ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A Minnesota Vikings spokesman said Friday that team owners don't like a new proposal to fund a $1 billion stadium in the Twin Cities suburbs using ticket fees and other game-related charges.
The latest proposal floated by several Ramsey County commissioners was meant to replace a previous stadium financing plan that relied on a county food and liquor sales tax. Instead, it would draw $20.6 million annually from stadium user fees, an admissions surcharge, a stadium sales tax and parking-lot naming rights.
The county board said the plan would generate $618 million over 30 years.
Lester Bagley, the Vikings vice president for stadium development, called the plan problematic. While Vikings owners have favored the Ramsey County site, in the community of Arden Hills, over options in downtown Minneapolis, Bagley said a prior agreement between the Vikings and Ramsey County hinged on the team receiving parking revenue and naming rights -- and on the condition of no admissions taxes.
"When you change those things, you change the underlying agreement between the team and the county," Bagley said. "We need to refine it because of those reasons."
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press
