Thursday, May 19, 2011

Vikings to Arden Hills? IX -- Road Rage

MnDOT finally coughed up a number on what it would cost to build roads that would be necessary for the proposed Vikings stadium in Arden Hills. While the number is smaller than first estimates, it's still a big chunk of change:

The Minnesota Vikings welcomed a $44 million drop in estimated road improvement costs for a proposed $1 billion Arden Hills stadium, even if team officials don't yet know how to finance the enhancements.

"It's progress and this makes it more manageable," Vikings Vice President Lester Bagley said Wednesday after the state Department of Transportation released the lower estimate of $131 million, down from a minimum of $175 million. The estimate doesn't include $20 million in Interstate 35W improvements that were already in the works.
That's the headline, but as usual the local media buried the lede:

Dayton and the legislative sponsors told the Wilfs the state needs to be "full partners" in a new stadium's construction, ownership and operations. That vision doesn't entirely align with the agreement between the team and Ramsey County that gives the Vikings sole authority over construction and design.

The letter, signed by Dayton, Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont and Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, said they are "neutral about where the Minnesota Vikings make their new home, so long as it is Minnesota."

Bagley said, "The solution is to make Arden Hills work. The solution is not to kill Arden Hills and bring the Minneapolis deal in the back door. The Minneapolis proposal is not viable. Introducing a Minneapolis bill makes no sense and we will not support it."
Emphasis mine. As we've mentioned throughout this series, the notion that somehow, some way Minneapolis can get back into the game is a non-starter. The Wilfs want that parking money and not only on game days. It's huge. Minneapolis can't provide it. Minneapolis can provide light rail, but it's a meaningless amenity to the Vikings and, truth be told, a detriment to any deal. If there was any doubt about that, Bagley has now put it to rest.

The list of improvements is interesting, too:

The latest roads proposal includes improvements at the Interstate 694/35W interchange, auxiliary lanes on 35W, reconstruction of the 35W/County Road 96 interchange and the Hwy. 10 site entrance. An internal site road is estimated at $5 million. The roads will be updated to accommodate some 21,000 cars expected to be driven to games
Whether the Vikings deal happens or it doesn't, most of these changes are long overdue in any event. The only change that wouldn't have happened anyway is the entrance from Highway 10. Anyone who has traveled on 35W during the rush hour will tell you that the "auxiliary lanes" are  long, long overdue, as is work on the 694/35W interchange. But that's another post.

4 comments:

jerrye92002 said...

OK, I'll accept that deal. The taxpayers pick up the costs of the road improvements-- $131B, you say-- and the Vikes pick up the rest of the $1B+ tab. They're getting the profit, they make the investment, it's the American way. Or used to be.

Night Writer said...

What's overlooked in the light rail part of the debate is that taking the LRT to and from a Viking or Twins game is, if not Hell, at least one of its suburbs.

Departing the game requires interminable waits on the platform and then being jammed in, cheek-by-jowl, with other tired, possibly inebriated and (last year) possibly angry fans for a prolonged crawl down the track. To quote Lynyrd Skynyrd, "ooh, that smell."

Yeah, it was no picnic getting out of the parking lot at the old Met, but at least you had your own car and space and you could make your immediate area as family-friendly as you
wanted without worrying that your child would get stepped on, belched on or worse before you'd crept two blocks.

Mr. D said...

Departing the game requires interminable waits on the platform and then being jammed in, cheek-by-jowl, with other tired, possibly inebriated and (last year) possibly angry fans for a prolonged crawl down the track. To quote Lynyrd Skynyrd, "ooh, that smell."

Haven't had that particular experience here, but you've just described the aftermath of a Cubs game at Wrigley quite well, NW. It's really unpleasant, especially since the pickpockets usually are waiting on the train when you try to get on.

Night Writer said...

Yeah, the pickpockets in Chicago are a real nuisance. Leaving Target Field, though, you likely have no money left in your pockets anyway.