Ramsey County poised to negotiate over Vikings stadium site

Ramsey County looks poised to enter into negotiations with the Minnesota Vikings over a potential stadium site at a former arsenal site in Arden Hills.

The board today released a proposed resolution authorizing talks with the team. The Vikings lease on the Metrodome expires this season, and Gov. Mark Dayton has said he wants the stadium question resolved this year.

The county board's chairwoman, Victoria Reinhardt, said she thinks there's support on the board to move forward with stadium talks.

"I think when you're looking at a county like Ramsey, where we are fully developed and second in population in the state -- clearly when you have the opportunity to develop 430 acres of land, for economic development, transportation, jobs, enhancing the tax base -- and figure this makes sense for us and the Vikings," she said.

The Arden Hills land may soon be up for sale by the federal government.

The site sits on 430 acres of vacant land along Interstate 35W and Highway 10 in Arden Hills. It's on the southwestern edge of the 2,300 acre site of the old Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant. Most of that will remain a military reservation.

The board is scheduled to discuss the issue at their next meeting on Tuesday.

It would authorize county manager Julie Kleinschmidt to talk to the Vikings about a deal for the site.

Commissioner Tony Bennett, who represents the area, said he hopes a stadium will revive what was once a bustling industrial area in his district.

"It needs to be cleaned up. It needs to be developed. It's become an eyesore," he said. "And this may be just the thing that will kick it off the ground."

The resolution doesn't include any financial figures or outline what the county might offer the Vikings.