North metro business group: Vikings stadium belongs in Arden Hills

The North Metro Business Alliance has five words for anyone thinking a new Minnesota Vikings stadium should be built in Minneapolis – Do not forget Arden Hills.

On the eve of the first state Capitol hearing on a proposed $975 million stadium in Minneapolis, business leaders in Ramsey County touted the advantages Tuesday of moving the project back to Arden Hills. "We're trying to refocus it back on Arden Hills," said Tim Roche, the president of the Twin Cities North Chamber of Commerce.

Roche said many officials still believe the proposal to build the Vikings a $1.1 billion stadium in Ramsey County's Arden Hills was dealt with unfairly by state officials, and that the plan to build it in Minneapolis not only has not been subject to the same scrutiny but contains significant disadvantages.

In a four-page comparison of the two stadium proposals, the business group said that the agreement between the state, city and the Vikings to build in Minneapolis was a "sweetheart deal for the team" and "provides major concessions to the team that were not included in the Ramsey County proposal."

Among the differences, according to the business group:

-- In Minneapolis, the Vikings will pay 60 percent of operating costs. In Arden Hills, the team would pay for all operating costs.

-- In Minneapolis, the Vikings get all game-day revenues. In Arden Hills, the receipts from the team's personal seat licenses were capped.

-- In Minneapolis, the stadium would not be subject to a metro significance review by the Metropolitan Council. In Arden Hills, the project was reviewed by the Met Council, which found flaws with it.

Ramsey County's proposal to build the stadium in Arden Hills – the Vikings said for nearly a year it was the team's preferred choice – fell in disfavor as Gov. Mark Dayton and city officials said that building in Minneapolis would be cheaper and require less surrounding infrastructure.

State officials also said that Ramsey County's initial plan to levy a countywide sales tax to raise $350 million for the county's stadium share was unworkable because the controversial project would face a citizen referendum.

The Minneapolis stadium would be built on the site of the Metrodome, where the team has played for the past 30 years. Under the plan, the Vikings would contribute $427 million to the new stadium's construction, the state would pay $398 million and the city would initially contribute $150 million.

"We stay in touch" with the Vikings, said Roche. "But I think, you know, they got to be friends with everybody.

The business group's comparison of Arden Hills and Minneapolis came as another player tried to re-enter the stadium debate.