Official: Hennepin County won't chip in for Vikes

Posted at 12:03 PM on January 12, 2012 by Paul Tosto
Filed under: Sport

Hennepin County officials were key to the building of a new home for Minnesota Twins baseball a few years ago with Target Field. But don't expect the county to help with funding for a new Vikings football stadium.

The Star Tribune reports:

The local government most responsible for the Minnesota Twins ballpark, Hennepin County, won't be among the contestants for the football prize, County Board Chair Mike Opat confirmed Wednesday.

Opat engineered the county's efforts to finance and build Target Field, but he said that he has no plans -- not yet, anyway -- to gun for the Vikings stadium.

It's the same position he's held for eight months, since he announced last May that Hennepin County wouldn't be pursuing a stadium deal. At the time he cited budget tightening, legislative ambivalence and lack of time as reasons to step down from the chase.