WCCO’s Eric Nelson & Steve Thomson Interviews Lester Bagley

“This is their third swing at it,” he said. “We actually preferred and thought their previous versions were more viable. But, of course, what is politically achievable is the question at the Capitol. What could get the votes? So they put a package together that included some user fees.”

The new funding proposal for Arden Hills includes; user fees, parking lot naming rights, $25-per-vehicle parking fees, a 3 percent tax on every Vikings ticket and hospitality taxes. Bagley said the proposal was problematic for the Vikings because the team was counting on some of the revenues that would go to the county instead.

“We have some issues, but Ramsey County is hanging in there,” he said. “We’re working hard. We’re still alive, but we just have some issues with this latest version.”

As for Minneapolis as a possible stadium location, Bagley said the city is still in the running, but like Arden Hills, it comes with issues.

“It’s been clear to us, and told to us by numerous legislators on both sides of the isle, that if the stadium is going to be built in Minneapolis, there is going to need to be city support for it,” Bagley said.

He said that is one of the challenges the city has.

“The mayor and council president Barbara Johnson are working hard on that,” he said. “Let’s get support of the city council, because that is going to be critical for any progress at the Capitol.”

He said there are issues regarding the Metrodome as a possible stadium location because they would have to tear it down and play two or three seasons at TCF Bank Stadium.

The Vikings announced on Saturday that Paton is being promoted from director of player personnel to assistant general manager. Paton has been one of GM Rick Spielman’s most trusted advisors for years. He worked with Spielman in Chicago and Miami before coming to the Vikings in 2007.

Spielman was promoted to general manager earlier this offseason, giving him full control of the football operations.

Spielman praised Paton’s “work ethic, leadership, professionalism and keen eye for identifying talented football players” in a statement announcing that he would remain with the Vikings.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

ST. PAUL (WCCO) — Ramsey County leaders are back on the offense in the stadium game with a new funding proposal to get the Arden Hills stadium site back on the legislature’s radar. The only problem: The Vikings don’t like it.

Rebuffed by legislators not once, but twice, Ramsey County officials delivered a stadium financing plan to Gov. Mark Dayton.

“Our new plan is a game changer,” said Ramsey County Commissioner Tony Bennett. “The site that we have with 260 acres is far and away the best site that there is if you want to do things differently and not be on a 35- or 40-acre site.”

County funding for the Arden Hills stadium would come from user fees, including parking lot naming rights, $25 per vehicle parking fees a 3 percent tax on every Vikings ticket and unspecified hospitality taxes for new hotels, bars and restaurants developed on the stadium site.

Meanwhile, Dayton is visibly frustrated by the lack of progress on any plan, more specifically progress made by Minneapolis.

“I understand now why the Vikings decided: Enough of Minneapolis, we’re going to Arden Hills,” said Dayton.

He’s singling out the Minneapolis City Council and the state legislature for not acting quickly enough on what he calls a stadium “jobs” bill. He warned again: don’t be surprised if the Vikings leave.

“In the real world of sports pro franchises, teams move or they sell to somebody else who will move,” said Dayton. “If you want to play Russian roulette and try to see how long it’s gonna will take for that to happen in Minnesota, I think that’s a very foolish gamble.”

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings are walking a very tight line on this.

On the one hand, they say they appreciate Ramsey County “hanging in there” through all the controversy.

On the other hand, the team has “significant concerns” about the plan, especially the part where Ramsey County gets the parking revenues.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The latest proposal for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium has the team playing home games more than two hours from the Twin Cities.

Senator Roger Reinert wants to put the stadium in Duluth. His plan to pay for it includes allowing liquor sales on Sundays.

In the shadow of the Vikings current home for the last 30 years, it’s hard to imagine change.

“I still like being able to hop on a bus and be 15 minutes away,” said Jake Frechette, a Vikings fan.

It’s even more difficult to imagine the home field two hours north of the Twin Cities.

“I wouldn’t want to drive up to Duluth to see a Vikings game,” said Frechette.

Sen. Reinert knows his proposal to build a stadium near Duluth will be a tough sell.

“The thing I know for sure, if the idea isn’t put on the table, it’s not going to happen,” said Reinert, who proposed building a Vikings stadium in Duluth.

Senator Reinert has come up with some selling points.  In a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton, Sen. Reinert pointed out that Duluth is already a travel destination for many Minnesotans, a high speed rail line will connect Duluth to Minneapolis in 2015 and construction could begin on the proposed 500 acre site very soon.

He also included a funding option that would not raise taxes.  He proposes using the revenue from the proposed Sunday liquor sale legislation to pay for the stadium.

“I’m happy it would be without additional taxes that would be a good thing,” said Linda Peterson.

Still, it seems to be a trade-off many in the metro aren’t willing to make.

“It’s a port city more than a sport city 28.”

Gov. Dayton has said the Metrodome site is the only viable option. The Vikings said Sunday liquor has been brought up in the past, but still wouldn’t cover the state’s portion of the stadium.

It’s still sinking in nearly a week later.

The former Minnesota Vikings defensive end met with reporters Thursday for the first time since getting the big news. Doleman says he is humbled by the honor, but is “still trying to get a feel for what all this means.”

Doleman is fourth on the NFL’s career list with 150 1/2 sacks. He’s 21 sacks in 1989 stood as the Vikings single-season record until this season when Jared Allen broke it.

Doleman says it’s been a whirlwind since the announcement on Saturday. His son Evan will introduce him at the induction ceremony in August.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Sen. Roger Reinert announced plans Thursday for a proposed Vikings stadium in Duluth, by delivering a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton.

Reinert said if the Green Bay Packers can attract ticket holders from more than two hours away (like Madison, Wis. or Milwaukee), then the Vikings can, too.

