $250 million worth of indebtedness," he said.

State Senator Goodwin's eyes lit up when she heard the idea. "I like that. I might be able to support that," she said.

Interesting. If I want to drive to a luxury suite, I'll have wonderful new roads for my Escalade to travel over. But if I want to drive across southern Minnesota to get to the Mayo Clinic in my aging Saturn, I'll have to continue to drive over a worn out washboard.

I'm sorry, Formo/vikesule, but you Minnesotans are getting screwed by hundreds of millions of dollars whichever county the stadium gets built in.

Unless somehow your politicos get a brain, say "not a dime, Zygi," and Zygi hightails it to LA County.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If a billionaire needs "public assistance" to do something, it's probably a pretty bad investment.

Think of it this way: if something were truly able to generate as much income/wealth as stadium proponents claim, what billionaire would be able to resist trying to get it all for himself?

"Wade" wrote:

Of course you say that.. Not only are you an anarchist but a Packer fan. You lose absolutely NOTHING if the Vikes leave for LA.

"Formo" wrote:

Vikings stadium: Funding gap now $131M  

With Wednesday pretty much in the books, the Minnesota Vikings are down to five days -- including this weekend -- to have their $1.057 billion stadium proposal addressed and approved by the Minnesota state legislature.

The session is scheduled to adjourn Monday, and some of you have asked whether Gov. Mark Dayton would call a special session afterward to address this issue. The answer is perhaps, but as team vice president Lester Bagley said during an interview Wednesday on KFAN-1130, everything depends on the timing of a state budget agreement among legislators. It's unlikely the stadium bill would be addressed before then.....

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said after meeting Tuesday with Gov. Mark Dayton and supporters of a Minnesota Vikings stadium that the league will contribute financially to its construction, and that he believes efforts to get the facility built are ensuring the team's future in the state.

"I think the commitment here is to get something done and I think that will ensure the success of the Vikings," said Goodell, after he was asked if he could envision a scenario where the team would leave Minnesota.

The NFL commissioner met early in the morning at the governor's residence with Dayton, legislators sponsoring the stadium bill and state Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel to talk about the team's partnership with Ramsey County to build a $1.1 billion stadium in suburban Arden Hills. With less than a week left in the legislative session, stadium talks are hung up on the cost of fixing roads near the site and who should pay for it.

Sorel said after the meeting his agency will have a more exact figure on road costs by Wednesday. Dayton and the chief legislative sponsors, Sen. Julie Rosen of Fairmont and Rep. Morrie Lanning of Moorhead, once again firmly stated that the state's share will not exceed $300 million -- and that any road-improvement costs will have to come out of that total.

"We still have work to do in terms of pinning down what are the transportation needs over and above what's already planned," Lanning said. "That is the most important issue."

Goodell would not reveal how much the league would kick in, saying he would release more details in the next few days. As part of its deal with Ramsey County, the Vikings pledged to pay $407 million, about 39 percent of the total project cost.

"Those are discussions that are going on in part based on the types of revenue that can be created," said Goodell, who turned up shortly after his meeting with Dayton at the federal courthouse in Minneapolis where the league is in mediation with the players union over the NFL lockout.

A provision in the stadium legislation at the Capitol will prevent stadium construction from getting underway until the league's labor dispute is settled.

Goodell toured the Arden Hills site on Monday, a former Army ammunition plant about 10 miles northeast of the team's current home at the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. Goodell called the site "extraordinary" and "very exciting" and reaffirmed that the team's leadership feels strongly about building there.

With questions still hanging about the total cost of the project, and with Dayton and lawmakers still far apart on how to erase the state's $5 billion state budget deficit, the biggest obstacle facing the stadium plan at the Capitol is time. Lawmakers must adjourn their regular session by next Monday at midnight -- though the unresolved budget dispute threatens to force a special session that could give lawmakers more time to work on the stadium too.

"Where there's a will there's a way and yes, anything is possible," Dayton said.

Just how polluted is the Arden Hills site where the Minnesota Vikings want their stadium? Ryan Cos. US may know — but it's not telling.

The Star Tribune reports that the Minneapolis-based development company spent millions of dollars on an environmental assessment of the property a few years ago, when Ryan wanted to convert the former ammunition plant into a residential and commercial development.

Ryan dropped the project in 2009, in the face of the real estate collapse and the expensive task of cleaning up the Arden Hills soil. But the company isn't saying exactly what it found, though it will sell the data to the Vikings, the Star Tribune reported.

The Army has already spent $200 million to clean up the various toxic substances there, and state officials think it'll probably cost $18 million more. But it hasn't done soil tests yet to be sure.

More stadium news: The Vikings and Ramsey County indicated they're open to changes in their deal, after Gov. Mark Dayton and the two key legislators indicated the current one is too cushy for the team, the Pioneer Press reported.