Just days after Ramsey County announced that they were very close to a deal with the Minnesota Vikings to bring the team's proposed new stadium to the site of the old Army Ammunition Plant in Arden Hills and the Farmer's Market site near Target Field took themselves out of consideration, it sounds like the city of Minneapolis might want in on the action after all.
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the city of Minneapolis will announce a proposal today to build a new Vikings' stadium on the site where the Metrodome currently sits, and says that the city will pick up 25% of the cost. This comes with just two weeks left in the 2011 Minnesota Legislative Session.
The Star-Tribune is reporting that the plan would use sales taxes from the city's convention center, and would also provide money for renovations to the Target Center, the home of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
On Friday, Zygi Wilf met with representatives from Ramsey County, as well as with Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and City Council Chair Barb Johnson.
Lester Bagley, the Vikings' vice president for stadium development and public affairs, has said that the team is weighing both the Minneapolis and Ramsey County proposals. Last week, Ted Mondale of the Minneapolis Sports Facilities Commission, stated that the Vikings were pursuing the deal with an understanding that they would have to increase their contribution to the project to forty percent of the total cost, a cost that is currently estimated at around $900 million.