“Stationing the Vikings in Duluth is economically advantageous and will help further supplant the message that the Vikings represent all of Minnesota and are not exclusive to the metropolitan areas of Minneapolis and St. Paul,” Reinert said.

The proposal puts the stadium southwest of the downtown Duluth area on 500 acres of what used to be the U.S. Steel/Atlas Cement Works Site.

The city says they already support a tourism industry of more than 3.5 million tourists, with a direct economic impact ranging from $750 million to $780 million.

The senator proposes the state’s portion of stadium funding could be paid through the Sunday Sales legislation, which is currently at the Senate Commerce Committee.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP/WCCO) — Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and labor groups say they have agreements with the Vikings that they hope will increase city support for a new stadium on the current Metrodome site.

The agreements call for union labor to be used on any stadium, with unions committing to no work stoppages.

The Mayor used the Vikings own figures to say building a stadium would create 13,000 jobs in Minneapolis, including 7,500 construction jobs.

The Vikings separately have signed a letter of intent to OK unionized concession workers at the new stadium.

Still under discussion is a workforce agreement that would set goals for hiring women and minority workers and subcontractors. The agreement would also aim to hire Minneapolis residents from zip codes with high rates of poverty.

Vikings Vice President Lester Bagley said legislative leaders have made it clear to the team that in order for them to support a Vikings stadium in Minneapolis, the stadium has to have support from the Minneapolis City Council.

And despite the rally-like atmosphere at Monday’s news conference, it’s clear that at this time the votes in the council aren’t there.

Joined by representatives of local unions, the Urban League, the Minneapolis Downtown Council and the Chamber of Commerce, Rybak said building a stadium in downtown Minneapolis would put the construction workers behind him back to work.

And while the workers may represent a cross section of the city, the majority of the Minneapolis City Council is opposed to the project, although Mayor Rybak insists he is closer than he was.

For the workers there, like Mike Harper, any kind of steady job is one they would gladly take.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP/WCCO) — Mayor RT Rybak, along with community leaders, will announce a workforce agreement Monday to help create jobs at a new Vikings stadium.

The agreement will be announced at a press conference at 1 p.m. Monday at the Gridiron Club at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The plan is for a site to be built next to the Metrodome.

The new plan would put the stadium just east of where the Metrodome now stands on what is currently a parking lot.

Earlier plans to build on the Metrodome site would require the Vikings to move elsewhere for as long as three years, likely to TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus.

Ted Mondale, chairman of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, said the plan — which is still being shaped — could see a new stadium as much as three-fourths done before the Metrodome would have to be demolished. Mondale said in that scenario the Vikings could stay in the Dome through 2015, with a new stadium complete by 2016.

Lester Bagley, the Vikings vice president for stadium development and public affairs, said the goal is to cut down on time the team plays at TCF Bank Stadium. Playing at the university stadium would also require about $50 million to make the facility NFL-ready.

“It’s the dome site proposal but shifting it,” Bagley said. “The idea is to eliminate the three seasons we’re playing at the university.”

Bagley said the Vikings, city and state officials are looking to prepare a funding package for this newest proposal in the next week to 10 days. Bagley said the team isn’t convinced the new plan is affordable.

The Vikings have said their preferred site is the St. Paul suburb of Arden Hills, but the site’s been ruled out by Gov. Mark Dayton without any clear source of local government revenue. Another site near a historic church on the western edge of downtown Minneapolis has also been rejected.

Stadium bill sponsor Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, said a new proposal would have to be ready in the next couple of weeks for lawmakers to consider it this session.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak says there is going to be a major announcement Monday concerning a Vikings stadium.

Rybak told WCCO Radio that the announcement concerns the site next to the Metrodome.

WCCO’s Esme Murphy Interviews R.T. Rybak

It’s the property just east of where the Metrodome currently sits, near 11th Avenue and 6th Street.

Building there would mean the team could continue playing at the Metrodome, rather than losing seating by playing at TCF Bank Stadium.

But there are some concerns about the property, because it’s home to numerous telecommunications companies.

Rybak also said the Minneapolis City Council isn’t fully on board with the new plan, but it’s getting close.

“I think people are seeing every day a little more progress, and I believe in this,” Rybak said. “I believe in the Vikings, but I think we have to do it in a way that’s responsible.”

The star running back with the Patriots and Jets for 11 seasons was one of six players elected Saturday to the shrine. Martin once disliked playing the game, but used it to escape a neighborhood where his grandmother was murdered.

“When I get awarded something like the Hall of Fame, it’s almost foreign to me,” said Martin, the NFL’s No. 4 career rusher. “This wasn’t something I planned on doing. Football is something I did so I didn’t end up jailed or dead.

“If you make up your mind to just do the right thing no matter what … and you stick to it, which I did, this is how things can turn around. I feel as if my life turned around from what it used to be, and I think anyone has a chance.”

Martin and four linemen were elected to the hall, along with one senior committee choice. He is joined by Chris Doleman, Cortez Kennedy, Willie Roaf, Dermontti Dawson, and senior selection Jack Butler.

Jerome Bettis, Cris Carter and Bill Parcells were among the finalists who didn’t make it.

“I’m not even close to this position, I actually don’t think I’d play more than four or five years without Bill Parcells,” Martin said, indicating he will have his former coach present him for induction on Aug. 4 in Canton, Ohio.

A panel of 44 media members voted in the six men.

Martin made it for his consistency and durability, rushing for 14,101 and 90 touchdowns. He rushed for at least 1,000 yards in each of his first 10 seasons, the first three with New England and the others with the Jets. The 1995 Offensive Rookie of the Year, Martin won the NFL rushing title in 2004 with 1,697 yards.

