The state should contribute $30 million to clean up the former ammunitions plant site at Arden Hills this year if the Ramsey County locations is not selected as the future home of the Minnesota Vikings, Gov. Mark Dayton said Friday.
"I told the county commissioners that I would put in and work hard for $30 million of bonding to clean up the site if the project, if the stadium goes elsewhere so we can get that ready to be developed. It is just a fabulous piece of property potentially," Dayton said. He said he did not put the money in the borrowing proposal he released last week because he did not want to prejudge where the stadium would be built.
Ramsey County officials and the Vikings have been working together for months to locate a new stadium on the sprawling Arden Hills land.
"I can see why the Vikings find the site appealing," said Dayton.
The governor Friday praised Ramsey County officials for their work with the Vikings.
"They've been consistent, they've been clear and they have a workable plan, except for the Legislature," Dayton said.
Legislative leaders have said they would not approve a Ramsey County tax to raise money for a stadium-building project without a local referendum. Officials believe a referendum would fail before voters, which makes the local tax an untenable source of financing.
"If for perchance, and I hope this doesn't happen but it is a genuine possibility...the (stadium) decision is postponed until 2013,as some would prefer, then there would be an option for Ramsey County to put one or both of those (tax) proposals on the ballot next November and see if people support it or not," the governor said.
