June 02, 2011

Vikings stadium bill still undead

This really says all that needs to be said about the Minnesota Vikings stadium campaign:

Even as the state prepares for a possible government shutdown, lawmakers are still working on a potential Vikings stadium bill.

That said, there's been a mild flurry of Vikings news this week, so:

• An economic consultant told Ramsey County that it can afford its $350 million share of a Vikings stadium. That's how the Minneapolis Star Tribune headline put it, anyway; in actuality, all the consultant said was that raising sales taxes by 0.5% should be enough to pay off that much in stadium bonds. Whether the county can afford to raise sales taxes by that much — in other words, what the negative economic effects would be from such a hike — was outside the scope of the report.
• Readying the Ramsey County stadium site in Arden Hills would involve cleaning up acres of contaminated soil, and the cost is "unknown," according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. However, if the cleanup cost goes up, the Army has agreed to sell the land for less.
• Arden Hills held a public meeting last night to hear citizen comments on the stadium plan, and "many who attended had concerns," according to KSTP-TV. (Video snippets from the meeting here.)

Plus, there's still that $200 million funding gap, plus the possibility of a petition campaign forcing a public vote. And the continuing NFL lockout, which can't be helping build enthusiasm for the project. Still, it's at least treading water, and as the Twins proved over a decade of their own stadium campaigning, that can be enough to get a bill passed eventually, if you're not picky about when "eventually" is.