Doleman and Kennedy were sackmasters from the defensive line, Doleman at end and Kennedy at tackle.

Doleman had 150 1/2 sacks in his 15 seasons, mostly with Minnesota, and was one of the prototype agile yet powerful pass rushers who dominate the game today. He made the Pro Bowl eight times and was fourth on the sacks list when he retired.

“I am totally blown away by this and humbled by it,” Doleman said, adding his son, Evan, would present him for induction. “When they call your name, you’re absolutely numb.”

Kennedy was a force inside, both as a run stopper and in threatening quarterbacks. The 1992 Defensive Player of the Year made eight Pro Bowls, had 58 sacks — an unusually high total for a tackle — and spent his entire 11-season career with Seattle.

Roaf spent one season at right tackle, then the rest of his 13 seasons on the left side, making 11 Pro Bowls. He made the All-Decade team for the 1990s.

Dawson made seven Pro Bowls as the Steelers’ center, that rare snapper who also could block defensive players one on one. He replaced a Hall of Famer, Mike Webster, and started for Pittsburgh for most of his 13 pro seasons.

Butler also played for the Steelers as a cornerback from 1951-59, picking off 52 passes, at the time second most in NFL history. But he was best known for his tackling skills.

“They told me I was good. I didn’t know I was good,” Butler said. “I never, ever, ever thought I would be here.”

Guard Will Shields didn’t get in — the only first-year eligible player to make the 15-man finals. Shields started all but one of the 224 games in his 14 seasons in Kansas City.

Bettis also fell short. He was the 1993 Offensive Rookie of the Year with the Rams who retired in 2006 after winning his only Super Bowl with the Steelers. He is the NFL’s No. 5 career rusher.

Parcells coached the Giants to Super Bowl titles in the 1987 and 1991 games and also lost the 1997 Super Bowl with New England. He coached the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys, too.

Carter is the No. 4 career receiver with 1,101 in 16 seasons with three teams.

Others not voted in were receivers Tim Brown and Andre Reed, defensive end/linebackers Kevin Greene and Charles Haley, defensive back Aeneas Williams, and former 49ers owner Ed DeBartolo Jr.

The other senior finalist, guard Dick Stanfel, was not chosen, either.

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The star running back said in a series of posts on his Twitter page on Wednesday that he balked at switching because he was told he would have to pay $1 million to buy out the unused inventory of the jerseys already produced with his current number.

The NFL says a player must apply to change his number by March of the year in which he wants to switch. The league is changing jersey manufacturers from Reebok to Nike this year. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy says the number-switch policy hasn’t yet been finalized for 2012.

Peterson said last week on Twitter he was pondering picking either No. 23 or No. 21.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Just when you thought you’d heard every stadium idea imaginable, a new site is emerging and it could solve one of the Vikings’ concerns.

It’s a site close to the Metrodome that would let the Vikings keep playing in their old home while the new stadium is being built.

In the blocks just east of the Metrodome, near 11th Avenue and 6th Street, is the newest proposed site for a Vikings stadium.

Building in the back yard of the Mall of America Field would save the expense and time it would take to move the Vikings to TCF Stadium. The team would also be able to continue to play at the Metrodome until the new stadium is complete.

But this new site also has its issues.

“Xcel the company has some infrastructure there and you got the 511 building ,which also has quite a few telecommunications companies in there with quite a bit of infrastructure,” said Corry Merifield of Save the Vikes.

Merifield said it would cost a lot of money to relocate those buildings and all that come with it. For instance, some roads might have to be changed.

“You’ve got exits and entrances from [Interstate 94] and [Interstate 35W] coming in and out of there,” Merifield said.

Most of those freeway entrances would have to be changed, adding more to the cost of relocating and changing infrastructure to accommodate a new downtown stadium.

Vikings vice president Lester Bagley told MPR that just because there are properties doesn’t mean that the Vikings can build there. They would evaluate it, he said, but the organization has yet to see a viable proposal on an alternate Metrodome site.

Inside Grumpy’s Bar on Sunday, Viking’s fans sounded off about the potential stadium site.

“You could either tear down the Metrodome and build something there or go to another site. Don’t go across the street,” said Vikings fan Jesse Thorson.

Although there are extra costs associated with the site near the Metrodome, the Vikings previously said it would take about $11 million to get the Gophers’ stadium ready for NFL games. They also claimed they’d lose about $12 million in revenue each year they played there.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — For a solid decade, the countdown to the end of the Minnesota Vikings’ lease at the Metrodome has hung like a hammer over the political debate on whether citizens should help pay for a new stadium. That lease is about to expire, but thanks to a confluence of NFL deadlines and Minnesota’s legislative calendar, it’s not looking like the advantage the Vikings might have hoped.

“Let’s address this issue before it becomes a crisis because that’s where we’re headed,” said Lester Bagley, the Vikings’ stadium point man — in 2003. The moment Bagley was predicting back then has arrived, and while there’s a flurry of Capitol activity over the stadium, the team’s immediate prospects for relocating are remote.

Within weeks, the Vikings are likely to be in a position where they must acknowledge the certainty of a 2012 kickoff right back in the Metrodome.

“We believe our lease is expired,” Bagley, still plugging away as the team’s vice president of stadium development, said this week.

On paper, the lease runs through the 2011 season, which ends next Sunday after the Giants meet the Patriots in Indianapolis. But just 10 days after that comes the National Football League’s deadline by which an owner must notify the league of the intention to relocate a team for the next season — a grim prospect that has fueled the rhetoric of Vikings fans and their political allies pushing for stadium money.

