Focus for Vikings moves to Arden Hills
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The chair of the House transportation committee says he met with Vikings owners on Thursday to iron out some of the infrastructure details on a potential stadium deal.
Rep. Mike Beard of Shakopee said he and his Senate counterpart talked about the cost of roads around a potential Vikings stadium site in Arden Hills.
Gov. Mark Dayton said last week he thought road costs could be as high as $300 million and could be prohibitively expensive.
But Beard said he didn't think the costs were that high.
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"It depends on what is asked to be put into the mix," Beard said.
This comes on the heels of the news that Hennepin County Board Chairman Mike Opat has sent a letter to Dayton saying the county won't be signing on to be a local partner with the Vikings on their bid for a new stadium.
The letter cited the relatively short time left in the legislative session and doubts about proposed revenue for the state's share of the debt service on a new stadium.
Opat also said that the county is facing tens of millions of dollars in cuts at Hennepin County Medical Center alone, if the Legislature's proposed budget is enacted.
That doesn't necessarily rule out a stadium in Minneapolis. A stadium bill at the Capitol gives the state until May of 2012 to come up with a site for a new Vikings home.