If Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak keeps this up, you can expect his next step to be standing outside of the Vikings' offices at Winter Park holding a boom box over his head while it plays Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes.
While the Vikings continue to make it clear that the one plan they're interested in for a stadium is the site of the old Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant in Arden Hills, Rybak continues to keep throwing plans for a stadium in Minneapolis out there. He did it again on Thursday, with not one, not two, but three different plans that he claims are all cheaper than building a stadium in Ramsey County.
Rybak also has a couple of different proposals out there for how Minneapolis would fund their share of the stadium expense, with options ranging from a city-wide sales tax to allowing a downtown casino to be built in Block E. The latter of those two things seems highly unlikely to take place, however, due largely to the power that the Indian gaming lobby has in the Minnesota legislature.
To their credit, both of those proposals would allow Minneapolis to shift some of the burden from people who live in the city to those that come there for work or for recreational purposes, but the Vikings released a statement shortly after Rybak's press conference stressing their commitment to the Arden Hills site.
We respect Mayor Rybak and the City of Minneapolis for trying to find a stadium solution. However, the Minnesota Vikings have a local partner – Ramsey County – with whom we have negotiated for several months. Arden Hills is the ideal stadium site for the State, the Vikings and our fans.
Arden Hills is where Zygi Wilf wants to put the Vikings' new home, and Minneapolis keeps acting like the jilted girlfriend that says she wants you to be happy, but keeps trying to screw up your relationship with your new girlfriend out of petty jealousy. The Vikings have been fighting the stadium battle for ten years, and Minneapolis didn't come up with anything during that entire time period that trumps what the Vikings have with Ramsey County and Arden Hills. It's time for them to step back and let the Ramsey County development happen.