Minneapolis stadium plan provides for operating, construction costs

Minneapolis city officials said in a plan released Thursday that they could contribute more than $300 million to the construction and operation of a new Vikings stadium at the Metrodome.

January 12, 2012 at 7:52PM
Rendering of a new Vikings stadium on the Metrodome site
Rendering of a new Vikings stadium on the Metrodome site (City of Minneapolis/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The plan says the city could pitch in about $6.5 million a year for 30 years to the stadium's operations and capital maintainance, while providing another $150 million to help construct the facility.

That works out to about $313 million in 2016 dollars, according to the mayor's office. Since $150 million will go to construction, that could leave the state with a bill of more than $450 million to construct the stadium.

Beyond that, the plan offered little new details about how Minneapolis will redirect existing sales taxes (which currently prop up the convention center) to pay for a stadium while retaining enough money to sustain the convention center and pay off the Target Center debt.

The plan also does not address what could be a stumbling block for mayor R.T. Rybak's efforts: the city's charter. The charter states that the city must hold a referendum if more than $10 million in city funds go to a sports facility.

"While we are open to and engaged in continued discussions with the Vikings on the Linden Avenue site, we believe that Downtown East remains the best, lowest cost option for a new Vikings stadium," Rybak and Council president Barb Johnson said in a letter to Capitol leaders.

They note that the Minneapolis plan is "the only one that puts immediate cash on the table."

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