GOP House leader opposes state tax money for new stadium

The new chairman of the House Taxes Committee says he opposes using state tax money to build a new Vikings football stadium.

Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston, says the residents of his southeastern Minnesota district would not benefit from having a new stadium in the Twin Cities, so he won't ask them to pay for it.

Davids says it's possible some money for a new stadium could be raised by a ticket tax or some other kind of user fee.

"It's not going to be general fund money," he said. "We're not spending money for a stadium that should be going to our K-12 schools, to our nursing homes and to public safety. ... I could see a scenario where you have a situation like how the model of how the Twins stadium was built. I voted for that."

Davids says he opposed the Twins stadium until supporters proposed a plan to raise sales taxes only in Hennepin County -- the ballpark's home county. The state Legislature then signed off on giving the county authority to raise its sales tax.