Minnesota Vikings New Stadium Faces Opposition From City Council Member
By Josh Sanchez
A proposed new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings in Arden Hills is now facing opposition from a member of the Shoreview City Council. Blake Huffman has started an online petition against building the stadium. Huffman says he started the petition after getting bombarded by emails that were against building the new stadium.
“They were coming in about 20 to 1 against it,” Huffman said. “One of them said, ‘I don’t like it, but I guess there is nothing I can do about it.’ That bothered me….How sad is it that we live in a culture where someone feels totally powerless to stop something that is happening in their own back yard?”
Huffman’s petition calls for the stadium to be moved to Minneapolis or St. Paul who could better handle the funding, instead of the smaller Arden Hills.
“This is not a pro-Vikings or anti-Vikings petition; I love the Vikings. It really is more about, Is the money in this environment appropriate and is the location appropriate,” said Huffman.
"Like most Minnesotans, we are Viking Fans. From Fran Tarkenton to Tommy Kramer to Randall Cunningham to Adrian Peterson I have always been a huge fan of the Vikings. That being said, the proposed Viking stadium in Arden Hills is a bad idea for numerous reasons. The proposed stadium and accompanying infrastructure will cost at least $1.057 billion and will cost Ramsey County residents $350 million with an additional $300 million coming from taxpayers through the state. A total of $650 million in public funds will be used to pay for the stadium. Pushing the stadium at his site at this time is wrong for several reasons."
Huffman’s petition also sites noise, property value, parking, and traffic among other reasons for opposing the stadium being located in Arden Hills.
Of course, Huffman’s petition doesn’t represent the opinion of the entire city council. He will present the petition at the end of the month before legislation votes on whether or not to fund one-third of the projects $1 billion budget. The Vikings have agreed to pay one-third of the price as well as Ramsey County, who will fund their portion of the budget by increasing sales taxes taxes by 0.5%.
It would be great for the Vikings and their fans to have this new stadium and keep the team in Minnesota. The Vikings have previously been discussed as a team who could possibly relocate to Los Angeles, but a new stadium could keep them at their current location.
To check out B lake Huffman’s petition, go online to bit.ly/vikespetition.