Roseville's Greiling: Minneapolis Choice For Vikings Stadium "No Surprise"

Gov. Mark Dayton's proposal this week to build a new Minnesota Vikings football stadium just east of the existing Metrodome came as no surprise to Roseville state Rep. Mindy Greiling.

"I have always thought it was going to be Minneapolis because it is the cheapest site," Greiling said Friday in an interview with Roseville Patch. "I never thought Arden Hills had a chance."

Greiling was referring to a plan advanced by the Ramsey County Board and the Vikings to build a new stadium on the site of the former Army ammunitions plant in Arden Hills. Although she still opposes a public subsidy for a stadium and considers the Legislature's focus on the issue a case of "misplaced priorities," Greiling said if such a facility is going to be built, it should be on the cheapest site available. 

Ramsey County's estimated $1.1 billion Arden Hills plan never gained Dayton's support and also encountered a firestorm of protest from many citizens, who oppose a county sales tax and hospitality taxes to fund the project.

Still, the head of the Twin Cities North Chamber of Commerce, whose group has favored Arden Hills for the stadium, questioned whether the Minneapolis site, estimated by Dayton at $975 million, really would be cheaper.

Chamber CEO Tim Roche said the Metropolitan Council spent about $100,000 on a study to determine the costs of the Arden Hills stadium proposal. But no similar study has been done the Minneapolis stadium plan.

"Where is the vetting of the process?" asked Roche, whose Chamber territory includes Roseville and Arden Hills. Roche said that it's quite possible the pricetag on Dayton plan may exceed $1 billion.

Athough not specifying how it thinks a new stadium should be financed, the North Chamber has contended the Arden Hills locations would be an economic driver creating jobs and business for the suburban region. 

Whatever the view on Dayton's plan this week, the proposal faces significant hurdles that include gaining approval from state lawmakers.

To that end, Greiling speculated that if the Legislature doesn't pass the Dayton plan, "then I think the Arden Hills plan is still alive."