St. Paul Mayor Coleman opposes Vikings stadium bill

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman says he views aspects of the new Vikings stadium bill as unacceptable for his city.

Coleman has been seeking state help to build a new baseball field for the St. Paul Saints and an indoor ice rink next to the Xcel Energy Center in his city. Neither project was included in the stadium bill.

The measure also provides debt relief for the Target Center in Minneapolis, which Coleman says would put the financial future of the Xcel center at great risk.

"That is very clearly designed to really undercut the ability of the Xcel Energy Center to compete for events at their facility," said Coleman. "That just does not seem to be a very balanced approach."

Coleman sent a letter to St. Paul legislators urging them to fight for more regional balance in the stadium bill. The mayor does not plan to testify at any of the scheduled legislative hearings.