Ramsey Co. OKs Land Purchase For Stadium
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- The Ramsey County Board unanimously approved a proposal to purchase the old Army ammunition plant site in Arden Hills from the U.S. government.
The cost of the 430-acre land was $28.5 million, which is the proposed site for the new Minnesota Vikings stadium. The money will take care of clean-up costs, infrastructure and road improvements.
Ramsey County Commissioner Tony Bennett, who spear-headed this effort to purchase the land, said the county is now shovel-ready when it comes to a new Vikings stadium. Now they need to rest of the pieces to fall into place.
The purchase of the land was all contingent on receiving money from the state to help pay for it. The funds for the purchase are not coming from a property tax hike or a sales tax increase.
Bennett said the county is now ready to move forward.
"All we got to do is get the legislature to make up their mind and get this ready to go. And all the things you heard today, the jobs, the pollution clean-up, everything else can be done; we put a lot of people to work," he said.
If this deal doesn't go through and the state produce funding, the county can back-out of the offer to purchase the land. They can also decide whether or not to redevelop the site.
