Leading backer of Arden Hills stadium site expects sale by Monday

Proposed Vikings stadium site
The Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant in Arden Hills, Minn. Sept. 28, 2011.
MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson

The leading backer of a plan to bring the Vikings to Ramsey County says he expects the sale of the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant could be finalized as soon as Monday.

Tony Bennett says negotiations are complete on the sale of the Army land to the county. He declined to name the price, but said that it fits within the budget initially proposed by the county and the Vikings.

"The property deal is completed," he said. "It just needs to be, the agreements need to be put in writing, to make sure they're accurate, and when the entire deal is put together, these will fit right in. We're shovel ready."

The deal is contingent on an eventual agreement with the county, state and the Vikings on the team's proposed $1.1 billion stadium in Arden Hills.

Bennett says he also believes that the cleanup will be up to residential standards -- not just to the lower industrial standard planners originally anticipated.

His comments come a day after Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak formally submitted three stadium plans funded either by a citywide sales tax increase of a third of a cent, or a casino in downtown Minneapolis.

The money raised would help pay for a stadium on the Metrodome site, the Farmers Market or near the Basilica of St. Mary. Rybak said he thinks Minneapolis -- not Arden Hills -- is the best site for the Vikings.

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