The Vikings have been pushing for this site in Arden Hills which currently houses an abandoned Army munitions plant. They really like this because since it's basically in the middle of nowhere, Zygi Wilf (Vikings owner/real estate magnate) can not only build a stadium, he can develop the area nearby into restaurants, retail space, etc. They tried to do this same thing somewhere in Blaine (where the Wilfs would have basically had their own small town of office space, housing and retail centered around a stadium) in like 04-05, but that fell apart.

The problem with this is there will need to be a lot of money spent on environmental cleanup and roadwork. The state does not want to pay for this, and Ramsey County (who said they were going to foot the bill for this) hasn't been able to come up with their funding. Before this was even announced last spring, Dayton said the state wasn't going to pay for redoing the roads out there to accommodate increased traffic.

For these reasons, a lot of people in the capitol (and in Minneapolis) would rather the Vikings try to build in Minneapolis. The three sites suggested are the Metrodome site (which the Vikes don't want, as they would have to play in TCF Bank Stadium on the U campus for 2-3 years and can't really develop the surrounding area,) the farmer's market near Target Field (which would be cool but has spacial concerns and they would share the parking garages with Target Field) and the site near the Basilica. This last one has the team interested, because the area is mostly empty and able to be developed, plus it's near three different highways.

The Vikings still publicly say they want Arden Hills first and foremost, but its looking less and less likely unless they somehow come up with their share of the money. Minneapolis has been gaining a lot of steam lately, and the Basilica site seems to be the one the Vikings like best. The church itself isn't wild about this, but basically said that if they got some money to offset their concerns over parking, they'd be willing to go along with it.

Also, Shakoppee is apparently trying to get in on this, but that literally came up today and who knows if this is even real.

January 24 is the deadline for both Ramsey County and Minneapolis to present their proposals before the legislature and governor.



And you're not tremendously late, the Vikings have only recently mentioned the possibility of Minneapolis for a new stadium. Last year was all about Arden Hills.