Sen. Julianne Ortman schedules Vikings hearings-Advantage Arden Hills

After a week of little activity on the stadium front a major development has occurred. The recently quiet Republicans have taken the lead in the stadium push. Recently Speaker Zellers has been saying that the legislature cannot move forward until they have had a chance to hear from the public.

Vikings fans, please put November 29^th and December 6^th on your calendars and be ready to head to St. Paul.  Speaker Zellers is going to get his wish.

Senator Julianne Ortman (R-Chanhassen) Chair of the Senate Tax Committee said “We are holding these hearings to invite the public and interested parties to come and testify and offer their views. It is an issue that people are very passionate about.”

Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch weighed in via her opinion piece to the Star Tribune saying that “If we rush the stadium issue to a special session, we don’t have to guess what the outcome will be. We have a glaring example. In 1997, a Twins stadium bill was fast-tracked to special session without sufficient legislative support, and it failed.”

Koch continued,” It took nine years for a successful bill to come back to the Legislature and pass. As with any piece of legislation, in order to discover if we have consensus for further action, we need to vet the issue publicly.”

Proving further the Republican Senate is now driving this effort, the Vikings stadium Chief bill author Senator Julie Rosen (R-Fairmont) was on KSTP saying that no specific site was being considered at this time but that it will be discussed on November 29^th. Rosen went on to say that a bill was close to being finalized and that gambling was “Absolutely” going to be a part of it.

Rosen’s comments about site selection come on the heels of Ramsey County commissioners meeting with Governor Mark Dayton yesterday but declining to comment publicly. On Wednesday, Ramsey County quietly approved the sale of the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant for a Vikings stadium. It appears the Arden Hills project is making baby steps while the Mayor of Minneapolis, R.T. Rybak is playing stadium pinwheel between the Metrodome, Linden Ave and Farmers Market plan.

In Dayton’s recent opinion piece he suggesting representatives from both Minneapolis and Ramsey County be present and that Minneapolis narrow their three sites down to one.  So far Minneapolis has been non –specific about which site they prefer.

SavetheVikes.org gave fans a closer look at the Farmers Market plan and believes it to be the strongest of the Minneapolis plans. It outshines the Linden Ave site in terms of fan amenities and offers a sports atmosphere that the Metrodome can’t offer alone. And while it doesn’t have 20,000 spots for tailgating there will still be plenty of opportunity to tailgate close to the stadium or on the plaza while finding a creative way to develop the west end of downtown once the tenant in purple vacates.

 If Rybak is serious about fighting for the Vikings to stay in Minneapolis, he needs to marshal his resources NOW around the only plan that can put up a worthy comparison to the Arden Hills plan. November 29^th is barely a week away and we are willing to bet the Vikings are going to come, barrels loaded, to show how Arden Hills is the better site.

 And if for any reason the Vikings fail to do that, Minneapolis better be ready to seize the day and prove that they are a very capable local partner and good “Plan B” on November 29th. Vikings fans that would like to see the team play another 30 years in Minneapolis are encouraged to contact Mayor Rybak asking him to narrow down his site selection to Farmers Market and prepare for testimony on behalf of Minneapolis on November 29^th. He can be contacted at r.t.rybak@ci.minneapolis.mn.us.

With meetings scheduled at the Capitol, we also encourage you to once again contact your lawmaker. We ask this of you frequently and you can never email them too much! www.SavetheVikes.org/huddle/