MANKATO, Minn. -- With only one more season left on the Metrodome lease, the Minnesota Vikings are running a no huddle offense.
They're putting the numbers and sales pitches out in the open, renewing their stadium push after "patiently" waiting for lawmakers to agree on a budget.
"There's really nothing hidden on this thing. We need the legislature to have a special session," Ramsey County Commissioner Tony Bennett said. Ramsey County Commissioners say they have the votes to pass a tax to fund the local portion of the billion dollar project. The "go-to" plan calls for a new football home at the old Arden Hills Ammunition Plant.
"Ramsey County has stepped up to the plate," County Commissioner Rafael Ortega said before promising that the plan will clean up a polluted site and add thousands of jobs into a hurting economy.
Ortega and Bennett lead a bus full of city leaders and business administrators down to Mankato to take in Vikings training camp and have lunch with the team's top brass. "It's like all the important things in life, you have to get all the available facts and make an informed decision," Vadnais Heights Economic Development Director Keith Warner said.
"On a pure economic standpoint, this is a no brainer," Mounds View Mayor Joe Flaherty said. The Mayor says about 1 in 10 comments he gets about the stadium concerns the tax increase; the majority of the concerns in his community are about noise and traffic. Flaherty says he was getting answers for the city this week.
"The road costs have come down in the 100 million dollar range. We're fine tuning this deal. We've got a framework of an agreement," Vikings VP of Stadium Affairs Lester Bagley announced while standing next to team owner Zygi Wilf.
Bagley also warned that if the team, county and state wait another year, the costs of the project will jump up another $53 million. There was some hopeful talk on this day of the possibility of a special session in October.
Governor Mark Dayton didn't sound quite as optimistic in St. Paul. "We're proceeding and I think that people understand the need for the time that's involved. There's still good will on both sides," the Governor told reporters.
Commissioner Bennett had the chance to shake Coach Leslie Frazier's hand after practice, and jokingly asked him if he could borrow some linemen to bring to the Governor's office. "If that's what we have to do Tony, we'll send Jared Allen, Kevin (Williams), and Steve Hutchinson," Coach replied.
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