Vikings Stadium – My Thoughts

I want to preface this post by saying I am a HUGE Vikings fan, and obviously I want them to get a new stadium. The Metrodome is outdated and dumpy. The concourses are cramped, the restrooms are disgusting and small, and the big screens are virtually non-existent. The Vikings patiently waited their turn as the Twins and Gophers got new stadiums. As the most popular team in the state, I definitely think they deserve and need a stadium. I wrote letters to all my elected officials and governor about it starting last year. So trust me, I want to keep the team in Minnesota and have a new facility. That being said, I’m not completely sold on the Arden Hills proposal. Here’s why-

Location:

Arden Hills? Really? We live by downtown St. Paul, and according to Google Maps, the proposed new location is still half an hour away from our house. What about all the people in the south Metro? It just seems way the heck up there. I get that there’s a lot of parking space for tailgating, but frankly, I don’t care about tailgating. I don’t want a “full day NFL experience.” I want to leave home for a noon game at 10:30/11 am. I want to be home by 4/4:30. I don’t want to sit around in traffic or tailgate.

My preference would be the existing Metrodome site. The infrastructure is there, the location is convenient, and they can reuse parts of the existing Metrodome. If they build it in Arden Hills, what’s going to happen to the Metrodome? It’s still a pile of junk. I guess they can still use it for other things like college baseball, concerts, etc, but in 10 years, it’s just going to be even more outdated. Then what do you do with it? Bulldoze it and then there’s a gaping hole in downtown Minneapolis? I don’t get it.

I also liked the Farmer’s Market location. I know there was land acquisition costs with that site, but the location right by Target Field and Target Center would really make that area complete. Plus it’s convenient to everyone in the Metro and there’s lots of parking.

Financing:

Ramsey County is responsible for $350 million in this proposal. They plan on raising this money with a half cent sales tax increase. Now I know that’s not much - $0.50 for every $100 spent, but sales tax is already at 7.625%. This proposed tax would put us at over 8%! We live in Ramsey County and do most of our shopping there, so it directly affects us. Now I don’t mind paying a bit more in tax if it keeps the Vikings in Minnesota, but it’s still frustrating to me that people from the entire state enjoy the Vikings while we’ll be the ones ponying up to keep them. Now that’s irritating. It’s not like there’s any development at the Arden Hills site (so far) of restaurants, hotels, etc that would tax visitors.

I would feel differently if the stadium was built in St. Paul, but Arden Hills is so far away that I don’t see it benefiting the city of St. Paul in any way. With the majority of the county’s population, St. Paul will be raising most of this sales tax fund. Any local business from visitors to the Arden Hills site (hotels, restaurants, etc) will benefit the northern suburbs. So what’s in it for St. Paul? The proposed stadium site is actually closer to downtown Minneapolis (12 miles, right up 35W) than it is to downtown St. Paul (14 miles, up 35E, 694, then hwy 10). It’s practically in Anoka County!

I liked previous financing ideas like Racino, special Vikings lottery, etc rather than depending on a particular county to shoulder the burden.

Yes, yes, I know that Hennepin County faced a similar burden with the Twins Stadium. But that’s not what I’m discussing here. At least when it happened for Hennepin County the stadium was built in the most populous city, right in downtown Minneapolis, instead of out in the sticks like Arden Hills would be. Plus the Hennepin County tax is .15%, the proposed Ramsey County tax increase is .5% - much different.

I usually don’t agree with St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, but I do on these statements he made to the local paper, the Star Tribune.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/blogs/121718374.html

From the article:
As mayor of the largest city in Ramsey County, Coleman’s support of the plan to build a $1 billion stadium in suburban Arden Hills is considered critical. The Vikings announced Tuesday they would contribute $407 million to the stadium, with the county raising $350 million largely through a sales tax increase and the state contributing $300 million.
But the mayor – who said he is still non-committal on the project -- said he considers the state requirement of a strong local government partner to be an "unfair burden."
"People in Virginia [Minnesota] watch the Vikings on TV. People in Mankato are eating buffalo wings and drinking beer on Sunday [and watching the games]," Coleman said, speaking to a reporter Thursday morning.
"It is important to a whole lot of people, but the Ramsey County proposal is a complicated one," Coleman said.
"I need to know those numbers," he said of the sales tax proposal. "What are they asking the residents and the people shopping in St. Paul to pay? What are the benefits of the Arden Hills site to St. Paul?"

Now if this is the Vikings only chance at a stadium, I’ll be right there sending letters to our legislature and government in support of it. But I just think a Minneapolis site would make so much more sense.