Minn. governor sees Vikings stadium 'deadline'

ST. PAUL, Minn., June 15 (UPI) -- Minnesota's governor is calling his meeting on a new Vikings football stadium "productive," but no decision has emerged.

The NFL team is seeking hundreds of millions in public funds to build a new stadium on the site of a former ammunition plant in Arden Hills.

Gov. Mark Dayton met Tuesday with Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf, Ramsey County Commissioners Tony Bennett and Rafael Ortega and two legislators who will introduce a plan, Sen. Julie Rosen and Rep. Morrie Lanning, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

"We had a very productive and constructive meeting," he said. "The end of this week is essentially the deadline."

Any deadline depends on a schedule of public hearings and a special session of the Legislature, which Dayton says he will not call until the state budget is settled.

The Arden Hills site, backed by Ramsey County and the Vikings, is the only one currently under consideration, although the city of Minneapolis has proposed a major retrofit of the Metrodome.

The biggest issue outstanding is who will pay for $80 million to $131 million in needed road improvements.