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Vikings Send Letter To Minneapolis On Stadium Issue

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Two days before Gov. Mark Dayton says he wants to see final plans for a new Vikings stadium, two plans to build in Minneapolis are under fire.

The Minnesota Vikings attacked a proposal on Tuesday to build a stadium on the current Metrodome site. And folks at the Basilica of St. Mary came out against a plan to build the stadium in their own backyard.

"We wanted them to be aware of how close it was," said Father John Bauer.

Speaking on the steps of the Basilica, Bauer released new visuals of the Linden Avenue site showing just how close the new stadium would be, about a football field away.

"People walking by our door would be just great, but 60,000 trying to park near us would not be so good," Bauer said.

The Vikings actually prefer a plan to build the stadium in Arden Hills, but others want to re-build at the Metrodome where the land and infrastructure are in place.

So they sent a letter to Minneapolis officials saying they'd have to play three seasons at TCF Bank Stadium, the home of the Minnesota Gophers, during the building process. Additional costs because of that would add up to $67 million.

"You know it's actually a refinement of what we know already, that there would be additional costs to play at TCF Bank Stadium so I'm glad they're kind of quantifying that," said Barb Johnson with the Minneapolis City Council.

The Vikings played one game at TCF Bank Stadium last yeawr when the Metrodome's roof collapsed. But because it has fewer seats, the Vikings said the stadium would generate $12.3 million a year less, a $37 million loss.

They also said it would cost $11 million to upgrade the stadium for NFL games and $19 million for more parking at the Metrodome site to meet the NFL's 2,500 spot requirements.

"The Metrodome site is the preference of the city, the city council is on record as saying that. So we'll be refining our numbers, but it's basically the same pitch," Johnson said.

If you add $67 million to the Metrodome project, its price tag is $962 million. That's still almost $140 million less than the $1.1 billion plan in Arden Hills.

Read the full Vikings letter here.

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