>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.

Okay, I remember all the Arden Hills talk. A friend of a friend has parents who live out there, and I heard about it when it was first proposed. I didn't realize the secondary reasons why this would be so appealing to Wilf. My opinion of him has been bred out of deliberate ignorance, but even though it spans from "he's a doofus" to "there's something sinister there" I don't really care about that area or Ramsey County's finances so I sort of hope he finds a way to get his way if that site is the preference.

>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.

Right. Infrastructure. We need that, don't we?

>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.

Is the Metrodome only doomed if something new is built on the site? Or is it gone way or another? I've never quite understood the argument that you can't develop in the surrounding area, but it's repeated often enough by people who pay attention that I assume it's true. Is it because that area is so thoroughly fenced in by interstates?

Additionally, the "we can't develop around there" seems like a weirdly founded complaint. Isn't the idea that there will be development helpful to the entire community is something that sounds true-ish that's largely concocted by owners trying to justify stadium handouts? So if the city can give them a stadium there without the team having to pretend that the area will be some new great place for families to spend time in April, then what's the problem?

>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.

Ugh. I get what they're doing. This isn't a fight the Basilica wants to lose without a consolation prize, but I have a hard time imagining the parish keeping its size and shape when the area is flooded eight Sunday mornings a week - into Advent no less. On the other hand, my wife's church is really close to the Titans' stadium and they seem to do fine regarding it as a seasonal inconvenience.

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

Didn't they do that with the Twins' park too? Oh Shakopee. Day late and also kind of lame.