While there are cities looking for an NFL franchise, Los Angeles chief among them, hurdles are steep to it happening quickly. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said league executives do not believe two Los Angeles groups vying to build a new stadium and land a franchise are in position to field a team by the ’12 season, and no other cities are even near as far along as that.

“I don’t know of any scenario where they play anywhere else but the Dome in 2012,” said Ted Mondale, whom Gov. Mark Dayton tapped to lead the public board that owns the Metrodome. (Mondale believes a loophole in the team’s lease will keep them there for one more year regardless, but the Vikings disagree with that interpretation. It’s a dispute that may ultimately be irrelevant.)

The Vikings don’t need a new lease to keep playing in the Metrodome — the MinnesotaTwins proved that when their own lease there expired after the 2004 season. Even after that, and perpetual worries the team could relocate, state lawmakers still took two more years before finally approving public funding for a new baseball stadium.

“If they don’t throw you out — which of course they’re not going to do — then the terms of the lease apply even if you don’t have a lease,” said Jerry Bell, the retired former Twins president and a veteran of stadium political fights. The Twins finally moved into Target Field at the start of the 2010 season.

At the Capitol, the Vikings stadium debate has been stuck in a muddle as Dayton and the team’s legislative allies struggle to assemble a proposal that could pass the House and Senate. In recent days, a proposal to tear down the Metrodome and rebuild at the same site has emerged as the flavor of the moment. In that scenario, the Vikings would temporarily move a couple miles to TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota, but the expenses forced by such a move make that an “only if absolutely necessary” possibility. And the Metrodome plan has already gotten major pushback by members of the Minneapolis City Council, who have the power to at least gum up the works.

Even if a stadium bill emerges between now and Feb. 15, the Vikings after that date will have lost what’s been an important bargaining chip. “Who knows what might happen when the lease ends” will shift to “See you at the Metrodome in September.” If so, the many lawmakers who don’t share the urgency that team boosters have worked so hard to cultivate will have newfound cover to wait another year or two. Or three.

“We don’t want to rush into this, boxing ourselves in and putting ourselves in a corner,” House Majority Leader Matt Dean, R-Dellwood, said Friday. Dean said he’s worried that a premature stadium vote might actually fail — potentially putting the state at even greater risk of losing the team.

Bagley refused to speculate what would happen once the relocation deadline has passed. “We’re 100 percent focused on getting a stadium solution,” he said.

Mondale said there’s no real date by which the team must notify their Metrodome landlords that they intend to play their next season there. “Frankly, it’s been the assumption that they will,” he said.

But those who worry the most about the team leaving — Vikings fanatics — take no comfort in knowing they can at least count on a 2012 season in Minnesota.

“What concerns me the most is that Zygi Wilf could say, ‘Fine, you’ve got me for another year — but after that we’re just done with it,’” said Cory Merrifield, who launched the grassroots lobbying group SavetheVikes.org. “Without a lease, the Vikings are essentially free agents.”

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Shurmur hired former Minnesota coach Brad Childress as his first offensive coordinator on Friday, reuniting two coaches who spent seven seasons together on Andy Reid’s staff with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Browns confirmed Childress’ hiring with a release that did not include any quotes.

Childress, who spent nearly five seasons with the Vikings before he was fired in 2010, will try to improve the Browns’ dismal offense, which scored just 218 points last season, finished 29th in total yardage, 28th in rushing and 24th in passing. He’ll also have input in the team’s vital decision at starting quarterback. — a choice that could impact the club for years.

The 55-year-old Childress was a logical choice to join the Browns, who went 4-12 in their first season under Shurmur. In addition to being tight with Shurmur, Childress is familiar with the West Coast offense the Browns installed last year and he’s represented by agent Bob Lamonte, who also has Shurmur and Browns president Mike Holmgren as clients.

Shurmur juggled both head coach and coordinator duties during a troublesome first season in Cleveland. It’s believed Shurmur will initially call Cleveland’s plays next season but he intends to turn things over to Childress, who recently interviewed for Tampa Bay’s head coaching job. Childress has only one season (2006) of experience calling plays.

Childress is the third former NFL head coach on Shurmur’s staff, joining defensive coordinator Dick Jauron and senior defensive assistant Ray Rhodes.

Childress was Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator from 2003-05 when Shurmur coached the Eagles quarterbacks. While he was with the Eagles, Childress went to three straight NFC title games and the Super Bowl in 2004.

Shurmur was asked about Childress during his season-ending news conference on Jan. 3.

“I know Brad very well,” Shurmur said. “He and I worked together for a long time. He’s a terrific coach.”

Childress went 39-35 in four-plus seasons with the Vikings, twice leading them to the playoffs and going 1-2. Minnesota won division titles in 2008 and 2009, when the Vikings made it to the NFC title game with quarterback Brett Favre, whom Childress had famously picked up at the airport. But after a 3-7 start in 2010, Childress was fired by owner Zygi Wilf one day after the Vikings were blown out at home by rival Green Bay.

The Browns considered hiring an offensive coordinator before last season but didn’t find a suitable candidate. Holmgren suggested Shurmur maintain play-calling duties to control the offense and build a stronger bond with second-year quarterback Colt McCoy. Shurmur, though, seemed overwhelmed at times as the Browns had some communication breakdowns and time-management issues.

The addition of Childress should free up Shurmur during the week as he prepares for games.

“I think what it will do is allow me to just step back and look down one some things in some areas that I may be able to contribute more,” Shurmur said after the season. “That’s a key piece.”

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – There was strong opposition to a Vikings stadium Thursday in a place the Vikings can least afford it.

The Minneapolis City Council is opposing a stadium deal without a public referendum. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said getting city council support to spend money on a Vikings stadium is “tough, but doable.”

