A St. Paul small business consultant, frustrated that state officials are not asking for more from Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, has yet another plan to build the team's new stadium.
"I'm quite certain that they will come to me," Mike O'Connor said Monday of the Vikings. He detailed his plan to reporters at the state Capitol to build a new stadium in Arden Hills.
O'Connor said he submitted his idea to Gov. Mark Dayton last month, but has not heard back from the governor's office. "I really am disappointed that there has been no reaction," said O'Connor, who said he is a consultant for three start-up ventures in Minnesota and Arizona.
The plan would allow the Vikings to build the stadium in Ramsey County's Arden Hills, and then have the public get repaid by piggybacking on the surrounding development Wilf – a real estate developer -- would be allowed to pursue.
He said his calculations showed that the true public cost of a new Vikings stadium was closer to $1.1 billion, after adding in interest, but that the public could earn $2 billion in profits by sharing in the stadium naming rights, the increased value of the team and Wilf's surrounding real estate development.
"It's possible for taxpayers to realize a $2 billion gain," he said. "It certainly won't be the zero return our elected officials are currently negotiating. Under my plan, the taxpayers have every penny of their money returned, plus interest.
"I'm a farm kid from South Dakota," said O'Connor.
