This morning's story on the proposed park adjacent to the new Vikings stadium explained that the MSFA and Vikings have already carved out large chunks of time each year to use the space.

That's according to a February agreement that was quietly signed by city representatives, Ryan Companies and the MSFA in February. It elaborates on a more vague 2013 term sheet approved by the City Council. See below for a copy of that agreement.

The story also says that the Park Board anticipates that the park's annual operations costs will be about $419,000. That document, generated by the Park Board, is also copied below.

Finally, here is the full text of Mayor Betsy Hodges' statement regarding the future use of the park.

"I'm excited that such a great green space will be available to the public in Downtown East for the vast majority of days of the year: it will meet an urgent and much-recognized need for downtown green space, and will come at no cost to the taxpayers to acquire. My focus is now on ensuring that creative and flexible solutions for design, build-out and programming will maximize the opportunities that we do have for making this the best urban public green space anywhere in America.

"From the very start, this space was meant to serve the dual purpose of stadium plaza and public park, and the City and our dedicated staff team negotiated the best park-use deal available in the context of very challenging, months-long negotiations with many public and private partners. I expect the Vikings and the Authority to be good partners with the community in making sure that the events that they program at the park are also in the public interest and maximize the public's participation. That is the intent and spirit of our agreement, and I will push to make sure that it is honored.

"Resolving the governance and operations of the park is the first piece of the puzzle. There is an emerging consensus, which I share, that the public will be best served if the park is governed and operated by a conservancy, with the Park Board's preserving ownership of the park. We are working hard with our partners to get to that resolution as quickly as possible. Once we do so, we will clear the path for rapid decisions around fundraising, design and programming."

06-02 Urban Park Use Agreement - Executed (716565)

Downtown East Maintenance Cost Esitmate