He’s absolutely right about the first part. The city council making it clear: this is far from “doable.”

Council members didn’t hide their frustration with Rybak, and a football team they think are trying to do an end run on them.

“Right now the calls are coming into my office 10 to 1 against, and people are absolutely indignant about this situation with the charter,” said Lisa Goodman with the Minneapolis City Council. “It makes me cry when I see you are trying to get around this. It makes me say why am I even here?”

The Minneapolis city charter limits the amount of money the city can spend on a sports facility, and a majority of council members said they won’t support one without a public referendum.

“Looking across the street at Occupy Minnesota and thinking about what’s going on in our country right now, some of the discussions that are going on relative to government. Can we trust them or not, I can’t countenance going around that referendum,” said Council Member Sandra Colvin Roy.

Even the council president, who supports the stadium, complained about the city picking up a stadium tab the rest of the state should share.

“They’re not willing to raise their hands and say I am willing to tax my citizens to keep these professional teams in Minnesota,” said Barbara Johnson.

Rybak’s warning: Time is running out.

“Let’s get real with ourselves here folks. This is a risk, but there’s also an enormous risk of doing nothing,” said Rybak.

Despite the strong opposition voiced at the council Thursday, Rybak told reporters there will be no referendum on a stadium in Minneapolis. He said the only referendum will be when he runs for re-election two years from now.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – It was an unusually long three hour meeting on Wednesday at the State Capitol, but it was about an issue that’s been going on for more than 10 years.

Minnesota Vikings staff and state lawmakers were behind closed doors.

Now, team owner Zygi Wilf said he’s more open than ever to putting a new stadium on Metrodome land in downtown Minneapolis. But does it mean they’re closer to a stadium deal at the State Capitol?

There remains a long way to go in the Vikings stadium saga, but it’s looking like it’s Metrodome or nowhere. Now the Vikings may be warming to the idea.

“We feel optimistic and confident that we can get something done,” Wilf said.

A renovated stadium at the site of the Metrodome was at the bottom of the Vikings preference list. The team was trying to make a deal and pledge big money to build in suburban Arden Hills.

Now, Vikings officials are acknowledging it they be forced to go where ever the legislature can get the most votes.

“We’re doing our due diligence right now to understand what issues we have to face to make sure the facility we participate in will be a world class venue,” Wilf said.

If the Vikings and state lawmakers reach a deal to build a new stadium on the Metrodome site, it comes with a slew of logistical problems.

Among the biggest problems: How to fit an NFL team into a smaller TCF Bank Stadium venue during new stadium construction. Another: Minneapolis is insisting that renovating the Target Center must be part of any stadium package.

“While I understand that there are some challenges with that here, we won’t be able to move forward without it,” said Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak.

Arden Hills is not out of the picture, but it is fading fast. Ramsey County has until Friday to come up with a funding plan that can pass a reluctant state legislature.

That’s all happening as Minneapolis cobbles together a stadium plan to get just enough votes for passage.

“Any idea out there that we have is going to gain us some votes or lose us some votes. That’s why this is so difficult to put this together,” said Rep. Morris Lanning.

If the Vikings stadium is built on the Metrodome site, the Vikings would have to play at TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota for three years.

They don’t like it, but they’re running out of options and time. How to pay for a stadium remains a major sticking point, too.

Slot machines at Canterbury Park and electronic pull tabs are options. One of the stadium authors said pull tabs may have the best odds of passing.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — If the Dome does end up getting torn down so that a new Vikings stadium can be built there, the team would have to play at TCF Bank Stadium for up to three seasons.

Last season there was a mad scramble to clear off the snow covered seats when TCF became the site for the Vikings vs. Bears game, after the dome roof collapsed.

The stadium had been closed for the season and had to be reopened.

But if the Vikings end up having to use the Gophers stadium as their interim field — it’ll need more than a temporary fix.

The U billed the Vikings roughly $1.8 million for renting the stadium to the Vikings for one game last year but for a full season there would be complications.

The U says if the Vikings play there it would be a huge scheduling headache. Williams Arena, where the Gophers basketball team plays, is right right next to TCF. The U’s athletic communications director Gary Bowman said if the Vikings played at TCF on Sunday, all Gophers basketball, hockey and volleyball games would have to be rescheduled because of traffic concerns.

Another issue is, three years at TCF would mean three years of fans doing without beer and other alcoholic beverages. Alcohol is not allowed at U athletic venues.

“Vikings fans will want their beer,” Cory Merrifield of SavetheVikes.org said.

Then there’s the lack of parking and the lack of seats.

The Dome has 65,000 seats and TCF can only hold 45,000. With fewer seats the Vikings estimate they would lose $12 million a year on ticket sales — that’s $36 million over three seasons.

And then there is the issue of the stadium not being built to be used in December and January, when temperatures are obviously much colder.

The one-time cost to get TCF’s temperature ready is $11 million. Heating coils will have to be installed in the field, restrooms and other water pipes will have to be insulated and concession stands will need cold-weather protection for both vendors and their food.

But while TCF is far from ideal, it’s a site super fan Merrifield could live with.

“It has been done before. Chicago and Arizona both had to make do and play at nearby colleges while their stadiums are being built so I guess if it is between this and LA and what we are forced to take, we will take it,” he said.

And the U says they actually have talked to the University of Illinois about their experience hosting the Bears. In many ways, that was a lot worse for fans. Champagne is almost three hours from Chicago. But that was only for one season, when Soldier Field was being renovated and not torn down.

Dayton spokeswoman Katharine Tinucci says the governor gave that message Monday to team owner Zygi Wilf.

