Vikings stadium talks yield no agreement

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Negotiations for a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings in downtown Minneapolis have failed to yield an agreement, officials said.

Officials had said they hoped for a deal by Monday, the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press reported.

An estimate released last month shows the city would contribute $150 million, the team, $428 million, and the state, $340 million for a stadium next to the Vikings' current home, the Metrodome.

City, state and team representatives have been trying to reach a deal under which the Vikings would play at the Metrodome while the new stadium is built next door.

State Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, said Monday if a deal is reached for the Metrodome site, the site would be included in a bill to be introduced in the Legislature.

The stadium also would need approval of the Minneapolis City Council and the National Football League.

Meanwhile, St. Paul business consultant Michael O'Connor presented a plan Monday he said would enable taxpayers to make a profit with a stadium on the site the Vikings prefer, in Arden Hills, about 10 miles from the Metrodome site.

Through naming rights and a share of profits, growth in the team's value and investment income, O'Connor said, the taxpayers could make about $2 billion.