Ramsey County is ready to make it official: They want the Minnesota Vikings.
And in return, the Vikings are making it official: Ramsey County has "stepped up" just when they need someone to.
None of this makes anything close to definite as the Vikings hunt for a future home as their Metrodome lease is set to expire next year.
But in what Vikings owners are calling "an extremely important step," the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners is poised to vote next week on a resolution expressing its intent to officially court the NFL franchise for a proposed stadium site in Arden Hills.
Armed with a laudatory letter from Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf, commissioners Thursday afternoon made public a draft resolution — to be voted on Tuesday — authorizing county staff to negotiate with the team about a stadium at the abandoned and polluted Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant near Interstate 35W and U.S. 10.
The papers made public Thursday don't actually contemplate any way to pay for the stadium, which is likely to cost about $800 million, or commit any county tax money to build it.
Some commissioners have been in closed-door meetings for months with the Vikings, and the intent of the resolution is to make it official so a bill could be introduced at the Legislature. Republicans have said they were awaiting a "local partner" willing to spend money before they contemplate any state money. Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, has laid down similar standards, as have the Vikings.
"We're into the early part of the session," said Lester Bagley, the team's vice president of public affairs and stadium development. "There is some time to go, but we're really down to the wire in terms of we need to have a site and local partner, and Ramsey County has stepped up."
Commissioners had been hoping to have an exclusive relationship with the Vikings, who are considering or have considered at least four Twin Cities sites, but the Wilfs stopped short of that.
Nonetheless, the letter from the Wilfs speaks fondly of the Arden Hills site, which is large enough to allow tailgating and hotels.
"The Vikings strongly believe that this location could make an excellent site," says the letter, which is dated Thursday.
It adds later: "Through this letter, we want to communicate our intent to work collaboratively and closely with Ramsey County, the city of Arden Hills and other stakeholders to determine if an agreement can be reached that leads to a new stadium at the TCAAP site. While both parties understand that this is not an exclusive agreement, it is an extremely important next step in this joint effort."
In prior proposals and statements, the Vikings have been willing to pay about a third of the construction cost.
Dayton said Thursday morning he hoped the Vikings will commit somewhere between "one-third and 50 percent" of the cost. However, in an interview on Minnesota Public Radio, Dayton was inconsistent, also listing a "ballpark" range of "40 to 50 percent."
When asked to clarify, Dayton said, "I hadn't given it much forethought before this morning." His point person for the stadium, Ted Mondale, has also been vague.
Ramsey County commissioners Tony Bennett and Rafael Ortega — the two men who've been spearheading talks with the Vikings — emphasized Thursday that they won't use a property tax hike to pay for a new stadium, which would be publicly owned.
When asked whether a countywide sales tax might pay some of the costs, Bennett responded: "If you're not at the table, you don't get a chance to eat."
Dayton and Mondale, who also chairs the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, which owns the 30-year-old Metrodome, have said it would be critical for much of the construction cost to be paid for by users of the stadium by measures such as taxes and fees on souvenirs and concessions.
The Vikings have said they would like to see state lottery proceeds in the mix. And gambling proceeds, perhaps from an expansion of state gambling, is another possibility often mentioned.
The Vikings are also looking at three sites in Hennepin County, including one in Brooklyn Park and rebuilding on the site of the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. The team also is considering a site west of Target Field, but this week Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said he would oppose that location, adding that the only Minneapolis site he favors is the Dome.
The official Ramsey County resolution, expected to be approved by the county board Tuesday, authorizes county manager Julie Kleinschmidt to draw up a budget to study costs and other aspects of any stadium plan. County officials have been tinkering with numbers already, but Ortega described them as only "scenarios," and officials have refused to provide details. Thursday's developments ought to mean more transparency.
Based on the language of the resolution and statements by Ortega and Bennett, it's clear that county leaders will sell any stadium plan to the public on the notion that it would redevelop a polluted eyesore and make major improvements to aging highway interchanges.
Arden Hills, which has zoning authority over the land and would have to be on board, has appeared to be receptive to stadium talks, but the city hasn't taken any official action. On Thursday evening, Mayor David Grant said he didn't feel comfortable commenting on whether he believed residents would support it.
"There really isn't much of a story at this point," Grant said. "We as a city council have not had any discussions on it. I don't think I should comment until we've had a chance to discuss it."
No discussions were scheduled as of Thursday night.
Frederick Melo and John Shipley contributed to this report.