Tinucci says she can’t say if the Metrodome is Dayton’s favorite site for a new Vikings stadium. But she says for practical reasons, Dayton believes the Metrodome is the site if a stadium bill is to pass this year.

The Vikings have said they prefer a Ramsey County proposal to build a $1.1 billion stadium in Arden Hills.

Vikings vice president Lester Bagley did not immediately return a phone message.

The Vikings’ lease at the Metrodome has expired.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Once the epicenter of entertainment in downtown Minneapolis, Block E is now struggling to stay alive.

Now, the developers of the struggling Block E are prepared to join the stadium debate — placing a wager that they could be the saving grace.

From his 28th floor offices in downtown Minneapolis, Bob Lux can see the future. Lux and his business partner, Phillip Jaffe, are promising jobs, tax revenue, large crowds and safety.

They envision a downtown renaissance powered by a high-end casino.

“We want people to come from Fargo or Minot or Sioux Falls. They come because there is a casino and we got the hotels here, but they really experience the entire resort activity of downtown Minneapolis,” said Lux.

Jaffe and Lux say their Block E casino would draw 5.6 million visits a year and 15,000 every day.

Licensed by the state, but privately owned and operated, they say the casino would generate an estimated $600 million in revenues annually. Additionally, it’d all be funded with private — not public — money.

“People got to remember: $100 million payroll, 2,500 full time jobs. That’s a big deal,” said Jaffe.

Block E developers say their casino will draw a completely different crowd than Minnesota’s Indian casinos.

Tribal casinos have older gamblers, while theirs would be younger.

Also, they say the downtown casino is far enough away from Mystic Lake in Shakopee that it wouldn’t affect job levels at either location.

“There’s Whole Foods, and you’ve got Cub. They both draw a very different group of people. Yet, they both serve a very same purpose,” said Lux.

By coincidence, the Block E offices overlook the Linden Ave site in west downtown that some would like to use for the Vikings.

A casino could add critical mass for a new sports and entertainment district.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Gov. Mark Dayton took a private meeting Friday with church leaders at the Basilica of St. Mary to discuss their concerns over one potential site for a new Vikings stadium.

Basilica leaders have already come out to say they’re not pleased with a stadium proposal they feel would be too near to their church.

Father John Bauer said earlier this week that people at the Basilica feel like they would be a football throw away. Bauer said they’d even consider going as far as to take legal action.

A spokesperson at the church said Bauer is expected to show Dayton why he’s opposed to idea.

Bauer is concerned about how all the heavy machinery and vibrations that come with construction would impact the building, which is more than 100 years old. He’s also worried about traffic, and how the noise a football game with 60,000 people would affect Sunday mass.

With the Vikings lease at the Metrodome weeks from being up, stadium proponents have been feeling the pressure to find a solution fast. Arden Hills, the current Metrodome site and the Linden Avenue site are on the table.

Dayton says they’ve got to get it down to one.

“To get one bill, that has one site and one financial plan, hopefully it will be voted up or down,” said Dayton.

Zellers said lawmakers can’t make any decisions until there’s a definite plan. Financing and location have been two of the biggest hurdles.

“It’s a game of ‘what if,’ and I think you have filled up a lot of ink and a lot of TV time on the ‘what if’ part of it,” said Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Zellers. “Until you get specifics, it’s a game of ‘what if?’”

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have hired Alan Williams, the defensive backs coach for the Indianapolis Colts for the past 10 years, as their new defensive coordinator.

He’ll be supervising the man he’s replacing in that role — and try to help the Vikings revive a group that was the easiest in the league to throw a touchdown pass against this season.

Yes, this is a unique arrangement and a challenging job. For Williams, though, what’s most important is his strong relationship with the guy who hired him, head coach Leslie Frazier. They shared responsibility of the Colts defensive backs for two years, including the Super Bowl-winning team in 2006-07.

“It was another opportunity to work together, first of all, and to win some more championships,” Williams said Thursday, after signing a two-year contract.

To get to that level, Frazier, Williams and the rest of the Vikings have a lot of work to do coming off a 3-13 season, beginning with a depleted secondary that gave up a NFL-most 34 touchdown passes against only eight interceptions in 2011.

Those struggles were contributing factors in Frazier’s decision — he also said he sought some “new energy” — to dismiss defensive line coach Karl Dunbar and demote defensive coordinator Fred Pagac to linebackers coach.

But with defensive end Jared Allen’s league-leading 22 sacks, a late resurgence by defensive tackle Kevin Williams and an established outside linebacker in Chad Greenway, there is some talent there.

“Any time you get a chance to come in with a lot of the building blocks already in place, you want to jump at that,” Williams said on a conference call.

Promotions are attractive, too, of course. The 42-year-old Williams, a college teammate of former Vikings defensive coordinator and current Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, was chosen after Jacksonville defensive coordinator Mel Tucker decided to stay with the Jaguars.

Frazier said he also spoke with fired St. Louis coach Steve Spagnuolo, but the timing wasn’t right.

“We were fortunate that Alan was available,” Frazier said, adding: “I was a little nervous that we might not be able to get the guy I thought would be able to help us.”

Frazier will have a big hand in that help. He said he wasn’t involved as he should have been in the defense at the beginning of the season, and he’ll have heavy input with Williams, who has been schooled in the same 4-3 scheme and Tampa Two zone coverage the Vikings have used versions of for years.

“Having a full offseason together, I’ve got to believe is going to be a big plus for us,” Frazier said.

Brendan Daly, an assistant defensive line coach for the Vikings from 2006-08 who joined Spagnuolo’s staff with the Rams in 2009, was hired by Frazier to replace Dunbar as the defensive line coach.

But Pagac is staying, as is Frazier’s old teammate, Mike Singletary, who remains an assistant head coach — and a linebackers coach. Neither Frazier nor Williams said they were sure yet how Pagac’s and Singletary’s duties would be divided.

Frazier said he wasn’t concerned about a too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen problem with running the defense.

“Hearing their feedback, that assured me that it could work,” Frazier said. “If you don’t have the right kind of people it can be a dicey situation.”

Frazier lauded the ability of Williams to communicate and relate to the players. Williams is another branch of the Tony Dungy coaching tree, having learned under the soft-spoken, respected former coach of the Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Williams said he wasn’t worried about Frazier micromanaging his job. He also said he wasn’t concerned about the potential awkwardness of working with Pagac, the man he was hired to replace. If Frazier said this would be fine, well, that was all he needed to hear.

“I know his word is golden. I know his judgment is second to none,” Williams said.

Williams said he doesn’t believe “wholesale changes” are necessary for the secondary and vowed that the Vikings will be better and faster as a defense. While his personality is more muted than Tomlin’s, he said they have a similar philosophy about how to teach their players and how to call a game.

“We’re going to run. We’re going to tackle. We’re going to hit. We’re going to play tough football better than our opponents,” Williams said.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

State Sen. Julie Rosen, said e-pull tabs are emerging as a favorite among proposed funding sources.

“We’ve had many meetings with the [State] Gambling Board and the commissioners from Revenue and Finance and everybody seems to be very comfortable with the figures. So I think — in a bipartisan way — we can move with that funding for a financing option,” said the Republican senator from Fairmont, Minn.

NewsRadio 830 WCCO’s Steve Murphy Reports

It’s estimated that e-pull tabs could generate an additional $60 million a year in charitable gambling taxes.

Rosen is part of a stadium working group that met for six hours Wednesday night. There’s still no agreement however, and Rosen said it’s unlikely they’ll have a plan in place by the time the legislature opens its 2012 session next Tuesday.

A parcel of land near the Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis is getting a lot of attention as the site.

The pastor, Rev. John Bauer, has expressed concerns about traffic, construction and other issues and Governor Dayton has indicated he’ll speak with the priest on Friday.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – Gov. Mark Dayton said Wednesday that none of the plans so far for a Vikings stadium are good enough to pass the State Legislature.

That assessment comes just six days before the legislature meets in session, and just as the Vikings Metrodome lease expires.

Gov. Dayton reviewed all of the stadium sites in detail, but said he prefers none of them as they currently stand. But in the upside-down world of politics and pigskin, lawmakers said they are still optimistic of a late game football finish.

Dayton said the Arden Hills site isn’t feasible if the legislature requires a public referendum on any stadium tax hike.

The Metrodome site won’t generate economic development, and the funding is shaky. The Basilica site faces stiff opposition from the church.

“The conclusion, regrettably, is that there is no stadium proposal with a complete and proficient financial plan, one which assigns equitable obligations to the Vikings, the state of Minnnesota,” Dayton said at a news conference Wednesday.

Gov. Dayton singled out unnamed legislators who won’t sign onto any stadium plan because they want to delay a vote until after the 2012 elections.

He also expressed optimism that a plan could come together quickly.

“We’re at the five yard line and its first and goal, and I think we’ve got a great opportunity. I think we’ve moved a long ways forward,” Dayton said.

The Vikings’ Metrodome lease expired at the end of the end of the season, and the team said Arden Hills remains its preferred site.

Team officials said they are also facing reality, and are now willing to work with Minneapolis to develop a new stadium plan.

“If Arden Hills is not achievable, we will work with state leaders and the city of Minneapolis to try to negotiate an agreement that would work in Minneapolis,” said Lester Bagley, Vikings’ vice president and lead on stadium development.

Right now, that will take a miracle. The Basilica of St Mary is not happy about a massive NFL stadium near its property line.

“We want to be clear, we don’t believe that our concerns are manageable. We continue to have significant reservations about the idea of a stadium a block and a half away from the Basilica of St. Mary,” said Rev. John Bauer.

A small group of lawmakers is meeting Wednesday night at the State Capitol to hammer out something, anything, on a Vikings stadium.

But it’s looking less likely any stadium bill will be ready by the time the 2012 legislature meets next week.

——-

Arden Hills/Ramsey County

It is easy to understand why the Vikings like the Arden Hills site. Ramsey County has made another excellent, detailed proposal.  The Vikings are truly wanted there.  It has the advantage that the property is available for the project to begin.

However, the Legislature’s unwillingness to permit Ramsey County Commissioners to increase either the general sales tax or the food and beverage tax without a voter referendum leaves the County with no apparent means to raise its local share. I have been told that neither the Senate nor the House majorities will change their opposition in the upcoming session.

That leaves the Vikings and the State of Minnesota as the project’s only two financiers.  The estimated cost of a new stadium in Arden Hills is approximately $1.1 billion.  Even if the State increased its share from the previously stated $300 million to $400 million, the team’s share would have to be $700 million.  If the Vikings so want to be in Arden Hills that they will increase their financial contribution to that amount, the project is potentially viable.  If not, it is not.

The other missing component of Ramsey County’s proposal is the unwillingness of the Vikings owners to disclose their intentions with the property’s 170 acres, which will not be used for the stadium.  If the Vikings truly want to be in Arden Hills, they have thus far missed their opportunity to inspire decision-makers and the public with their vision for the site’s entire development.

City of Minneapolis – Metrodome

Minneapolis’ proposal submitted last Thursday was meager. However, it did identify a local share of funding, which, if affirmed by the Mayor, the City Council, and the Legislature, could make a stadium project there financially viable.

The City’s stated position is that it prefers to build a new stadium at the site of the current Metrodome, because it is slightly cheaper than the alternatives.  Amortized over the new stadium’s expected life, however, that difference is relatively inconsequential.  A first-rate stadium could unquestionably be built there, as it could almost anywhere for its expected cost.  However, I personally believe the site lacks the potential for additional economic development and job creation, which the Arden Hills and Linden Avenue (Minneapolis) sites offer.

Key reasons for building a new stadium are the several thousand construction jobs it would provide for the next three years, and also the new commercial activity and permanent jobs it could generate once it is operational.  The Metrodome has proven to be largely unsuccessful at stimulating new economic development nearby.

Additionally, while short-term considerations should not dictate the location of a stadium for the next thirty years, there would be serious problems with the Vikings playing their home games at the University of Minnesota’s TCF Stadium during the three years of new stadium construction.  Traffic congestion and parking shortages nearby are among the numerous problems, which have yet to be resolved by the University and the Vikings.

City of Minneapolis – Linden Avenue

An alternative site in Minneapolis is being referred to as Linden Avenue.  The City and the Vikings have said little publicly about their discussions regarding this possibility.  This site offers significant advantages over the Metrodome, particularly its proximity to Target Center, Target Field, downtown hotels, restaurants, etc.

However, serious concerns have been raised by the Rector of St. Mary’s Basilica, which is adjacent to the Linden Avenue location.  Those and other concerns would need to be resolved before that site is viable.

Clearly the necessary due diligence has not been completed by the proponents of the Linden Avenue location.  Until those questions have been answered and it is better known what other unanswered questions remain, I could not recommend that site to either the Legislature or the people of Minnesota.

Furthermore, the Vikings’ unwillingness to state the total amount they are willing to contribute to either Minneapolis project makes it impossible to make a final assessment of them.  Additionally, the Minneapolis City Council has yet to vote, or send definitive representation of the ability to deliver a positive vote, on whether they approve of the City’s proposed means of financing its local share at either site.

Shakopee, et al.

Of the additional submissions, only Shakopee’s merits serious consideration, although several others deserve credit for their imagination and creativity!  Unfortunately, Shakopee’s proposal contains no local financial contribution to the project.  Instead, it relies upon the expansion of gambling to one or two “Racinos,” one located nearby the proposed site, to finance the public share of the project.

Passage of Racino legislation to fund a new stadium is speculative.  Even if it were to pass, several years of litigation in federal courts should be expected.  Proceeds from Racinos could not provide the assured revenue stream to back state-issued bonds until that litigation was resolved.

Conclusion

Regrettably, there is not yet a stadium proposal with a complete and sufficient financial plan, one which assigns equitable obligations to the Vikings, the local partner, and the State of Minnesota. And no site sponsor has adequately resolved the major unanswered questions, in order to merit the approval to proceed.

Unless the Legislature is willing to change its insistence on a voter referendum before Ramsey County can impose any kind of tax increase, the only two feasible sites become the Metrodome and Linden Avenue, both in Minneapolis.  While issues surrounding these sites are not all resolved, they are potentially resolvable and should be addressed immediately.  Also the Vikings must reveal their financial commitment to each project.

Otherwise, the lack of firm and binding commitments by the respective parties will seriously jeopardize any chance for legislative approval in this session.  It is rumored that some legislators would prefer to postpone final action until 2013, because they want to avoid taking tough votes on a controversial project before next November’s election.  The inability of stadium proponents to complete their own preparations gives cover to that delay.

“We can’t vote, because we don’t have a specific proposal,” has been the consistent, and legitimate, refrain of those wishing to avoid a vote.  The longer it takes to finalize a proposal with a single site, with an agreed-upon, reliable, and equitable financing plan, and with satisfactory answers to important remaining questions, the less likely it is that a stadium will be approved by the Legislature in the upcoming session and, thus, this year.

I want to pay tribute to the outstanding leadership given to this project and the herculean efforts to advance it by Senator Julie Rosen, Representative Morrie Lanning, MSFC Chair Ted Mondale, and CSL consultant Mr. Craig Skeim, who has provided public decision-makers with extremely valuable information. Were it not for their unceasing efforts, there would be no prospect of a new “People’s Stadium” and about the same likelihood of keeping the Vikings in Minnesota.

Lester Bagley, the vice president of Public Affairs and Stadium Development for the team, spoke with Eric Nelson and Steve Thomson on WCCO Radio Saturday night.

WCCO’s Steve Thomson And Eric Nelson Interview Lester Bagley

Bagley said they are trying to get a package together and that in order for the Legislature to consider a new stadium they have to have a package in front of them.

“We’re working hard and trying to put that together. And that, of course, has to have a site and a viable local finance plan,” Bagley said. “I think that’s what the last few days was about. Let’s see what local communities have in terms of a site and a finance plan.”

Arden Hills remains the Vikings preferred choice for a stadium location. There were a total of nine site proposals submitted to Gov. Mark Dayton earlier this week.

Speaking about Arden Hills, Bagley said: “It allows and provides the best fan experience of any of the sites.”

Bagley said the team hopes the stadium decision and hard work they are going through will eventually payoff in the long run. He said that the significant issues that need to be addressed are: finance, local support and what plan will pass the Legislature.

“While we like the site a lot in Arden Hills and have a great partnership and relationship with Ramsey County, there is a lot of work to do and others that need to weigh in on the situation.”

Bagley said no short-term Metrodome lease will be signed by the Vikings until a stadium agreement is in place.

“Hopefully this stadium package that we’re putting together can include a short-term lease extension. That’s what we said and I think we have communicated that to Ted Mondale and our state leaders,” Bagley said. “I think that’s the way that resolves everything and takes that issue of the lease question out of play.”